4 Steps to Choose Wire for Jewelry Making

Making jewelry needs many jewelry making supplies like beads, tools, wires and so on. Wires are one of the most important materials for making fancy jewelry. There are different kinds and sizes of wires. You may wonder what kind of wire you should use in the jewelry making. Sometimes, wire plays an important role in the jewelry. It can make your jewelry attractive and stable. You can use it as links for chains, create stone settings and make pendants, earrings and bracelets. Next, we will offer your more information about wire choices.

4 Steps to choose wire for jewelry making:

Step1: Choose your project.

You should know different wire suits for different jewelry. So we should decide what kind of jewelry we are going to make before we choose wire.

Step2: Choose the wire hardness: soft, half-hard, and hard.

Soft wire can be easily bent into many shapes by your hands. It is great for making spirals, loops and round shapes.

Half-hard wire is a bit harder than soft wire. It is designed for making sharp angles or wrapping around itself.

Hard wire is difficult to bend. It can be used to make pins, jumprings, hooks and clasps. It can’t be bent into round shapes.

Step3: Choose the wire gauge.

14-gague and 16-gauge are good for supporting large, heavy jewelry.

18-gauge and 20-gauge wire can be made into most bracelets. We can also use them for clasps, rings and pins.

20-gauge or higher can be used for making earrings and wrapping bead.

Step4: Choose the wire color.

There are many colors of different wires. You can buy the wires in the color suitable for your main jewelry project.

Now, you know the wires better. You can choose the right wire in your jewelry making in future. Hope the above information can help you to create more beautiful jewelry.

Source: 

http://lc.pandahall.com/articles/1179-4-steps-to-choose-wire-for-jewelry-making.html