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Pinch and Twist Necklace with MultiColor Artistic Wire

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Once again, I got to welcome my beady friend, Emily Scott, to the Beadalon Facebook Live. She is an accomplished beader and wire worker, and it was a treat for me to learn a new technique (to me) - the "Pinch and Twist". I love this technique because it's deceptively simple, but also because it is a perfect way to use a "bead soup" mix. The Jesse James Beads bead mixes are absolutely PERFECT for this technique, and I used the Red Queen Mix that my friend Sarah James put together for me. It's also a perfect technique to showcase the MultiColor Artistic Wire!

Materials:
2 large hole beads
Sari Ribbon

Instructions:

STEP 1
Working from the spool, string up a whole bunch of bead soup - about 36 inches of beads.

STEP 2
Leave yourself about an 8 inch tail, then move a  bead into place. Fold the wire around the bead, then pinch the wire together and twist the bead until it is captured in the wire twist. Be careful not to twist too much, but enough so the bead is captured in the wire.

STEP 3
Leave about an inch of space, then move the next bead into place and pinch and twist the wire around the bead. 
Vary the length of your twists and the distance between each twist.
Make 3 Pinch and Twist Strands 12-15 inches long.
Leave about 8 inches of extra wire on the ends of each strand.
Give a gentle tug to straighten up each strand.

STEP 4
Line up your 3 strands together, and start twisting the wires together at the top of the beads. Twist the wires together on the other end, as well. 

STEP 5
Twist together the beaded portion in the middle by twisting and gently compressing the twist together until you like how it looks. 

STEP 6
Slide a large hole bead over the wire on each end and make wrapped loops to finish it off.

STEP 7
Thread the Sari Ribbon through the wrapped loops and tie a knot or add a clasp. You can also use a chain, a beaded strand, or another material for the rest of your necklace.

What a fun technique to challenge yourself to use a bead soup mix - mix and match and coordinate and contrast! Make sure you post your designs in the Jewelry Making with Beadalon Facebook Group! Follow us on all of the socials including @beadalon and @meredithjoydesigns on Instagram!
Until next time, happy beading!

Meredith

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