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Razzle Dazzle Spriral

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I don't know about you, but I have a TON of top drilled beads in my stash....bicones, hearts, drops, daggers, you name it. I love how they look, but short of wire wrapping each one, I didn't have many techniques in my beading arsenal to use them. That's why I was so happy when Wyatt showed me this way to use top drilled beads to make a fun spiral design. In this week's Facebook Live Video, Wyatt took us step by step through making a bracelet that is truly razzle dazzle!

Materials:

JW15T-0 19 Strand .018 Beadalon Bead Stringing Wire
Clasp of your choice - I like this one Lobster Clasp 315B-030
JFC1S-1.5G Size 1 Crimp Bead
JFC2S-1.5G Size 2 Crimp Bead
12 (or more) top drilled beads - Wyatt used 8mm 6301 Swarovski Bicones
about 30 4 or 5 mm center drilled beads

 Instructions:

  1. Cut a 3 ft piece of .018 19 Strand Beadalon Wire. Fold it at about 8.5 inches.
  2. Attach a clasp in the fold using a Crimp Bead or Tube.
  3. String about 2.5 inches of center drilled beads on both Wires.
  4. Lock the last bead in place by taking the short wire and threading it around and back through the bead.
  5. Tighten the wire down to hold all of the beads in place.
  6. Thread a bicone on the long wire.
  7. Loop the long wire back around and through the bicone while capturing the short wire in the center.
  8. Repeat step 7 to add all 12 of the top drilled beads. Be sure to loop the long wire around the center wire to keep it in the center.
  9. As you are adding beads, the beads will nest against each other and create the spiral.
  10. Add another center drilled bead and loop the long wire around it to hold everything in place.
  11. Add the rest of the center drilled beads over both of the wires.
  12. Add the other half of the clasp with a crimp bead through all of the wires.
Wyatt made a really good point about using 19 Strand Wire for this project. It's the perfect blend of smoothness and structure. A 49 strand Wire is not actually the best to choose for this technique because it is too supple and won't hold the form of the spiral well. 

I can't wait to practice this technique with different beads from my stash. Did you try it? Be sure to post photos of your designs on the Beadalon Facebook Page!

Happy Beading!
Meredith 


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