Crafting Wire Jewelry with Zig-Zag Style

If you're looking for new ideas for making wire jewelry, why not try Zig-Zag Style? You won't find that term in the latest wire jewelry instruction guide nor on the internet. Zig-Zag Style is a creative mood. It's one of the things that happens to me when my brain gets tired but my fingers keep coiling and twisting and swirling wire as though they had a mind of their own.

Sometimes those independent fingers of mine create wire loops or squares or even little wire people. Other times they zig the wire this way and zag it that way, turning wire into zigzag shapes, which I add to bracelets, necklaces and every pair of earrings I make until the Zig-Zag mood fades away. You can do it too.

Tools

Pliers

Round nosed pliers

Hammer and block (optional)

Materials

20, 18 or 16 gauge wire

Any beads you choose

Making wire Zigzags

To give your wire jewelry Zig-Zag Style, you must first make simple zigzag shapes.

-Start with 2 - two inch pieces of wire. Heavier gauges, hold their shape better.

-Bend both pieces at once. (See Illustration)

-Use your pliers to make a right angle 3/8 inches from the end.

-Reposition pliers beneath the first angle and bend the wire in the opposite direction.

-Make several angles this way. Leave 3/8 inch of wire at the end.

-For sharper angles, tighten your grip on your pliers as you bend and push the wire against the pliers' edge with your fingers.

-For symmetry, finish with ends pointing in opposite directions.

-Use round nose pliers to form loops at the ends.

-Leave zigzag shapes long and lean or scrunch them short and tight with your pliers.

Designing With Zig-Zag Style

Making zigzag wire shapes will inspire you to create; in the meantime, here are a few simple earring ideas.

1 - Zig-Zag Beaded

-Use a headpin to add a bead to the bottom of a zizag.

- Add the piece to an earwire.

2 - Zig-Zag Trim

-Attach zigzags to a flat bead surface with jump rings.

-Add trim to the bottom.

-Attach to an earwire with another jump ring.

3- Zig-Zag Bold

-Make a big bold zigzag shape,

-Coil one end.

-Make a loop at the other.

-Hammer piece and attach to an earwire.

Tips for Handcrafted Wire Jewelry With Zig-Zag Style

-Add a pair of zigzags to a necklace.
-Join wire zigzags together with jump rings to make an all-Zig-Zag bracelet.
-Add zigzags as design elements to dangly, party-girl earrings.
-Experiment with different wire gauges and zigzag lengths.
-Hammer your wire pieces for a smooth texture and to retain their shape.
-Be careful, hammering too much can weaken the metal.