Introduction and Supplies
The design of this bangle has been adapted from the basic wire bangle tutorial. The steps are almost identical. The only difference with adding beads to the design is that you’ll need to make your wraps in different places, you’ll need beads that will fit over your wire (of course), and you’ll need a pair of snap ring pliers.
Here are the supplies and equipment you’ll need:,p> About 3.5 feet of Gold-filled 20-gauge square wire
About 6 to 10 inches of Gold-filled 18-gauge half-round wire
Clamps
Wire cutters
Chain-nosed pliers
Round-nosed pliers
Hand-drill (if you want to twist some of the wire)
Vice
Polishing cloth or wash cloth
Snap ring pliers
Choice of beads (crystal & gold-filled work well)
Marker or ink pen (non-permanent)
First, it is necessary to determine the size of the bangle bracelet. If you want to make a 7 inch bangle, which is a small to average size, you will need to cut two 15 inch pieces of square wire. If you to make a 7 1/2 inch bangle, you will need two 15 1/2 inch pieces and one 8 inch piece of square wire. Do you notice a trend here? Basically, to determine the size of the two long pieces, double the size of the bracelet and add 1 inch. For the shorter wire, you add 1/2 inch. Once you’ve determined the size of your bangle and cut the appropriate size wire, the assembly can begin.
Crystal Beads
First, follow steps 1 through 8 of the Basic Wire Bangle tutorial. After doing these first 8 steps, at this point, the wires are assembled together and the first wrap on one end is completed.
Here is where the instructions start to differ. The number of beads you wish to add and location of where you want them to be on the bracelet will determine the location of the rest of the wraps on the bangle.
To keep things simple, I’m going to add my beads to the middle of this bracelet. However, you can get a different look by adding them in other places or adding more than one grouping of beads.
Once you’ve gotten to this point, you need to decided how much wire will be covered up by your beads. Do this by lining up the beads into the grouping you want. Ideally, you should do this on a bead board so that you can get a measurement without all the beads rolling around. For the piece I’m making, I have one 8mm and two 6mm clear Czech beads, two rondel gold-filled beads, and two small 2mm gold-filled beads. When I lined these up on my bead board, they measured about one inch. Add about 1/2 inch to the measurement of your beads. Since mine were 1 inch, I knew I would need about a 1 1/2 inch space in the middle of my bracelet for these beads.
Find the center of the bracelet and mark it with non-permanent marker. Now divide the measurement of the beads in half. (Mine was 3/4 inches.) Measure this amount from the middle towards the end that you’ve already wrapped.
You will want to do your first wrap in this spot.
Clamp Wire Together
Now pull the middle wire of the bracelet up way from the other wires and slide your beads onto it. Bend the wire back down and put all the wires back together again as they were using a clamp.
More Wire Wraps
It looks kind of weird at this point, but just bare with me. Now, you’re going to add the wrap on the other side of the beads about 1/4 inch away from the beads. Continue to add wraps where you want them and finish the clasp as described in steps 10 and 11 of the Basic Wire Bangle tutorial. Now you’ll have a bracelet that looks a lot like the basic bangle with beads in the middle.
Before you shape the bracelet, there is one more step that really makes the look of this bangle. Using the snap ring pliers, from the back of the bracelet, insert the nose of the pliers in between the middle of the four wire that fit together. Squeeze the handle of the pliers together, and this will force the wires apart. The middle wire that has the beads on it will no seem to be raised some. Just push this wire down with your fingers so that it fits into the diamond shape you just created using the snap nosed pliers.
Now you’ve got your bangle assembled, but you need to shape it. Of course, if you’ve got a bracelet mandrel, you can use that. However, you can also use anything round like a tin can. I notice a 7 inch bracelet fits perfectly around a 6 ounce can of tomato paste. I’ve also seen people use the handle of their raw hide hammer to shape the bracelet by rolling the wire against the handle. Once you’ve shaped the bracelet into a circle, you’re done.
I think the beads really add a lot to this bangle, so I hope you get a chance to give it a try.
The technique I just explained can also be varied. You can add more beads or spread them out and create more than one diamond shape in the center.
