Get hooked: make your own beaded brooch

by Esme Dodsworth (Paisley Chainsaw on Etsy)

A wired brooch is cheap and easy to make, and can feature your personal touch - from tiny glass beads to lucky plastic butterfly charms. Esme from Paisley Chainsaw tells you how to make your own...

How to make a wired brooch?

It's not as hard as you might think. Just follow the points below, and if you get stuck, you always have the visual guide on the right as a reference.

What items will I need to make my beaded brooch?

• Any length brooch back
• A mixture of beads (I have chosen glass beads)
• Some fine beading wire
• A large jump ring
• ... and a charm!

What tools will I need to make my beaded brooch?

You will only need two jewellery tools to create this brooch, neither of which are expensive, and both are easy to find:

• A pair of metal cutters
• A pair of round-nosed pliers

Okay, I've got what I need. Now... how do I make the brooch?

Choose the length of wire you would like. It can be as long or as short as you would like. Cut the desired length using the metal cutters.

Secure your first bit of wire by passing it tightly through one of the holes. Wrap it around a couple of times to secure it.

Start to thread on some beads, again you can choose as many or as few as you want. I like to use a contrasting combination of bigger and smaller beads as these create a more dramatic effect.

Once you have some beads on your wire, pass the wire through the next hole on the brooch back.

Using the round-nose pliers, pass the wire again through the same hole and pull tightly so the beads feel secure. This can be repeated again if you decide they feel too loose. Repeat the whole of the above process (the wiring, beading and looping onto the brooch back) as many times as you like, going through all the holes.

Leave a long enough length of wire to wrap several times around the end of the brooch. Using the wire cutters, snip the excess wire away from the brooch.

Squash the wires between your fingers - this will bring the brooch together.

And look... you've now finished your brooch!

But... doesn't my brooch need a lucky charm?

Of course. Every brooch benefits from the good-luck value of a lucky charm. I chose a plastic butterfly as the charm for my brooch.

You will need your large jump ring for this... Open the jump ring, add your charm then on the reverse of your brooch find a central wire to hang the jump ring from.

Once you're happy, close the jump ring.

You may need to squash the wire around again to create your desired effect.

You now have your finished brooch. With charm and all!

I love this brooch style as it is so versatile. Each one is slightly different and they don't take too long to make. Wear your brooch with joy!

Oh... and if you yearn for a handmade brooch but don't have the time or tools to make one, you're more than welcome to browse the handmade brooches and other pretty things at my Paisley Chainsaw store on Etsy :)

But if you make your own, I hope you enjoy it!

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• More: Indie arts and crafts

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