When you know how to make a wire wrapped loop, it opens many jewelry design doors for you.

Perfect wire wrapped loops enhance both the beauty and strength of handmade jewelry, providing a professional looking finish. It isn’t hard to make a loop with wire – it just takes practice and the right wire loop tools.

This illustrated tutorial on how to make a wire wrapped loop shows my favorite method. Let’s make some wire loops for jewelry projects!

1 Wire Wrapped Loop

How to Make a Wire Wrapped Loop

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Learn how to make a wire wrapped loop with this step-by-step tutorial including photos.

Materials

4-6 inches of jewelry wire. This tutorial shows 20 gauge dead-soft sterling silver wire. (See Notes below for more information on the properties of wire.)

Tools

Wire Flush Cutters
Wire Straightening Pliers (Optional, but very helpful)
Round Nose Pliers
Bail Making Pliers (Optional, not pictured. Sometimes called a wire looping tool. Not used here, but can be helpful if you need to make many consistently-sized loops.)
Chain Nose Pliers
Fine Metal File
Metal Bench Block
Sound Dampening Pad (Optional, but your ears will thank you)
Chasing Hammer
Small Rubber or Silicone Mallet
Safety Glasses (not shown)

Instructions

Gather your supplies as listed above. A word about tools: buy the best that fit your budget. See notes below for more information on choosing tools and wire.
If needed, use wire straightening pliers to smooth out any bends in your wire.
Using chain nose pliers, grip the wire 1 1/2 inches from one end. (If making a wire wrapped loop with a bead already in place, position the chain nose pliers next to the bead, making the bend 1/8-inch from the bead.) With your thumb, bend the wire over the jaw of the plier, forming a right angle, or a 90-degree bend.
Switch to your round nose pliers. Find the place on the jaws with a circumference that matches the size you want your finished loop to be. Place the top of the wire's bend between the plier's jaws.
Keeping the wire secure in the jaws, move the pliers to your non-dominant hand and bend the wire over the top of the upper jaw.
Adjust the pliers in the loop as needed and continue wrapping the wire around the jaw until it resembles a cotter pin.
Continue forming the loop around the jaw until the two ends of wire cross at a 90-degree angle under the loop you have formed. Don't let go!
Pick up the chain nose pliers in your dominant hand and grab the end of the wire with the tip of the pliers. With a firm hold on the round nose pliers in your non-dominant hand, snugly pull the wrapping wire around the shaft 2 or 3 times. These loops should wrap right next to each other.
Wearing safety glasses (flying wire can damage your eyes, perhaps causing blindness), trim the excess wire as close to the wraps as you can with flush cutters.
File smooth any rough edges on the cut. If needed, pinch the end of the wrap in with chain nose pliers.
Your wrapped loop should resemble a lollipop. Use your round nose and/or chain nose pliers to fine tune the shape while the wire is still soft and easy to manipulate.
With your bench block and chasing hammer or rubber mallet, gently tap the loop to work harden the wire, making a strong loop. These pictures show a simple loop, but the process is the same - gentle taps. Take care not to flatten the wraps. The chasing hammer will flatten the wire.Here is the silicone side of the rubber mallet work hardening the loop with less impact and keeping the wire closer to its original round shape. I like the softer hammer when I make both simple and wrapped loops.
And here is the completed wire wrapped loop in a 1-inch disc bead. The process is the same to make a wire wrapped loop at the other end of the bead. Just make the first 90-degree bend about 1/8-inch from the bead for perfect wrap placement.

Notes

All tools are specifically for jewelry making. Household tools will not offer the precision needed for fine wire work.

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Wire for jewelry making varies is material, size and hardness and your choice will vary depending on your project.

Sterling or fine silver is very pliable and easy to work with. Copper is another popular metal for wire working, and is more economical than silver. Craft wire varies from brand to brand.

Wire size is called gauge. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the wire. 12-gauge is used in heavier jewelry than ultra-fine 30-gauge. Heavier wire, 16-gauge and thicker, can require special tools (and strong hands).

The most common hardness choices are dead-soft, half-hard and full-hard, with dead-soft being the most pliable. Most project instructions will specify the preferred hardness to use.

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Why use a wrapped wire loop?

When you want a more secure connection for your wire jewelry, a wire wrapped loop can be an excellent choice. They take a little practice to master, but an evening with your favorite streaming service and a spool of inexpensive copper wire to experiment with will have you ready to take on sterling silver or gold-filled wire with confidence.

You will get to know the “sweet spots” on your round nose pliers for making loops of various sizes. And your wraps will be nice and tidy. With two or three wraps of wire holding a delicate loop in place, your jewelry is naturally stronger.

Really, don’t you just hate crawling around under the restaurant table trying to find all the pieces of the necklace that came apart when you shifted your napkin?

Simple loops hold well in larger gauge wire, but more delicate wire benefits from a few wraps to hold beads in place. The wraps also add a pretty design element, elevating handmade jewelry to the next level.

Browse through more wirework projects and inspiration on Create Whimsy.