Making a Serpentine Seed © Necklace

Before I get into the specifics of this design, I want to state that this particular design (and several that are similar) are copyrighted designs.

That means they cannot be copied and sold without my express permission.

I've worked hard developing my technique and designs and I would appreciate your respect for the originality of my work.  It is a business for me -- not a lark.

That said, here is a picture demonstration of me creating one of my Double Serpentine Seed © necklaces.

---

Step 1: Add seed bead mixture to the wire and coil it

This is the most tedious of all the steps.  To get the seed beads on to the wire, pour a 1/4 c. of the mixture into the hopper of your bead spinner.  Make a crook (like a shepherd's crook) of the 24-gauge wire and dip it into the beads as you spin the device.

Centrifugal force will run the beads up the wire.  As the wire fills, scoot them down and get more.

For the primary bead of this necklace,  you will need approximately 12 feet of seeded wire.

When all the beads are on the wire, make a 6" single coil with the beads on the wire.  Run the wire back through the single coiled bead, and coil it on itself again.

---

Step 2:  Add complementary wire coils

For this set, I am using a large-diameter coil in pink and a small-diameter coil in the light green.

Coil first the large coil into the seeded double coil.  Then coil the small coil into the coil.

---

Step 3: Assemble the necklace

The Serpentine Seed bead is the focal bead for this necklace, so add that to the 20-gauge stringing wire first.  Then add accent beads to fill out the effect.  Finish with 2 pink single coils, cut to size.

Make your hook and eye closure, and it's done.

Step 4: Wear it!

Your necklace is ready to wear.

---

Special Feature:

Because not all women are created the same size and with the same taste, I add a custom extender piece to each necklace that enables the necklace to be worn up to 2" longer, as needed.  There are two eye-loops, an inch apart, that the wearer can choose.

Creating a Simple Coiled Wire Necklace

While I plan to produce my own how-to videos for coiling artistic copper wire into jewelry soon, I wanted to at least get a couple of slideshows posted to demonstrate my techniques.

To start with, let's take a look at my workshop:

That "thing" in the middle is my coiling gizmo.  The coiling gizmo is a wonderful tool that I could not live without, but it absolutely, positively, MUST be permanently mounted to a very sturdy base.

In my case, we mounted it to a thick, heavy piece of walnut wood that is both attractive and functional.

(If you need a base for your gizmo, email me at donna@fashionablywired.com.  I make and sell custom gizmo bases that are made from recycled plastic board.  They are pre-drilled and ready to use, and heavy enough to do the trick.)

Here is the set that I will be making in this demo:

---

Step One: Create your coiled wire components

For this simple coiled wire necklace, I have to create 5-6" single coils using the smaller of the two coiling rods.

I take 3 of the single coils and coil them double again.

---

Step 2: Make the center wire nugget

Then I take one of the double coils, and coil it again, making a triple coil, which I call a Wire Nugget.  This particular nugget is made from the full 6" original single coil, so it is a substantial piece.

---

Step 3: Create the small earring coils

I always make earrings to match each of my necklaces, and I like to make ones that are unusual.  In this case, I am making matching coiled wire earrings.  I create 2-1.5" single coils, and then coil them double.

You can see the resulting earrings here.

---

Step 4: Assemble the necklace

I string all my necklaces on a 2-ft section of 20-gauge wire to match the necklace.  In this case, I am using a bright gold necklace wire.

The 20-gauge wire provides a firm setting for all of my other components.  It keeps its shape nicely and is just the right heft for making the hook and eye clasp at the end.

In this design, I am hanging the wire nugget as a pendant with a crystal dangle at the bottom.  I add various metal accent beads and crystals to fill in the gaps, plus here I have added two painted china beads for effect.

When all the beads and accents are in place, I form a hook at one end of the wire, cinch all the beads up tight to that hook, then form an eye loop at the other end.

---

Step 5: Wear it!

The necklace and earrings are now ready to wear!

In the next post, I will demonstrate the making of one of my Serpentine Seed pieces.

Welcome to the World of Coiled Wire Jewelry!

I was tooling arond on the Internet again yesterday (like I am most days!) and discovered some videos on YouTube on how to coil artistic copper wire with a Coiling Gizmo.

These videos are SO funny!

The people demonstrating the technique look so uncomfortable with it. They have the Coiling Gizmo attached to the corner of a table with a clamp. The spool of (too-heavy) artistic copper wire is dangling off the end of the table and getting in the way.

And overall, they just don't look like they do this very often.

I, on the other hand, do it almost every day. I will soon be producing my own how-to videos, and you will find that the technique is not nearly as tedious, difficult, or uncomfortable as it looks.

My coiled wire jewelry is much finer than that you will see on the existing videos. I use a finer gauge of the artistic copper wire with lots of different seed bead mixtures to give my designs an elegant look.

Wire Ruffle Necklace - Red, Lime, Gold

I make coiled wire jewelry in dozens of artistic copper wire colors and even more seed mixture colors, all of which I create myself. My Serpentine Seed designs are original copyrighted designs.

Serpentine Seed Hair Combs - Poinsetta

In addition to coiling wire for jewelry, I also use a wire jig to create shapes like the one in the picture below. These shapes are beautiful and big, but very light, and make great earrings and pendants. The one in this picture is a stylized celtic knot. I also make: trees, snowflakes, crosses, holly leaves, treble clefs, and happy hearts.

Wire Celtic Knot with Side Wire Striped Coils - Burgundy and Silver

The 24 gauge artistic copper wire is not only great for coiling, but is also just the right gauge for crochet. I make some beautiful bracelets with this wire, some featuring simple crystals in beautiful colors, some featuring fancy lampwork beads and specialty beads, and others which feature my own Serpentine Seed Nugget beads, as in the picture below:

Crocheted Wire Bracelet with Seeded Wire Nuggets

If you would like to see more of my pieces, visit www.fashionablywired.com.