spiraled2.pdf

Spiraled 2

TOOLS & SUPPLIES

The Spiraled Toggle meets

the Spiral Knotted Bangle

• 20" of 16 gauge sterling silver round half-

hard wire

• 5-6' of 20 gauge sterling silver round soft

wire

• Small wooden dowel 12" long

• Round nose pliers

• Flat nose pliers

• Flush wire cutters

• File

SKILL LEVEL

BY PEPPER MENTZ

As many of us have discovered our inspiration can

come from one project feeding into another. This

spiral knotted bangle is the result of my quest to

learn how to design and make my own toggles.

Having completed the toggle I decided to honor it

with its own bangle in a style to complement the

toggle.

Resources: The Artful Bead

in Fort Worth, TX and Wild

Beads in Arlington, TX.

Photo of finished piece by Jim Lawson; all other photos cour-

tesy of the author.

STEP BY STEP WIRE JEWELRY Fall 2007

To form the toggle bar, cut a 3" piece of 16-gauge wire

and file both ends smooth. Bend the wire exactly in

half. At the bend, place your round nose pliers grip-

ping the wire tight, and leave the loop naturally formed

by the bending of the wire. Form a 90˚ angle out from

both sides of the semi-circle, and bend using your flat

nose pliers 1/4" down from the bend. This will make

the loop for attaching the toggle ring to the bangle.

With the 20-gauge wire, begin to wrap from 1/4"

inside the piece. Start by bending about 1" of wire at

an angle, making a loop that will fit over the 16-gauge

wire and continue to wrap the 20-gauge wire until you

come to 1/4" from the end of the wire.

Make a loop at each end of the wire. With your round

nose pliers, take one end of the above wire and place

it just inside the bottom of the widest part of the nose

grip. Grip tightly as you bend the pliers away from you,

forming a loop. Continue until the loop is closed. The

loop will be over several of the wraps. Repeat on the

other end.

If you have a ring mandrel, it can be used to form the

ring of the toggle. To form the ring without a mandrel,

you need to find a circular object that is an appropriate

size for your toggle design.

For this project, you will find a diameter of about 1"

will work well and a wooden dowel can be used for

this purpose.

Form spirals with your 20-gauge wire by using a

length of 16-gauge wire that remains from your bangle

(approximately 9" for the bangle and 11" remaining) as

your dowel. Start this process by bending about 1" of

the 20-gauge wire at an angle, making a loop that will

fit over the 16-gauge wire. Continue to tightly wrap the

20-gauge wire until you have made a tight coil of

about 4-5” in length.

Leave a length of 1 1/2" at the end, and remove the

coil from the 16-gauge wire. Carefully bend this coiled

20-gauge wire into a circle (use the ring mandrel or

form if needed) leaving about a 1/4" open space to

attach the ends of the circle. File the 1" starting end

around the final 1 1/2" end with two to three wraps.

Tuck the remaining length of about 3/4" into the spirals

of the ring, so that it anchors the ring.

Your toggle is now complete and may be used with

the following bangle or any design you create. It can

even be made as the focal point of your piece!

wire basics at STEPBYSTEPWIRE.COM

spiraling bracelet

To begin making the spiral knotted bangle, cut 10” of

the 16-gauge wire, making sure both ends are flush

and filed until smooth.

With your round nose pliers, take one end of the 16-

gauge wire and place it just inside the bottom of the

widest part of the nose grip. Grip tightly as you bend

the pliers away from you, forming a loop.

Continue until the loop is closed. Leave the other

end of the wire as is for now.

Take the remaining 20-gauge wire, and wrap the wire

close and tight along a small dowel until you have a

length of 6” wrapped.

Remove the spiraled wire, and stretch it slightly and

evenly so that each spiral is approximately 1/16" apart.

Center this spiraled wire, and tie a basic knot in the

exact middle of the strand.

Slip the spiraled wire onto the open end of your 16-

gauge bangle wire until the spiraled strand is in the

center.

Form a closed loop at the open end, and re-adjust

the spiral to ensure that it is centered.

Take the last spiral on each side and clamp down

on it to secure the spiral onto the bangle. If needed,

you may clamp down two and then decrease the size

of the rings near the end to give it a nice flow.

STEP BY STEP WIRE JEWELRY Fall 2007

Form the 16-gauge wire with the spiral wrap around a

bracelet mandrel or a form that is in the shape of your

wrist. Leave a gap of around 1” to 1 1/2” to attach

your handcrafted toggle.

Attach the toggle to the rings; one ring on the circular

part of the toggle at the notch, and several rings or a

chain of rings to the toggle bar. Attach the toggle to

the closed loops on each end. Adjust to fit. Enjoy your

fully wire-crafted creation.

Pepper Mentz

Pepper Mentz has been a designer since she was a young girl. The influence

of her grandmother, a fashion designer, lead her into the pursuit of a

Bachelors' degree in Fine Arts and a career in design. She has a growing fami-

ly business, adding her middle daughter and her newest son-in-law along

with his family to the venture. With the new young members, Julia and Cody,

her company is taking on some new jewelry challenges and will be showcas-

ing them on her Web site in the near future. To see more of her designs, visit

www.peppermentzeyecandy.com.

wire basics at STEPBYSTEPWIRE.COM

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: