How To Make Wrapped-Loop Necklace or Bracelet

This necklace or bracelet consists of a series of beaded wrapped loops and a closure made up of a quadruple-loop eye and a triple-loop hook.

How to Size a Bracelet or Necklace

The first step in making a bracelet or necklace is to size it so you can be sure to buy the right amount of materials.

How to Size a Bracelet

To size a bracelet properly, use flexible measuring tape or a string and a ruler to measure your wrist or neck (or that of the wearer). Add another 1/4–1/2″ for a snug-fitting bracelet to just over 1″ for a looser fit. The final measurement you get is the circumference of your finished bracelet.

How to Size a Necklace

Most necklaces should be no shorter than 14” and can be as long as the style dictates. Select the length of your necklace based on the circumference of the wearer’s neck and how far the necklace should drape. The chart below offers general guidelines for choosing a length.

If you’d like to make a choker, subtract about 2″ from the lower suggested length.

Materials

This project requires the following materials:

• Some number of beads or sets of beads (for the wrapped loops)
• 11 (3″ to 3 1/2″) pieces of wire (for wrapped loops)
• 1 (6″) piece of wire (for quadruple-loop hook)
• 1 (4″) piece of wire (for quadruple-loop eye)
• 2 jump rings

How to Determine the Number of Beads

Before you gather your materials, you first have to figure out exactly how many beads you’ll need to create the wrapped loops. This number will vary based on the length of the beads—the longer they are, the fewer you’ll need to make up the length you want.

To figure out how many beads you’ll need, create one beaded wrapped loop and measure its length. Subtract an inch from the necklace or bracelet length you’ve chosen to account for the size of the closure, then divide that number by the length of the wrapped beads. For example, an 18″ necklace with wrapped loops 1.5″ long will need:

(18 – 1) / 1.5 = 11.333, or 11 wrapped loops

Instructions

1. Create the quadruple-loop eye and triple-loop hook.
2. Create the first beaded wrapped loop, but rather than finish it, stop working before you’ve secured the second loop against the bead. Repeat for all the beaded wrapped loops.
3. Join all the beaded wrapped loops end-to-end by linking the finished loop on one wrapped loop to the unfinished loop on the next, and then completing the unfinished loop.
4. With two pairs of pliers, link each end of the linked beaded wrap loops to the quadruple-loop eye and triple-loop hook using jump rings.