Making Beaded rings

Gather materials. To make your spiral wire bead ring, you'll need sterling silver filled or non-tarnish silver wire (which won't turn your finger green). Purchase a 16 or 14 gauge roll of wire, and make sure it's half hard. For this ring, start with about 12 inches (30.5 cm) of wire. If you want to practice on cheaper wire, buy copper or nickel. You'll also need a bead with a hole in the center, wire cutters and needle-nose pliers.

Size the ring. Place center of wire against your form (a ring mandrel or dowel)and and wrap twice around, leaving the tails long.

Bend the tails so that they are running out from the mandrel or dowel at a 90-degree angle.

Place the bead onto both wires and slide down to the base of the ring.

Bend the wires to a right angle directly on the top of the bead.

Spiral the wires on top of the bead. Start by making a small circle with one of the wires where it emerges from the bead, then push the other wire behind and against it, being careful not to overlap the wires. If you see the spiral start to puff up, use a small block of wood and press gently but firmly on the spiral to push it against the bead as you turn the wires. Continue spiraling until the desired size is achieved. Be sure to leave a tail of at least 2" (5 cm) on each wire to complete. Remove the ring from the mandrel or dowel.

Grab each tail wire and move them to opposite sides of the bead. Wrap each end around the ring close to the bead, being careful not to overlap, until you're happy with the result. (You may need to use the needle nose pliers to do this part. Trim and tuck the wire ends down. If they still seem sharp or like they'll snag on things, use a metal file to smooth out the ends.

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