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June 08, 2017

Making Fancy Wire Letters for Initial Pendants

I recently had a custom order for my friends wedding. I had a couple of ideas that I proposed for bridesmaid's gifts in addition to the gift bow necklace that I ended up making.

One of the other ideas was wire initial letter necklaces.

I like initials.  They're cute and obviously somewhat personal.  I've previously done a tutorial on how to make square stitch beaded initial pendants, but I thought I would share some of my wire initials too.

How to wire wrap initial letters with link to template - Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog


My first attempt was this Y. Yes, it's my initial, but I also liked the text abbreviation connotation of why? as well.

I found a free tutorial for this style of wire lettering, so it's not my design. You can find the wire letters in circles instructions on Pinterest.  The information on the page of letter designs looks like it might be Korean to me, but the site that it is re-published on is in Spanish.  The international appeal of wire letters - lol.

I think the trickiest part of this design is making the circle smooth.  I made the circle using the round plastic step mandrels.  Another one of my most useful and inexpensive tools.  Honestly, if you bend wire, this is the best $5 you could spend.  It helps you make consistent sized circles, squares (diamonds), ovals and triangles.  I number the steps on the mandrels and will often include the step number in my sketch book so I can make a similar size item in the future.

One design, I made the wire circle first and then the letter and the other I made the letter first and then the circle.  I think making the circle first comes out better - but it may depend on the letter if that's possible or not.

The 'I' initial is also another slightly tongue in cheek choice.  I don't know anyone who's name starts with I who I would give this to.  It's more a reminder that it's not all about you.  A small letter i instead of the traditional I which kinda screams it's me, me, me. It was also an interesting but easy letter.

DIY fancy wire initial letters for jewelry project - Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

I didn't spend a ton of time worrying about the loop placement on either design. I figure if I was to make them for an order, they could be used for dangles or connecting to a chain.  The concept didn't make it that far anyway.

Here are some simple script wire initials I made at the same time.  I'm not sure I used any guide for these, but maybe they were influenced by this wire alphabet stamp design.

How to make wire initial letters

I had thoughts of making the letters and embellishing them with beads or stones using thinner wire, but then I also liked these plain. For consideration for a future project.

A little more about making wire letters. It's probably not for absolute beginners. I think it takes some practice to make smooth curves and curls.

To make the design, go about it like making the letter without lifting your pencil. Anywhere that you need to re-trace your line, you will be folding the wire to go over a line. The loop flourishes are generally placed at the beginning and end - unless you are going full circle like the dot on the i.  And you also need to think about how and where you will hang the letters from - preferably before you start bending your wire.

A paper template helps - a lot!  You can overlay your wire on the design and mark where to make bends and curves.

The one thing about making initials is that you really need to have someone to give them to, or make them custom order. I'm not sure what I'll be doing with my A and R.

Or this square stitch beaded K. Maybe I'll stick with the texting theme and tell people it's short for OK. Or I'll keep making letters and eventually spell something. It will end up looking like a ransom letter, lol. (You should know that I'm totally going to do this!).

Initial pendants you can make from wire or beads - Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

I think I can spell h-a-i-r-y with a bow on it right now. ha!  Here's a little collection of my bits and baubles,

DIY wire initial pendants and bows - Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

Until next time...

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3 comments:

  1. An amazing idea which is showcased by you, I will use this information for bracelets as it will look amazing.

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  3. I also have a wedding soon. I want something like that, too!

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