Wednesday, August 14, 2013

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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43 comments:

  1. Yours turned out great! A few months ago I bought some wire with the intention of making a ring of my initial and gave up after 2 tries thinking I bought the wrong wire or something. I see the key here is practice :) Why is that always the answer?!

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    1. Thank you so much! I know, patience being the answer is the worst! Where are all the super sneaky tips for being instantly awesome at things? I hope you get a chance to try again. I bet you'd make something lovely!

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  2. Wow! that wire bending looks difficult, I'd probably get frustrated and give up hah! yours turned out so cute :)

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    1. Thanks, Jenn! It was definitely tricky, but it got much easier with practice.

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  3. This would make cute bracelets too :) Love the bright tassel! I think perle cotton would work too... I'm not sure I'd have the patience to do the wire bending though, yours look so pretty!

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    1. Oh I like the idea of a bracelet! I may have to try that next.

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  4. Oh man. Wire words have never been my forte. I made a few a couple years ago and they were... not great. Haha.
    Your necklace looks amazing! So cute. :)

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    1. Haha, bummer! You could always give it another try. Thanks for your kind words, lady!

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  5. Awww! That came out so cute! Such a great idea. And that little tassel, I love it!

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  6. can I just say that I LOVE that you spent the time and effort to do something you're not super comfortable with? this is awesome becca! the hard work definitely paid off :) that would look really cute as a bracelet as well.

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    1. Aw, thanks, Juni! You're the best! I like the idea of trying this as a bracelet!

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  7. Gorgeous! Brilliant idea! x

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  8. get the f out! this is ADORABLE (see what I did there) and I need one.

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  9. Oh man Katie Marie V beat me to the punning! Whatever, I adore the necklace! Teehee! I also love that you used 7' of wire, I am sure it will take me that much to do this project too!

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    1. I'm so happy to be amongst fellow lovers of a good pun! It didn't help that my cats kept stealing 6" bits, but I don't think I can blame them for the whole 7'!

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  10. This is so cute and you are so talented! I'm sure mine would all turn out a gnarly mess if I tried! Love your diys :)
    Amia
    www.teapotsandbelles.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you so much, Amia! I bet with practice yours would turn out great! Mine started out as a gnarly mess, for sure.

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  11. oooh i have some leftover wire, i want to try this!

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    1. I'd love to see how it turns out if you give it a try!

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  12. This is such a gorgeous idea! Definitely want to give this a go.

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  13. Okay, you have way more patience/stubbornness than I do! I think I would give up before I even started this, ha! I'm SO not a crafter. I really want to get more into making things, but right now= too lazy. I think I'll start with stuff you can hot-glue together. :D
    But this turned out so well! I love the end result, and I think it's a great mimic of the Anthropologie one. Only much more special, since you made it yourself! Those kinds of things are the best.
    xo
    Kristina
    www.eccentricowl.com

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    1. Haha, I get real determined sometimes. It's one of the upsides/downsides of being a perfectionist. I gotta get myself a hot glue gun. I feel like it would make my crafting life much easier. One of these days!

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  14. So just add this to the list of things I'm completely jealous of you for being talented enough to make. I want one! This is really just too adorable. You should sell these. Mostly because I love this too much, but don't have the patience to make one of myself. I please borrow your creativity for a day?

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    1. Girl, I bet you would rock it out if you tried it! If I had like 40 more hours in a week, I would be all over an etsy store. I'd love to make more stuff, but that pesky full-time job of mine gets in the way. I'll try to send some extra creativity your way!

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  15. OHMYGOSH THIS IS SO CUTE!! i love the idea -- i've got a spool of leftover wire from attempting to make word ear cuffs, but why have i never thought of making a necklace!? it's so cute how you even added the tassel. i'm definitely going to be attempting this over the weekend. thanks for the inspiration (:

    xx
    Natalie | Salt & Sail

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    1. Thanks, Natalie! You should totally try it out! If you try it this weekend, I'd love to see how it turns out!

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  16. so i've recently started a craft group with the girls at my work and i just showed them this to do at our next party! i really want to make one with my twitter handle. like a new age carrie necklace! cannot wait to try this out!

    xo nicole
    writeslikeagirlblog.com

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    1. I love it! A craft group sounds like so much fun. My current craft group is comprised of me, whose job is doing the crafting, and my two cats, whose jobs are stealing all of my craft supplies. Oof. If you try it out I would LOVE to see how it turns out!

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  17. Oh my goodness I LOVE this DIY! The little string tassle is so cute!

    Xo, Hannah

    sweetsweetnoir.net

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  18. Wow, Erica was right! This is such a clever idea and looks gorgeous! I'm tempted to give it a go!
    Donna xx
    www.polkadot-pink.com

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    1. Thank you, Donna! I hope you get a chance to try it out!

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  19. This is awesome! Love the addition of the little tasstle, so cute.

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  20. This is adorable! I tried this method with hangers for my wedding... ended up in a hot mess! You should totally sell these!!! I would definitely buy a couple! I'd want one that says "True Vintage Love" is that tacky? Having my own blog name on a necklace LOL & one that says "Kendalynn" for my baby girl due in November! ♥

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    1. I think that would be super cute! I'd love to be able to make and sell these, but there's not enough time in the day! If you can see about adding 8 extra hours a day, I'll definitely look into it ;)

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  21. what an amazing job, becca! i have been wanting to do something similar but rather than turn it into a necklace, turning it into a ring. you have inspired me to get my butt in gear and try it out!

    again, yours is so beautiful. :-)

    ~e~ @helloscarlettblog.com

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    1. Thank you! A ring would be super cute (though I'm not sure I'd be skilled enough to make letters that tiny)! I hope it turns out well!

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