DIY Wire Word Necklace

Hey friend-os! Today I'd love to share a little DIY project for making a wire word necklace. A bit of a mouthful, but you get the idea!

I got the idea about a month back when I spotted the prettiest little necklace on Anthropologie. I was so in love (You could say I adore-d it! Ha!), but had used up all of my spending money, so I decided to try to make it myself!

Oof, you guys. This project took some practice! I am not a lady who is well versed in the fine art of jewelry design, but ya know what? I've got gumption! And I'm patient stubborn! And I really like crafts... so I made it happen!

You can make it happen to! Just be patient, and plan on using your whole spool of wire (or possibly two!) so you can get a feel for it and make your own. Yours, of course, does not have to say, "Adore," it could be any word you like. Your name perhaps? Anyway, here's how to make it:

 

You'll need: a 7ft spool of 16 gauge wire, needle nose pliers, embroidery floss (have you guys started to notice that I use embroidery floss ALL THE TIME?), jump rings, matching chain, matching lobster clasps.

So, to get started, practice. This is not going to be pretty. Seriously. Look at that! Not great. I spared you guys from the first round, which was basically just a pile of gnarly looking wire pieces. 

I would suggest starting off by drawing out your word to get a sense of how you can make the word out of a continuous piece of wire, and then trying to make each individual letter. You can snip a 4" or so section of wire to try each one. Once you get a handle of the letters, try making them connect! Your drawing will help you figure out how to connect everything properly. You gotta remember, this is ONE piece of wire, so you'll have to figure out how to bend each letter to get it to connect. 

Wire's cheap, so don't worry too much if you mess up. I ended up using all 7 feet by the time I was done!

I'm afraid it's a little hard to describe the whole bending process, but hopefully the pictures will help you get a sense of how I got here. Basically you are using your needle-nose pliers (and yer fingers) to create the shape of the letters.

Once you've gotten to the end of your word, make a little loop with the wire, and snip the end so you have a place to attach your tassel. That's what we're making next!

To make your tassel, wrap embroidery floss around your fingers, then remove it and tie another piece of embroidery floss around the section you made on your fingers, just about 1/2" down from the top. After that's done, cut through the bottom loops to free the ends, and trim as necessary to straighten out the tassel. 

You can then wrap a small bit of wire around the knotted piece of embroidery floss. To get the wire to stay tight to the tassel, you'll want to press the wire tighter using your needle-nose pliers.

Next, thread a jump ring through the top portion of your tassel, and through the loop on your last letter. Once the jump ring is threaded through, use your needle-nose pliers to close the ring.

Before you move on, decide how long you want your necklace to be! You can do so by draping some chain around your neck and adjusting your wire word up and down until you find a place you like it. Then, cut the chain to that length, and cut it in half.

Thread a jump ring through your loop or letter, and thread the chain onto the loop. Then close the loop using needle nose pliers. Do this on both sides, then attach the lobster clasp to the loose ends of the pieces chain.

Once you've got the chain and clasps taken care of, you can wear that sucker! My initial frustration learning the ropes of bending wire disappeared when I saw this necklace come together. It doesn't look exactly like the original, but I'm definitely proud of what I ended up with!

It's a great subtle statement piece that can really brighten up your outfit! You can use any color embroidery floss or make any word, so the options are endless!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Til next time!

-Becca

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