I should start this post off with a quick note: I’m no where near a pro when it comes to jewelry making. I’ve just taught myself a bunch of random things throughout the years. So, now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you what I did last weekend. I took a jewelry making class at Michaels and learned some better ways to do some basic jewelry skills. One thing I learned was how to make a simple eye pin loop for jewelry and now I want to share it with you. I’ve always made my own, but my Michaels teacher taught me a better way to create these so they always come out round and lovely.
How to make a simple eye pin loop for jewelry:
Step 1: Cut a 2 inch length of 20 gauge wire. Grab some round nose pliers and hold them in your hand with the the palm of your hand facing up towards the ceiling.
Step 2: Pick up the 2 inch wire piece in the opposite hand. Grasp the end of the wire with your round nose pliers. Begin to curl the wire by slowly rotating your wrist towards your body until a loop has formed.
Quick tip: if you are making multiple eye pins and need them to be the same size, be sure to grasp them on the same spot on the round nose pliers. If you grasp the wire near the smaller end of the pliers the loops will be smaller. If you grasp the wire near the larger end of the pliers the loops will be larger.
Step 3: Now that you have a loop, let’s straighten it out. Grasp the base of the loop with the pliers and bend the loop back until it’s centered.
Step 4: You’ll notice the loop is still open a bit. To close the loop grasp the open end of the loop with the pliers and gently move it back and forth while pushing it closed. If you need to open the loop to add it to the jewelry use the pliers to twist the loop to the side, don’t pull the loop out (you don’t want to ruin that pretty round loop you just made), and then you can easily move the loop back to the center and close it.
Before I took this class my eye pin loops were never perfectly round. Now I have this technique down and I love it! Have you ever taken any classes from Michaels? I really enjoyed it and it’s really pretty inexpensive since the items needed for the class were already provided for me, but I did buy some fun bright pink beads to make something fun for my daughter.
Did you know that Michaels also offers free classes in their stores? You can try out a new craft skill for just the cost of supplies. Another great way to explore your creativity is by trying out a craft kit. Michaels has everything from sewing kits to art kits and everything in between.
If the class I attended sounds fun to you, check out what classes these other bloggers attended…
– Chelsey
P.S. Michaels provided me with a store gift card to share this blog post with you. All opinions are my own.
