I have been on a jewellery making mission for the past week or so. Having now given wire wrap a go, I find that I’m loving it! It’s so quick to see results, whereas my silversmithing projects have taken weeks and in some cases, months! I have a lot of different pieces to share with you over the coming weeks, but I’m kicking off with my second project from the book “Wire Jewelry Masterclass” by Abby Hook. So here it is – a wire jewellery cascading necklace!
I’ve really enjoyed making this necklace. It’s given me plenty of practice in wrapping chain links, which was my main aim. I calculated that by the time I finished this project, coupled with my previous bracelet, I’ve wrapped a total of 77 links! Not too bad for a person who only started learning wire wrapping one month ago!
My personal view is that this is a great follow on project from the bracelet, and since I bought my beads in a 40cm strand and had plenty leftover from my previous project, a good way to use up some more beads and make something in a similar style. This project is particularly good for building on the wrapping skills from the bracelet, as well as introducing the teardrop wrap and the coiled clasp. It also doesn’t take too long to see results – I spent around 5-6 hours on this project.
Making the Components
Coiled Ring
The book kicks off with instructing you to make a coiled ring, from the Coiled T-Bar and Toggle Clasp page… Of course, I didn’t read the instructions properly and thought I had to make both. You actually only need the piece on the left because the necklace threads through the loop and can then hang freely and slide up and down to change the appearance.
The ring frame is made from 16-gauge wire, and then wrapped with 24-gauge wire. It is the easier to make out of the two pieces – as you can see from the picture, the ring is fairly neat and tidy, but the T-bar is not even in size. It’s an interesting challenge to try and wrap 24-gauge wire around the frame… the wire is very thin, and it seems too easy to get a kink in it. So lots of practice needed!
Coiled Wire Cone
The necklace uses a coiled wire cone as decorative element, as well as to keep the three tassels together. It’s made the same way as for the multi-strand bracelet.
Wrapped Tear Drops
I was so excited to be using gemstones again! So I’ve chosen three rock crystals (18mm x 30mm) which I think were a nice contrast against the pinkish colour of the jade. I wanted to choose a slightly larger stone to make sure I’d be able to wrap the stone properly… I wasn’t quite ready for something small and fiddly yet!
This was my first time wrapping stones, but having wrapped a lot of chain links in the previous project, I’d say it’s pretty similar. The stones were wrapped with 20-gauge copper wire. Be mindful of how close you get to the top of the stone! A couple of times, I got a bit too close and I could feel the pliers applying pressure to the top of the stone… if I’d not been paying close attention, I’d likely have snapped the tip of the stone.
Chain Links
I made the chain links next – a total of 39 for the necklace, plus a smaller chain of 4 links and another chain of 2 links. Although it’s repetitive, I find it’s a fantastic way to practice wrapping. Actually, I find it really therapeutic! I put my kids to bed, make a cup of tea and then get I get into a zen-like mode making these… as long as it’s going right!
By the time I got to the end of this project, my wraps were a lot more consistent – if you look at my previous bracelet, you’ll see links of different lengths, some with 2 wraps to secure the bead, whilst others had 3, and some with exposed wire, where I couldn’t wrap the wire tight enough. I’d resolved a lot of those issues on this project!
Putting It All Together
Here are all my component pieces:
To put together the final necklace, I made another chain link from 24-gauge wire and attached one end to the coiled ring. The book warns you to make the loop bigger to accommodate the 16-gauge wire, which I did. Turns out, I over-compensated and had a huge loop on the end! Have a look and you’ll see what I mean! It’s huge… So I cut it off, and made a new one. I guess it’s all part of the learning process.
Similarly, I made a chain link and attached each of the teardrop stones to the ends of the 2-link and 4-link chains to form the tassels. The 3rd stone is attached to a single chain link, by itself. At some point, I forgot to attach the stone onto the chain link before closing the end… rookie mistake… It wasn’t a big deal – I just added an extra link to my necklace chain in the end.
The three stones with their respective chains are then threaded onto a 20-gauge wire. At this point, it’s worth taking time to make sure you threaded them in order and that they’re all sitting the right way. Then I closed the loop and wrapped it securely. So, all 3 tassels are hanging from the same loop. After that, thread on the coiled cone, add a bead and start to form your final loop to attach to the necklace chain. Make sure you thread the long necklace chain through the clasp before you attach the teardrop. If you don’t, it doesn’t fit through the ring! I had to remind myself several times over… And then wrap the final loop securely. Voila! This is what it looks like on!
Final Thoughts
I’ll be honest – I really like how the necklace looks and I’ve enjoyed making it. However, after wearing it a few days, it started to drive me a bit crazy. The weight of the stones pull the chain downwards and cause it to just swing like crazy everywhere. At some point, I might take the ring off, cut the chain in half and re-make it into a necklace with a clasp that does up at the back. But for now, I’m going to give it a fair chance! And also for anyone wondering whether it turns your neck green… so far I’ve been wearing it for a week or so and no green… yet… I’ll keep you updated!
If you’d like to see how I built up this necklace step-by-step, then take a wander and have a look at the “Cascade Necklace” playlist on my YouTube channel? I’m adding new videos all the time – I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please do share your comments with me! And don’t forget to “like” and “subscribe” to keep up with my latest projects!
