Double Wrap Bangle

Judy Larson What can you do with all those beads left over from your projects? With this simple bangle featuring a wrapped closure, you do not need to worry about size, shape or color. Just wrap away! It is so easy and fun to make that you will make a variety of them to have on hand to use as gifts.

Materials: 58 of 20 gauge round wire An assortment of beads-10mm are used here

Tools: Round, flat and bent nose pliers Flush cutter 3/8 and 5/16 mandrels Optional: Wire twister

Directions: Step 1: Straighten and cut one wire (Small-32; Medium -34; Large-36) long and one wire (Small-26; Medium-27; Large-28) long. Step 2: Measure in 11(12 for Large) from the end of the longer wire. Place the 3/8 mandrel on the wire at that point and wrap the wire around it as shown. Using bent nose pliers, pinch the wires together close to the mandrel, creating an eye. Hint: Check out the Braided Wire and Bead Bangle tutorial for a smaller eye. Step 3: Open the eye up slightly. Leaving a 1 tail, wrap the eye with the 26 wire. Note: The first wrap or two will have to be pushed together and back down to the bend in the eye. Step 4: Reshape the eye around the 5/16 mandrel, pushing the two ends of the eye wire close together and making sure that the long wrap wire is pulled to the outside. At this point you may also need to wrap the short wrap wire 1 tail around the eye a time or two.

Step 5: Holding the two eye wires close together, use the wrapping wire to create a neck below the eye, wrapping 4 to 5 times to show. Make sure that the last wrap you make places the shortest wire between the two longest wires, as shown below

Step 6: Trim the short eye wrap tail so that there will be just enough wire to tuck down between the two wires at the base of the eye. Note: The back side of the bangle is the side this wire is bent towards. If your neck wrap wire is on top and not on the bottom as shown, do not worry. Just make sure that from now on you work from the outside or front of the bangle.

Step 7: Note: It is very important to work from the outside or right side of the bangle from this point on. Bend the two longer outer wires out at a 90 degree angle to the center shorter wire. Slide a bead onto the shorter wire. Step 8: Holding the bead tightly against the base of the eye, bring the right outer wire up around the bead, in front of the bead wire, and pull to the left of the bead. Pull the wire to the back of the bead wire and then pull to the right, being careful to not bend the bead wire.

Step 9: Still holding the bead tightly against to base of the eye, bring the left outer wire up around the bead and over the first bead wrap wire in back of the bead and pull to the right of the bead. Pull the wire to the front of the bead wire and then pull to the left, being careful to not bend the bead wire.

Step 10: Slide another bead on the bead wire. Push the bead down as tightly as you can against the wrap wires. Hold the bead in place and repeat Steps 8 and 9. Repeat this process until the bead portion of the bangle is 6 long using 10mm beads, or 6 using 8mm beads. Note: This tutorial shows fourteen 10mm beads for a small bangle. How many beads you need depends upon how tightly you wrap your wire and how close the beads are together. How long this portion needs to be is also dictated by the size of the beads. The larger the bead, the more room it takes up on the wrist, so the longer you need the bead section. For a medium bangle, add -3/8 to the bead length and for a large bangle, add -5/8 to the wrapped bead length. After you have made a few of these bangles, you will have a better handle on how many beads you need to use.

Step 11: Take a close look at the wires that are at the end of the bangle. The wire on the right will be used to wrap the neck of the hook. The wire to the left and the bead wire will be twisted together to form the hook.

Step 12: Make sure that the ends of the two wires to be twisted together are even. Holding the wires wrapped around the bead in place, tightly twist the wires for the hook. Make sure the twist goes in the same direction as the left wire is already going on the bead wire.

Step 13: 1 from the bead, bend the hook wire down to the left of the bead. The hook wire will be longer than you need. Trim it off so that the cut end just sweeps across the top of the last bead. DO NOT CUT THIS WIRE TOO SHORT!! It is better to cut a bit long and trim slightly to get it to fit than to have it too short. Position the cut wire in front of the left bead wrap wire.

Step 14: Pull the right wire up around the front and around to the back again as close to the bead as possible. Continue to wrap until you have 4 to 5 wraps to show, ending on the back. Trim the wrap wire off on the back of the bangle. Use flat nose pliers to flatten and secure the wraps.

Step 15: Using flat nose pliers, bend the hook wire 45 degrees up to the outside of the bangle. Using round nose pliers, bend the hook shape as shown.

Step 16: You may need to push a few of the wrap wires down so that the wraps all match. Step 17: Hook the bangle ends and shape the bangle into a circle or an oval.

Hint: It may help to wrap the bangle around a large cylindrical object like a pill bottle or soda bottle.