1. Pick a headpin, any headpin. A headpin is so-called because they have a head, duh, which stops a bead. As opposed to an eyepin, duh, which gives you another loop at the end to work with. But if you need an eyepin, you don't have to buy them, honey. You're learning to make your own loops right now.

Headpins and eyepins routinely come in 28 gauge to 22 gauge, 28 gauge being the tiniest possible diameter of wire that will actually hold something all on it's own, without reinforcement of some kind. They also come in a variety of lengths. Since we're only making one loop, and not wrapping the wire around the base of the loop as well, we're using a 24 gauge 1 and 1/4 inch headpin.

2. Skewer the beads. The citrine bead has a rather large hole, so besides being a nice design element, the smaller bead also helps the citrine bead from sliding off or being pulled through when we make the loop.

   

3. Meet the pliers. These are miniature flat needlenose pliers that have seen better days. But they still have a good use, which is to measure exactly how much wire we need to make a perfect loop. We use these only for this purpose. See, there's a mark there, we've done it so often. That's a sign we gripped it too hard a few times. You can mark this place with Scotch tape if you'd like.

How much wire you need? Experiment. First, decide how large you want your loop, whether you'll be making the loop at the tip of your round nose pliers, where the loop you make will be the smallest, or back aways, where the diameter will be larger. Then figure out how much wire you need for that process and mark your flat pliers at the point.

4. Grip the wire at this point. Be as gentle as you can about it, so as to not leave marks on the wire.

       

5. Cut the wire with flush cutters close to your mark.

6. Meet the other pliers. Again, these are miniature round-nose pliers that allow for smaller loops in jewelry making.

7. Note that the two tips are different! It's hard to tell without looking closely, but often the tips of round-nosed pliers for jewelry making are shaped something like the diagram depicts. You have to pick one tip and stick with it, or your loops will turn out different each time. Go for the round tip.

   

8. Bend your wire at a ninety degree angle! A book we read that we can't find to credit (but we hope to have some reading recommendations up soon) called this the Holy Bend. Or something like that. Bend the wire at as sharply as possible at 90 degrees from where you want the loop to end, usually at the end of an opening like this. Keep this bend holy. Keep the bend intact for as long as possible while bending the wire.

9. Place the wire in the pliers at the proper place: in the exact middle between the tips of the pliers. Look at the "wrong" part of the diagram for a minute. Imagine what's going to happen to that wire. Is it going to end up a round loop? Okay, now look back at the "right" diagram. Understand why that placement is important now? Sure you do.

Can't I just trim the excess off and end up with a good loop? I'm glad you asked that. No. You can't.

If you do that, problems will result. First, the free end of the wire will be heading past the wire that is protruding from the bead, which will mean the loop is out of round. Second, getting your pliers in there to snip that close will bend the loop as well. The only time you want to have the free end of the wire going past the wire protruding from the bead is when you're planning to wrap it back around the base of the loop. See the mini-tutorial on that technique below.

That said, we should also warn you that if you are using miniature pliers, and wrapping a loop right at the tip, like we are, you're going to find the above instruction--to center the wire between the tips before bending--impossible to follow. There's just not enough space at the very tip to securely grip the wire in that position.

It would be wise to start with bigger loops as practice, so you can learn what a perfectly round wire looks like. There's nothing more important for learning wire-working than to master a perfect round loop that you can replicate.

If you're using miniature pliers, just be as perfectionistic as you can, without causing yourself to wish to punish yourself in some way. A well-attempted round loop at the very end of a miniature pliers will actually result in a symmetrical, slightly ovoid loop that you'll be able to repeat. Such is life. That will work just fine.

Why not use the oval tip of the pliers? We dunno. We hate the oval tips with a fiery passion. But you go ahead.

   

10. Good job. This is exactly how to turn the loop. See how the Holy Bend is still intact? Oops, we see that the wire is not gripped in the exact middle. Well, we told you it couldn't actually be done with the smallest diameter. Forty lashes with a wet noodle, as my Grandma used to say.

