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Seed Bead Adjustable Wire Ring (Tutorial)

by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved

Choose seed beads in your favorite colors to accent this comfortable, adjustable wire ring.

You can make a several of this quick ring design, to match every color in your wardrobe.

Or fill a basket with them and place it next to your checkout stand, where your customers can “impulse purchase” a handful of them!

Supplies:

• Craft wire (or other soft round wire), 20 gauge, 12cm (4.75″) long.
  I used Artistic Wire in gunmetal color.
• 7 seed beads, size 6/0.
• Ruler.
• Wire cutter.
• Cup bur / wire rounder (or jewelry file, emory board, etc.) for smoothing and rounding your wire ends.
• Round nose pliers.
• Chain nose pliers.
• Flat nose pliers.
• Ring mandrel (or other cylindrical object that’s the same circumference as your finger – a highlighting marker, lipstick tube, PVC pipe, dowel, etc.).

How to Make a Seed Bead
Adjustable Wire Ring:

We’ll start by cutting your wire to 12cm (4.75″) long:

Now use your cup bur / wire rounder (or jewelry file, emory board, etc.) to smooth and round both ends of your wire:

With the tips of your chain nose pliers, grasp your wire 4.8cm (1.89″) from one end of your wire:

Bend the longer end of your wire straight upward, making a 90-degree angle in your wire:

Now your wire should look like this:

Now string your seed beads onto the long end of your wire:

Let your row of beads rest against the 90-degree angle in your wire.

Use the tips of your chain nose pliers to grasp the wire right next to your last bead:

Holding your pliers steady, bend your wire end straight downward over your pliers, making a 90-degree angle in your wire:

Now your wire should look like this:

Now use your chain nose pliers to grasp the wire you just bent downward, right next to the 90-degree angle you just made:

Holding your pliers steady, bend the wire end straight upward around your pliers, making a little “U” shape in your wire:

Now your wire should look like this:

Now use your chain nose pliers to grasp the wire you just bent upward, right next to the “U” shape you just made:

Holding your pliers steady, bend the wire end at a 90-degree angle over your pliers, so it goes straight out to the side, like this:

Now let’s go back to the other end of your wire, where you made the first 90-degree bend for the beads to rest against.

We’re going to make a “U” shape bend on this side of the ring.

Use your chain nose pliers to grasp the wire end that has no beads or bends – right next to the 90-degree angle you made there earlier:

Holding your pliers steady, bend the wire end around your pliers, making a little “U” shape in your wire:

Now your wire should look like this:

Now use your chain nose pliers to grasp the wire you just bent, right next to the “U” shape you just made:

Holding your pliers steady, bend the wire end at a 90-degree angle over your pliers, so it goes straight out to the side, like this:

Now your wire should look like this:

It’s time to wrap your wire around your ring mandrel (or highlighter marker, lipstick tube, PVC pipe, dowel, or whatever you’re using).

Being careful not to damage your beads, wrap your wire carefully but firmly around the mandrel.

(I wrapped my ring around size 7 on my mandrel.)

Wrap each wire all the way around the mandrel until the wire ends stick straight up beside your beads:

If your wire wants to spring back, making the ring loose around the mandrel, slide it up to the next smaller ring size on the mandrel and wrap your wire tightly around that size.

When you’re satisfied with the fit of your ring around the mandrel, slid your ring off the mandrel.

It should look something like this:

Now use the tips of your round nose pliers to grasp one of your wire ends.

Curl the wire downward into a small loop to finish off the wire end.

Then make a similar loop to finish off the other wire end:

Now your ring should look like this:

And your finished ring should look something like this: