MEMORY WIRE PEARL BRACELET

I have a confession, I love pearls! Sometimes I will forget to wear my wedding ring but I always remember to wear my pearls. I might have a bit of a pearl problem. I have rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets all with pearls on them.  Of course buying all these can cause a bit of hit to my wallet. Instead of buying more and more pearls I decided to make myself some pearl jewelry. I’ll show you how in this pearl memory wire bracelet tutorial!

You can use different types of pearls for this memory wire bracelet tutorial.  I personally love freshwater pearls, something about the imperfect beauty of freshwater pearls makes my heart beat a little faster. Freshwater pearls also help me remember to look for beauty in unusual places. The non-uniformed look of freshwater pearls make for interesting textures and when combined with glass pearls a nice contrast in materials.

It’s no wonder I used freshwater pearls and glass pearls for the bracelets I made. Use the colors that appeal to you most.  We are using neutral colors today but there is a wide variety of pearls and colors to choose from.

We are also using memory wire for our bracelets. Memory wire is great for making bracelets! Memory wire bounces right back to its original shape after stretching it out over and over.

To start, use your round nose pliers to bend the end of your memory wire.  Make a large loop out of the end of the memory wire.  I like to use the largest part of the round nose pliers for this, using the same spot on your round nose pliers will guarantee the loops on both ends of your bracelet will be the same size.

Start to thread on your beads and pearls, using your silver beads as spacers. If it is tough to get the freshwater pearls on the wire you can hold the end of the wire with your round nose pliers and pull the pearl with the other hand.  This will keep you from the finish on the wire or the pearl.

Because the freshwater pearls are not all uniform, every once in a while you might need to make the hole just slightly larger to fit on the memory wire. It is just the nature of using freshwater pearls. Use an auger to make the hole slightly larger, make sure if children are helping with this project an adult handles the auger as it is extremely sharp.

Continue to add on beads using the pattern you like.  For my bracelet I am placing two sliver beads, three glass pearl beads, then two freshwater pearls. Repeat the pattern till you have filled your wire.

You want the ends of the wire to overlap quite a bit so it wont fall off your wrist while wearing.

Leave quite a bit of space between the last bead and where you start to bend the wire.  Bend the wire at the largest part of the round nose pliers to create the loop similar to the loop at the beginning of the wire.

Use your side cutter pliers to the wire as close to the loop as possible.

Now your bracelet is ready to wear.  This memory wire bracelet tutorial is really perfect for learning how to make jewelry!