Making a beaded wire key ring is a project that almost anyone can accomplish and it does not take a lot of time. You can make your beaded key ring in any color and use different shaped beads for a look that reflects your style or vehicle. Actually the longest amount of time you will spend on this project is in choosing the colors and types of beads that you’ll want to use. Once you begin, the ideas are endless. You can make several key rings to keep or to give as gifts. when working with this pattern, feel free to use the size and types of beads that you like the best.
Cut The Beading Wire
Cut a 15-inch strand of .019 diameter beading wire with wire cutters. If you work a lot with wire, you can twirl one end of the wire around the nose of your pliers to make a loop, leaving about a half inch tail of wire at the end. Once you have the loop made, twist the short end of the wire around the base of the loop. Add a crimp bead and push it over both wires close to the loop that you made. Squeexe the crimp bead closed with needle-nosed pliers. This not only will keep the beads from falling off the end of the wire, but you can hang a decorative charm from the loop.
An alternative way, if you want to do this really easily, is to place a small seed bead onto the wire and position it so it is in the middle of the wire. This is the end bead that will keep the other beads on the wire, because at this point, on the wire.
Add Your Beads.
Join the two ends of the wire together so they are even. The seed bead will be at the bottom of the wire. With the two wires joined together, this seed bead will act as a stop in keeping the rest of the beads on the wires. Using both wires, pick up one seed bead, one 4 mm crystal, three seed beads, one 4mm bead, one 12 mm bead, one 4 mm bead, three seed beads, one 4 mm bead and one crimp bead onto your beading wire. You can add more beads or use several large beads. Remember that you may have to adjust the length of your beading wire to accommodate the length.
Adding The Crimp Bead
Your crimp bead will be the last bead that you add. Place one jump ring or split wire ring onto the wire and then push the wire back through the crimp bead and through the next two beads following. Pull the wire taut to snug the beads close together. You may have to use pliers to help pull the wire. In my opinion, a split ring is better because the chances of the wire coming open is not as easy as a jump ring, so there is less chance of losing your beads. I will give instructions for attaching both to your key ring.
Take your needle-nose pliers and squeeze the crimp bead closed. This compresses the crimp bead and holds the wire securely.
Add a Crimp Bead Cover
Slip a crimp bead cover over the crimp bead. Squeeze the crimp cover closed using a gentle force, but do not squeeze it so hard that you ruin the round shape. Crimp covers help give your key ring a more professional appearance. If you had a crimp bead at the beginning of your keychain, you need to add a crimp bead cover over that as well.
Attaching The Beads to The Key Ring
To attach the beads to the key ring, depending on whether you used the jump ring or the split ring. I’ll start with the jump ring first.
Open up the split ring wire with the tweezers. You can use your fingernail, but it can ruin them. When you have the split ring open, slide on the loop of the crimp end cap on one of the leather strings, followed by one end of your clasp. Turn the split ring wire until the loop and clasp are attached inside the loop. A split ring wire is a spiral wrapped wire that needs to be held open before you can put on or remove the item from it.
Attach the jump ring to the key ring. A jump ring is a piece of metal wire formed into a circle. Feel around the top of the jump ring to locate where the wires come together. Take two needle-nosed pliers and position one on each side of the jump ring, keeping the place where the wires come together at the top between the two pliers. Twist the pliers in opposite directions to open the jump ring. Open the jump ring so the hole is wide enough to slip the key ring through. If you open the jump ring too much or too far, it is difficult to close properly and it also weakens the metal of your jump ring. Attach the key ring and then close the jump ring. You can help secure the jump ring by adding a dot of glue where the two wires meet so they do not come apart easily.
Now all that is left is to add your key or keys to the key ring.
