Begin Making Bead Bracelets with Wire
Beginner Beaded Bracelet Instructions

Use these illustrated beaded bracelet instructions to begin making bead bracelets. And, get links to lots of bead bracelet jewelry projects to learn many jewelry making techniques!

Making a Bead Bracelet
with Wrapped Wire Loops

Use an easy wire jewelry making technique to make a beautiful bracelet that showcases a focal bead.

Wire Wrapped Loops Bead Bracelet

Wire Wrapping Technique

The jewelry making technique is a beginning wire wrapping technique called wrapped wire loops.

The technique is explained on a separate page in very detailed step by step illustrated instructions written specifically for beginners. Practice it first if you are unfamiliar with it, then come back and make this lovely bead bracelet.

You'll cut lengths of wire, thread on beads and bead caps to make bead units. Then, to connect the bead units, you'll wire wrap the ends of the wire to one another.

This creates interlocking bead units that makes for very secure, yet flexible wire and bead jewelry.

You can use this wire wrapping technique for making bead bracelets, making entire beaded necklaces, to make a pendant or mix it with other jewelry making techniques to make wire and bead jewelry. It's a very versatile technique.

Let's begin making bead bracelets with wrapped wire loops!...

Tutorial Category: Wire Jewelry Projects

Skill Level: Beginning Wire Jewelry Making

Prerequisite Bead Jewelry Making Technique:

Wire Wrapping Technique: Double Ended Wrapped Wire Loops.

Bead Jewelry Making Supplies

• 1 focal bead about 1" (2.5 cm) in length
• 6 10mm Swarovski® round crystals (your choice of color)
• two bead caps for focal bead
• 14 spacer beads
• 1 - 3 4mm round silver beads
• 1 toggle clasp
• about 24" (61 cm) of 20 gauge half hard round wire
• beading board
• tape measure

Bead Jewelry Making Tools and/or Pliers

• round nose pliers
• chain nose pliers
• wire cutters

If you need it, here's a review of jewelry pliers used in bead jewelry projects.

Making Bead Bracelets
Bead Jewelry Making Instructions

1. Gather supplies, tools, beading board and layout your pattern of beads.

If you do not know your wrist size use a tape measure and measure your wrist. My wrist size is about 7 1/2 " (19.1 cm).

On a beading board, layout your pattern of beads and toggle clasp to fill in this length of space as shown in the picture below.

For now, this is an estimate of the bead units that you'll need for this design. You will check the fit of the bracelet on your wrist as you make the bracelet and add or remove beads until you get a more exact fit.

The difference between your wrist size and the bracelet length is the amount of space taken up by the beads, which don't allow the wire to lie flat against your wrist as the tape measure does.

Pattern for beads:

Focal bead - center at '0' on beading board and place a bead cap and spacer bead on each end.

On each side of the focal place a spacer bead, a 10 mm bead, a spacer bead; repeat for number of bead units it takes to make a bracelet of your desired length.

Each bead unit is about 1/2" (1.3 cm). The toggle clasp is about 3/4" (1.9 cm) long. So, this bracelet will take six bead units, add the clasp and you get about an 8 1/2" ( cm) bracelet. Depending on how your bracelet fits you as you make each bead unit, you may not need all of the 4mm silver beads that are pictured. I used only three of the 4mm silver beads.

2. Cut a 4" (10.2 cm) length of wire to wrap the focal bead.

3. Using the round nose pliers, make the first half of a wrapped wire loop about 1/3 of the way from one end of the wire.

Making Bead Bracelets
Bead Jewelry Making Instructions Continued

4. Using the round nose and chain nose pliers, complete the wrapped wire loop. Thread a spacer bead, a bead cap, a 10 mm bead, a bead cap and a spacer bead onto the wire.

5. Using the round nose and chain nose pliers, complete the second wrapped wire loop. You've made the focal bead unit.

6. Make a 10mm bead unit.

Cut a 3" (7.6 cm) length of wire. Make the first half of a wrapped wire loop. Thread a spacer bead, a 10mm bead and a spacer bead onto the wire. Make the first half of a second wrapped wire loop.

Making Bead Bracelets
Bead Jewelry Making Instructions Continued

7. Now, connect the two bead units by interlocking the open wire loop of the 10mm bead unit to the closed wrapped wire loop of the focal bead unit.

8. Complete the interlocked wrapped wire loop of the 10mm bead unit.

9. Repeat Steps 6 through 8 for the second side of the bead bracelet.

10. Complete the wrapped wire loop on both 10mm bead units.

Making Bead Bracelets
Bead Jewelry Making Instructions Continued

11. Continue to add a 10mm bead unit, alternating sides, to each side of the bracelet until you have a bracelet length that is within about 1 1/2" (3.8 cm) of being closed on your wrist.

Remember to check the fit and length the bracelet on your wrist after adding a bead unit to each side of the bracelet.

For my bracelet, I ended up with three bead units on each side of the focal bead.

Attaching a Clasp to a Bead Bracelet

12. On the last 10mm bead unit, add one half of the toggle clasp to each end of the bead bracelet.

Before closing the last wrapped wire loop on each end of the bracelet, slide the small ring of the larger circle like open side of the toggle clasp into one of the open wrapped wire loops.

Complete the wrapped wire loop.

Making bead bracelets is fun, but sometimes it takes a little work to get the sizing just right. That's what making beaded jewelry is all about! We practice until we get it, not perfect, but the way we want it.

You're done! Do you like making bead bracelets with wire and beads? I hope so. As you continue with bead jewelry making, adding wire to your bead jewelry designs really will allow you to make so much more jewelry.

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