DIY Wire Bow Charm or Clasp

Who doesn't love to get a gift with a glittering bow on top? Making wire jewelry is a gift you give yourself (or others), so use this tutorial to "put a bow on it". The bow charm is perfect as the centerpiece to a bracelet or necklace, make a pair for earrings or I also used it with a handmade wire hook to make it into a clasp. I'm sure you'll find other options too.

Make every day an excuse to celebrate, just choose some jewelry wire and pick up a few basic wire jewelry tools. My projects use 20 gauge jeweler's brass (gold colored) or twisted sterling silver wire. Use thicker 18 gauge wire if you are rough on your jewelry or prefer a less dainty look.

Making a wire bow is a lot like making a ribbon bow–it can turn out larger than you expected or the loops may be slightly uneven. I've found using a paper template helps make my wire bow size and shape more predictable. I found a simple line drawing on the internet, adjusted the size and printed it out to help guide my wire bending.

The finished wire bows in this tutorial are between 5/8" and 3/4" wide (15-20mm). To make bows of this size, start with a piece of wire 3" long. It's always better to have a little extra wire since you can trim the ends of the wire to size.

To make a larger bow, start with a longer piece of wire. 

Mark the center of the wire by making a slight bend. This makes it easy to find the center with your pliers and does not affect the finished shape of the bow very much. It will make the sides of your bow tilt up if you make a deeper bend, so experiment to discover what you like best.

To make the wire bow, I like to use a special type of pliers called step or bail making pliers. Both tools have consistent sized round plier jaws instead of the cone shaped jaws of regular round nosed pliers. Step pliers have multiple sizes on each side of the pliers, usually three sections of different sizes, sometimes on both sides, while the bail making pliers typically have a different sized round barrel on each side (two sizes total). This makes it easy to make loops of the same size.

Using the pliers of your choice, make the first loop to one side of the center bend as shown in the picture.

Grasp the wire on the other side of the center bend and make a second loop using the same size section on your pliers. If the wire from the first loop is on the front side of the center bend, pull the wire around the back on this loop. This will make your bow sit evenly.

To make even sized loops, you may need to place your pliers a little more off the center of the wire than you did for the first loop. At least, that's been my experience.

Once you have this basic bow shape, it is time to make adjustments like you would with a normal ribbon bow. You can adjust the sizes or angles of the loops or how and where the wires overlap in the center.

To make the wire bow more ribbon like, you can "curl" the wire ends by bending or wrapping the wire using the round nose pliers. Make sure you flush cut the wire ends and file them smooth so they don't scratch or get caught on clothing. An old nail file is perfect for this.

You can also hammer the sides of the bow and the ends. Hammering makes the wire thicker and flare like a real bow does.

This bow pendant is hammered on the ends and loops. To hammer jewelry, you will need a hard, smooth surface, typically a steel bench block or jeweler's anvil, and a smooth ball pein hammer. Tap lightly on the edges of the wire until it flattens. The wire will harden as you hammer, which helps the bow pendant keep it's shape. You can lightly hammer the center where the wires overlap, but if you hammer this area too much, the wire can get weak and break.

Your wire bow can be used in a variety of ways. You can thread chain through the bow loop or add a jump ring to one loop to make a charm or pendant.

Some other ideas to make your bow necklace stand out is to add a loop on the end of the wire and add a bead dangle using a headpin. Or you can make a bow that sparkles by using twisted wire, which will catch the light more. The chain can also be customized to your needs, by using a doubled thin chain or by making a bead and wire wrapped chain to match a special outfit - for example a bridesmaid's dress.

Make a hook from the same wire to create a fun necklace clasp. I replaced an old barrel clasp on a re-do of this garnet bead necklace. Now I don't mind if the clasp turns to the front of my necklace and shows.