Introduction: Wire Wrapping Basics: Wire Wrap Head Pin

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About: I am a teacher, PhD student, and lover of crafting. My favorite things to make are jewelry, paintings, drawings, and music.

This basic technique of wire wrapping will make your beads more secure on the head pin or eye pin. It's also a really gorgeous way to accent your bead work.

As with anything, practice makes better. :-) Don't give up if you don't get it right away, just keep trying. You can do it!

Have fun!

Step 1: Gather Materials

Materials:

Bead(s)
1 head pin or eye pin (a head pin has a flat bottom, an eye pin has an eye)

Tools:

Round-nose pliers
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters

Step 2: Thread Your Pin

Put your bead(s) on the pin!

Step 3: Grasp

Grasp the pin right above your bead using your round-nose pliers.

Step 4: Bend

Holding tightly onto the pin and your pliers, fold the pin/wire backward.

Step 5: Rotate

Rotate your pliers so they are perpendicular to your work surface (they were previously parallel). Bend the wire up, flush against the back of your pliers. This is the beginning of your loop.

Step 6: Bend Forward

Holding tightly to your pliers, bend the pin/wire in front of your pliers. It should start to look like a loop now!

Step 7: Wrap

Holding tightly, wrap the pin/wire underneath your pliers to finish creating the loop. Finished loop should look like this! When moving on, you need two hands. I'm right-handed, so my round-nose pliers stay in my right hand.

Step 8: Wrap #1

Holding the loop tightly with your round-nose pliers in your hand, use your other hand to pick up your needle-nose pliers. Grab the tail of the pin/wire and wrap it once behind.

Step 9: Keep Wrapping

Keep wrapping the tail around the wire underneath the loop to finish it off. It usually takes 2-3 wraps to make the bead(s) tight against the bottom, depending on how big you created the loop.

Step 10: Cut Off the Extra

Using your wire cutters, get as close to flush against the wire as you possibly can, and cut off the extra tail.

Step 11: Finishing

If you have a little wire that's poking out, you'll want to tuck that in using your needle-nose pliers.


Step 12: Congratulations!

That's all! Congratulations, you just wire wrapped a bead! This technique can be used on both sides of a bead, just be sure to leave yourself a tail long enough to wrap completely. Practice practice practice.

Happy Wrapping!