Make a Station Necklace
Using a Wire Wrapping Technique

Looking for beaded necklace designs? Make a bead station necklace using beginner beaded necklace instructions for a wire wrapping technique.

Beaded Necklace Instructions

This type of necklace is made up of single or multiple bead units, or stations, linked by longer lengths of stringing materials like chain, bead cord or other material.

They were popularized by the tin cup necklace of Hollywood movie fame. A tin cup necklace is a station necklace made of bead cord and bead units.

This is a great beginner wire jewelry project!

Let's get started...

Beading Tutorial Category: Stringing Tutorial

Skill Level: Beginner

Prerequisite Beading Techniques:

How to Make a Double End Wrapped Wire Loop
If you're new to wire wrapping, review and practice the wire wrapping technique first.

Finished Length: 20.5" (52.1 cm)

Bead Jewelry Making Supplies

• 12.5" (31.8 cm) length of chain (rolo link chain)
• 22 1/2" (57.2 cm) of 22 gauge half hard round wire (sterling silver wire)
• nine 10mm beads*
• 2 split rings
• 1 lobster claw clasp

*Beads used to make this bead station necklace: 9.5-10mm round faceted dyed royal blue pearls

Bead Jewelry Making Tools and/or Pliers

• round nose pliers
• chain nose pliers
• split ring pliers
• wire cutters

If you need it, here's a review of jewelry pliers.

Beaded Necklace Instructions:
How to Make a Bead Station Necklace

1. Gather supplies, tools and beads.

Decide on a length for your chain links. Mine are 1 1/4" (3.2 cm). (I wanted to a relatively short necklace with short lengths.)

2. Cut two lengths of chain to that length.

Note: To easily cut equal lengths of chain, cut one length of chain to the desired length. Slide a short length of wire through the first link of the cut chain length. Allow the cut chain length to fall to its entire outstretched length. Slide the first link of the remaining bulk chain onto the wire. Cut the number of required chain lengths to the length of the first chain length.

3. Cut one 2 1/2" (6.4 cm) length of wire from the coil.

Make the first half of a wrapped loop, slide one 10mm bead onto the wire, make the first half of a wrapped loop atop the bead.

4. Attach a length of chain to each of the half wrapped loops.

5. Complete each wrapped loop.

6. Repeat steps 2 - 5, ending with two chain lengths, until your necklace is your desired length.

Note: For my necklace, I cut ten 1 1/4" (3.2 cm) lengths of rolo chain and nine 2 1/2" (6.4 cm) lengths of wire. Cutting the chain and wire lengths as you go ensures that you cut only what you need, cutting down on waste.

To have a bead station be the center of the necklace, use an odd number of bead units. Whichever, chain or bead station, has the odd number of links to make up the necklace will be the center of the necklace.

7. Using the split ring pliers, attach a split ring to the two end chain lengths.

Open one of the split rings and attach the lobster claw clasp to it.

Slide the chain and lobster claw clasp onto the split ring until it closes and both the chain length and clasp are secure.

Finished bead station necklace.

You're done!

Remember, you can make the long links out of just about any stringing material. Make the bead stations out of one or many beads and add bead caps or spacers for a different look.

When making a bead station necklace, you're limited only by your imagination!

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