Jewellery-Making Basics - How to Turn a PERFECT Loop on Memory Wire

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - Leave a Comment

There are a few basic jewellery-making skills that every jewellery maker should master and turning a loop on memory wire is one of them.

How to make a perfect loop in memory wire.

It seems quite straight forward... until you actually go to do it and end up with a lopsided, half-open loop that small beads slide around or catches on your clothes.

But this simple trick will change all that and make your memory wire jewellery look really professional. Read on....

You'll need:

Memory wire

Round nose pliers - this is the style I use.

Memory wire shears. These are absolutely essential. Memory wire is made of steel and trying to cut it with your regular jewellery wire cutters will destroy the cutting blades. I know this from first hand experience!

Cut the memory wire long enough to go around your wrist PLUS 5cm (2"). This will give you a little more than you need but it's better to have a little extra than not enough.

Using memory wire shears to cut a coil of memory wire.

Grip the very tip of the wire in the jaws of the round nose pliers. How far along the pliers you place the wire will determine the size of the loop. For loops in memory wire, I like to make my loop about 1/3 of the way down from the tip, but how far you choose will depend on the diameter of the jaws of your pliers.

Holding the tip of the memory wire in the round nose pliers.

In this example, I'm showing you how to turn an inward facing loop. With the thumb of your non-dominant hand pressing on the outside of the wire, rotate the pliers inwards to turn a loop. To turn an outward facing loop, you'll rotate the pliers in the opposite direction.

Turning a loop in the memory wire using round nose pliers.

Your loop will still be partially open but this is where my little tip comes in. Instead of trying to rotate the pliers again to close the loop, use the thumb of your non-dominant hand to wrap the memory wire around the jaws of the pliers until it meets the end of the wire.