Royal Wire Bracelet

Heya! You can probably tell by now I have a thing with bracelets, and this time I decided to try making a bracelet with craft wire.

In this Instructables, I'll be showing you how to make a royal-themed bracelet. I call it that because the parts are made into intricate looking crown shapes, and I thought the purple and silver worked well together to give a "royal" sort of feeling.

Materials:

1. 1 mm width silver wire
2. 6 or more shiny purple beads (try 0.5 cm or around that)
3. 1 plier to cut the wire with
4. At least 1 plier to bend the wire. (I have 2 because I found 1 was easier to make sharper twists and the other was better at giving strong squeezes to push a part into place. If the plier's nose is thin enough to make the small twists- you're good.)
5. GLOVES. Those ones with the tough or rubbery palms for working. Not in the pic, but I wished I used them. You want your hands to look gorgeous with your bracelet and not covered be covered in scratches and cuts.
6. Goggles. For safety! While cutting, make sure you have a grip or hold down both the pieces you're cutting or else one side can go flying and get you really hurt. Careful for your fingers, always pay attention to where your fingers and parts are.

Stay safe! And onwards!

Before making, I highly recommend grabbing a sticky note and sketching out the shape of the crown as I did in the picture. That's so you can refer back to it when you're bending the wire and trying to get the shape right for each crown shape you make. Draw it almost if not exactly the size and shape it would be when you actually bend the wire to make the part.

Draw the crown shape about 1.5 cm long and 1 cm high. Again, take what I did as an example. If you get the drawing right from the start, you can get the sizes, twists, and shapes right or at least very similar for all of the crown parts.

It may seem a bit tricky at first, but if you constantly refer back to the drawing to see where to start the next bend, or how wide the loop should be, it'll be okay.

1. Use your bending pliers to bend a teeny loop with the end facing down - that's where you'll link a bead later.
2. Leave a bit of straight space under the loop and make a U shaped bend upwards.
3. Bend the wire downwards again to make the second spike of the crown. Make sure it's a bit taller than the first one.
4. Bend the wire upwards in another small U shape.
5. To make the biggest spike of the crown, make a softer and wider curve than the other spikes. I suggest trying to bend around a thin marker to make the round shape and pulling on the wires long end and squishing that loop a bit to get the shape right.
6. Bend the wire upwards in another U shape and bend the wire symmetrical to the spike before the biggest spike.
7. Bend the wire in another U shape, and finish bending the last teeny spike/loop- that's also where you'll link a bead later. Cut off the excess.
8. Bend the U shape connecting the biggest spike and the spike on its left ontop the U shape connecting the biggest spike and the one on its right.
9. Repeat! Start with making another 6 more.

My bracelet took 7 crown shapes in all since my arm is skinny. For younger or smaller kids, 6 or so may work. For people with wider arms, 8 or 9 may work. Just make more if you don't feel that the bracelet will be long enough. After all, we're going to put the whole thing together at the very end, and we have plenty of time to check and see if it's going to be just right.

Now for the bead connectors. Make sure all the crowns have the left U shape on top of the right one before you link them all together.

1. Add a bead in through the wire.
2. Make a tiny loop with the wire, like you did when you made the tiniest spike of the crown shape earlier at Step 1. Before you completely close it, hook it onto the left spike of a crown shape.
3. Slide the bead right next to the loop so it's touching it.
4. Cut the wire with the cutting pliers, leaving an extra 1 cm to make the next loop on the second side of the wire.
5. Make another loop as you did with the other side, but before you completely close it, hook it with the right spike of a crown shape. Then close the loop.
6. Continue in linking all the crown shapes together until they're all linked together.

Now, all we have left is to make the clasps so we can actually put on the beauty.

Now for the clasps.

Make another teeny loop, bend the wire upward so it looks a bit like a fancy S shape.

Bend downwards to make an upside down U shape, and end with another teeny loop a little lower than the first for dramatic flair. Keep it a bit open since we still have to link it to the rest of the bracelet.

Oh yes. We'll call that second loop "The Dramatic Loop" by the way.

Now, make a second clasp the same way. Make sure to keep The Dramatic Loop a teeny bit open for this one too.

Link The Dramatic Loop of one clasp to the end of one of the crowns. Do the same for the second clasp.

Bam.

We are doneth!

Now, you're done.

Aaand what do you do now?

Wear it. Take lots of fancy pictures, because why not?

When you have the opportunity to look royal, take it!

Have a great time making, and enjoy!