The design of this bangle has been adapted from the basic wire bangle tutorial. The steps are almost identical. The only difference with adding beads to the design is that you’ll need to make your wraps in different places, you’ll need beads that will fit over your wire (of course), and you’ll need a pair of snap ring pliers.
Here are the supplies and equipment you’ll need:,p> About 3.5 feet of Gold-filled 20-gauge square wire
About 6 to 10 inches of Gold-filled 18-gauge half-round wire
Clamps
Wire cutters
Chain-nosed pliers
Round-nosed pliers
Hand-drill (if you want to twist some of the wire)
Vice
Polishing cloth or wash cloth
Snap ring pliers
Choice of beads (crystal & gold-filled work well)
Marker or ink pen (non-permanent)
First, it is necessary to determine the size of the bangle bracelet. If you want to make a 7 inch bangle, which is a small to average size, you will need to cut two 15 inch pieces of square wire. If you to make a 7 1/2 inch bangle, you will need two 15 1/2 inch pieces and one 8 inch piece of square wire. Do you notice a trend here? Basically, to determine the size of the two long pieces, double the size of the bracelet and add 1 inch. For the shorter wire, you add 1/2 inch. Once you’ve determined the size of your bangle and cut the appropriate size wire, the assembly can begin.
Crystal Beads
First, follow steps 1 through 8 of the Basic Wire Bangle tutorial. After doing these first 8 steps, at this point, the wires are assembled together and the first wrap on one end is completed.
Here is where the instructions start to differ. The number of beads you wish to add and location of where you want them to be on the bracelet will determine the location of the rest of the wraps on the bangle.
To keep things simple, I’m going to add my beads to the middle of this bracelet. However, you can get a different look by adding them in other places or adding more than one grouping of beads.
Once you’ve gotten to this point, you need to decided how much wire will be covered up by your beads. Do this by lining up the beads into the grouping you want. Ideally, you should do this on a bead board so that you can get a measurement without all the beads rolling around. For the piece I’m making, I have one 8mm and two 6mm clear Czech beads, two rondel gold-filled beads, and two small 2mm gold-filled beads. When I lined these up on my bead board, they measured about one inch. Add about 1/2 inch to the measurement of your beads. Since mine were 1 inch, I knew I would need about a 1 1/2 inch space in the middle of my bracelet for these beads.
Find the center of the bracelet and mark it with non-permanent marker. Now divide the measurement of the beads in half. (Mine was 3/4 inches.) Measure this amount from the middle towards the end that you’ve already wrapped.
You will want to do your first wrap in this spot.
Clamp Wire Together
Now pull the middle wire of the bracelet up way from the other wires and slide your beads onto it. Bend the wire back down and put all the wires back together again as they were using a clamp.
More Wire Wraps
It looks kind of weird at this point, but just bare with me. Now, you’re going to add the wrap on the other side of the beads about 1/4 inch away from the beads. Continue to add wraps where you want them and finish the clasp as described in steps 10 and 11 of the Basic Wire Bangle tutorial. Now you’ll have a bracelet that looks a lot like the basic bangle with beads in the middle.
Before you shape the bracelet, there is one more step that really makes the look of this bangle. Using the snap ring pliers, from the back of the bracelet, insert the nose of the pliers in between the middle of the four wire that fit together. Squeeze the handle of the pliers together, and this will force the wires apart. The middle wire that has the beads on it will no seem to be raised some. Just push this wire down with your fingers so that it fits into the diamond shape you just created using the snap nosed pliers.
Now you’ve got your bangle assembled, but you need to shape it. Of course, if you’ve got a bracelet mandrel, you can use that. However, you can also use anything round like a tin can. I notice a 7 inch bracelet fits perfectly around a 6 ounce can of tomato paste. I’ve also seen people use the handle of their raw hide hammer to shape the bracelet by rolling the wire against the handle. Once you’ve shaped the bracelet into a circle, you’re done.
I think the beads really add a lot to this bangle, so I hope you get a chance to give it a try.
The technique I just explained can also be varied. You can add more beads or spread them out and create more than one diamond shape in the center.
Source...