Now, when you're turning that loop? You're going to want to have your hands in the same place every time, so that you will see the wire in the same way every time, so as to not allow the loop twist to the left or right. Follow that? Many people position the loop right in front of them so that they can only see the profile of the wire. (Some of those people include us.) Then the wire is wound toward the body so you can continue to keep an eagle eye upon it. Thus you will know the wire is being wound up without drifting to either side. Looking at the profile of the wire (instead of at the front of the loop) and twisting the loop toward your body (instead of parallel to it) is counter-intuitive, but it works precisely. Of course, some people do use different positions. We are snotty about the whole thing, and think those people make many more wonky loops than we do, but you find your own way. It's not rocket science, after all. Just keep your method consistent.

Still not at all sure what I'm talking about? Never mind. Come back and reread this paragraph after you make a couple wonky loops, even though you're sure you've followed all the previous instructions correctly.

Yay! Perfectly skewered and trapped faceted citrine bead earring drops!

   

11. Attach the bead to an earring finding. Of course, pretty soon you'll be able to make this kind of finding yourself, if you want to. Here we're using a gold-filled French Ear Wire. Look at it! Look at it! Get used to looking at jewelry and figuring out how it's made. All you'd need to make this finding besides the tools you already have is a way to make coils, a bead, and a jewelry hammer. Get used to thinking about how stuff is made!

You can also buy other earring findings, such as studs with a loop attached to add a drop to, loops you can dangle lots of drops on, and more complicated spring systems such as lever-backs and non-pierced findings.

Okay, if you've looked at the French Ear Wire you've probably noticed the arrows. You need to open the loop to get the drop on; open the loop in a sideways fashion, so that it will close up neatly again. If you open it out, you will be sorry. Unlike the positions of your hands while you wrap the loop for the drop, this is not just our opinion. This is a fact.

12. Add the drop and close the loop by bending back the loop on the finding to it's original place. If it needs to be snugged down to eliminate a little gap, do that gently. You're done! Oh no wait, you're not done. You gotta go back and do the second earring.

Okay, now you're done. Incidentally, what you're doing here and in the next little tutorial is also called "cold connection", meaning that there is no soldering involved. There are a zillion different ways to accomplish cold connection. This is one is a basic. Ready?

Making a good loop is the gateway to all kinds of jewelry-making possibilities. Think chain, baby! For some kinds of application a simple loop is perfectly adequate, and the simplest solution you can use is usually the best. But for some types of work, such as some types of chain, you're going to want to wrap some excess wire around the base of that loop, so that the next loop you attach to it does not pull through the gap where the loop closes.

1. To do that, instead of cutting off your wire at the precise length, leave some length, but position your round-nose pliers at the exact place you would have cut. What? Are you going to start just anywhere? No indeed. You're just making the same loop above, the same size, ending at the same place, but with a length of wire left over. How would you know where that place was unless you learned the first technique? You wouldn't. Ah so. You see that there is a method in our madness.

The amount of length you'll need varies according to the diameter of the wire. You'll need about an addition inch or so as a "handle" by which to grip the wire to wrap it, too.

2. Make your loop as in the first tutorial; you'll end up with that loop plus an extra length of wire, which, if you did your job right, is sticking straight out at a 90 degree angle to the vertical headpin.

3. Okay, now grip the whole loop with one set of flat pliers, gently. You can also have a tape-wrapped pair of pliers for this purpose to keep from making marks on the loop. There are also plastic-tipped pliers available to help keep wire from being marred while working.

4. Holding the loop in place, with another pair of flat pliers, pull the wire around so that it forms a spiral around the base of the loop.

5. Snip it off close to the bead with flush cutters. Try to make a flat cut that will not leave a burr--a pointy place. If then the tail end of the wire is too pointy, or protrudes in a way that could cause it to snag on clothing or a human being, then depending on exactly what you're doing, you may need to file the end, and/or simply press it gently back toward the bead with flat pliers. Be careful doing this. It's a little detail at the end of the process that if done too aggressively leaves an opportunity to suddenly make your loop wonky.

Okay, then! Get at it! Try a bracelet, maybe! Hey, by the way. Remember that you'll need to make larger loops for loop-in-loop chain. Otherwise it will be stiff and not move easily. You might also want to take a look at the Wedding Section for some other wire-wrapping ideas. Have fun and send photos!

We'll close with another picture of our pretty set.