Jewellery Skills ~ Headpins

When we want to add wonderfully coloured beads to our Mixed Media Art work, we need to use headpins, which have a stop on one end and thread through the beads and have a loop created on the top, so the jump rings can go through.

As an alternative to headpins, eyepins are also available and are used when joining beads together; these come with a loop in one end and, once the bead and end loop are added, are ready for linking to other beads.

Headpins come in different lengths, colours and thicknesses just like the eyelets and jump rings do.

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Adding a Bead to headpin

You need
pliers – flat and pointy nosed or two point nose
wire cutters
bead
headpin

1. Thread bead onto headpin. If the pin is much longer that the beads, use the wire cutters to trim to 1cm (1/2″) longer that the beads.

2. Take the pointy nosed pliers and hold the very end of the pin. Bend into a loop.

3. Then bend the loop back so it sits in the middle of the pin

This bit is VERY fiddly and needs practice. The aim here is to have a closed ring, so it won’t fall apart when attached to our mixed media art work.

4. When the loop is finished, it can be attached to our work using a jump ring


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We have covered so many different jewellery skills over the last few articles. Next we will bring together all of the jewellery skills we have learned to create a wall hanging. The project will include step-by-step instructions, so you can follow along!

Happy Creating!

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Technorati Tags: eyepin, headpin, jewellery elements, jewelry elements

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