Free Demo! How to Create a Spiral Wire Cage Pendant or Charm!

Here is a demo on how to create these cute wire cages!
(If you just want to make a spiral to cage a bead that you're planning on stringing,
skip the closed-wrapped loop.)

Materials needed:
5-10 inches of wire in whatever gauge you'd like to work with.
(The longer your wire, the larger your cage will be.)
Chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Flush cutters

With your chain nose pliers, bend the wire into a right angle.
Depending on your skill, you want about an inch of the wire bent over to work with.


With your round nose pliers, grab the part of the wire that is bent over.
Make sure that you're grabbing the very corner of the wire, but the noses are on top of one another.
Bend the (bent over) wire around the top of the pliers and down at an angle.


Swivel your pliers so that you have room to work around the bottom,
Swing the wire around the bottom of the pliers so that it is sticking straight out.


Coil the tail end wire around the original base wire 2-3 times.
Cut the excess tail end off with your flush cutter.


Bend the closed wrapped loop into a right angle from the base wire.


Grab the base wire with your chain nose piers and begin to create an outward coil.
Make sure that if your coil is flat on the table, your closed wrapped loop is sticking up.


Continue the coil by grabbing accross the entire thing with your chain nose pliers.
This ensures that you are creating mostly even and uniform bends with the wire.


Continue the coil until you think you've coiled about a third of the wire.


This is what your coil should look like so far.


Switch to the other end of the wire and start an open loop with your round nose pliers.


Grab the loop with your chain nose pliers and begin to coil.


This time around will be easier because you can grab accross the center to coil.


Coil until your spirals are about the same size.
(If your spirals are flipped like an "S" instead of a moustache, don't worry.)


Bring the coils together as close as you can.
(The advantage of having them moustache shaped first is that it's easier for me to make sure that my coils are the same size.)


Bend one of the coils over so that you now have an "S" shape.


Tighten the coils together as close as you can.


Fold the coils on top of one another so that the closed wrapped loop is sticking straight out of the top.


With your chain nose pliers, grab the loop and gently stretch the coils outward.


Hook your round nose pliers into the loop at the bottom and ease the bottom spirals out as well.


Play with the position of the wires unitl you get the shape that you want.


If you'd like, you can even pop a bead inside. ;)

...then switch colors the next day!

Check out www.abbiberta.webs.com for more sweet demos!