Wrapped Wire Loop

© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved

You can also see my easy video, How to Make a Wrapped Wire Loop, to learn this technique.

A wrapped wire loop is much more secure than a simple wire loop because it can’t come open accidentally. Here’s how to make one quickly and easily.

A simple bit of wire wrapping makes a professional-looking, secure loop

Tutorial: How to Make a Wrapped Wire Loop

Skill Level: Beginner

Supplies and Tools:

1 piece of round wire, 18 to 24 gauge, about 6″ (15.2 cm) long
round-nose pliers
flat-nose pliers
chain-nose pliers
flush cutters

Procedure:

I always use wrapped loops when I make jewelry, unless the wire I’m using is too thick to wrap or there’s a specific reason for using a loop that can come open again.

It only takes a moment to make a beautiful, professional-looking wrap, and I think it’s an important quality and durability feature for handmade jewelry.

Some people think it’s hard to wrap loops, but I think that’s because they haven’t seen this easy technique!

We’re going to start with our round-nose pliers.

About midway up one jaw of your round-nose pliers, mark a line using a Sharpie marker. If you always place your wire on this line when making a loop, all of your loops will turn out the same uniform size:

Use your round nose pliers to grip the wire. The pliers should be at about the centerpoint of your piece of wire, to leave you a tail to wrap after making the loop.

The wire should be resting on the Sharpie-marker line of your pliers jaw:

Now wrap the wire around one jaw of your pliers, rolling your pliers as necessary to enable you to make a complete loop around the pliers jaw.

Now you should have a loop with a tail – and the loop isn’t centered, but lopsided and “P” shaped:

You’re finished with the round nose pliers now.

Pick up your chain-nose pliers, and use the very tip of the jaws to grip the loop just above the main stem of your wire.

Gently bend the loop to center it over the main stem of the wire, so it’s no longer a P-shape:

Straightening out the "P" shaped loop, using chain-nose pliers

Put down your chain nose pliers and pick up your flat nose pliers.

Use the flat nose plier jaws to grip the loop you’ve just made. Now you’re ready to make the wrap.

About three wraps is good for most wrapped loops on smaller projects like this one – but depending on your project you may want more than that.

HOT TIP!
The secret to making a nice, even wrap:Pull with tension on the wrapping wire as you wind it around the main wire stem.If you try to push the wire into place, or if you let it bend or get floppy, you won’t get a very smooth, even wrap – and you’ll think this is harder than it really is.

So pull while winding!

Keep the wrapping wire taut as you wind it, and you’ll make a nice, even wrap that you can control easily as you create it.

 

Pull on your wrapping wire as you wind it around the main wire stem

 

Some people like to hang on to the wrapping wire with their chain nose pliers; sometimes you might find it easier to hold it with your fingers.

In this photo I’m simply using my fingers, and I’m pulling it away from the main wire stem as I wind it around.

You’ll need to keep moving your fingers (or your chain nose pliers) to stay out of the way while you’re wrapping.

 

Keep your wrapping wire taut as you continue to wind it around the main wire stem

 

Make sure each wrap lies really nice and smooth next to the wrap before it.

Keep pulling, keep winding, until you have the number of wraps you want.

Pick up your flush cutters and turn them so the flat side of the cutting blade is against the part of the project you want to keep, and the beveled side is against the part of the wire you’re going to remove.

Nip off the excess winding wire as close to your last wrap as you can:

 

Clip off the excess headpin wire, using your flush cutter.

Now use your chain-nose pliers – since they have a nice small tip for doing this – and just kind of turn and squeeze a little bit to flatten down the remaining end of the wire you just cut off.

Sometimes at this point the head of your loop is kind of bent from the work you’ve just done. So you can just use your pliers to do a little straightening, flattening, and bending it into shape if necessary.

 

Straighten and flatten your new creation, using your chain nose or flat nose pliers.

 

So that’s how to make a wrapped wire loop!

Now that you’ve seen how easy it is, I think you’ll be making a lot of wrapped wire loops in your jewelry.