Fancy “S” Clasp

Skill Level: Beginner/All

Technique: Components

It is so nice to be able to make about every part of your handcrafted jewelry piece, even the clasp. Be sure to check out the Design Variation at the bottom for an even more ornate design!

Materials

• 16- or 18-gauge round dead soft wire
• 16- or 18-gauge half round half hard wire

Tools

• Flat Nose Pliers or Chain Nose Pliers
• 6-step Rounds or Double Barrel Bail pliers
• Wire Cutters

Instructions

1. Straighten measure and cut one piece of round wire: 2¼” for a small hook, 3″ for a long hook, or any length between the two. Use either round nose or chain nose pliers to make a very tiny loop at each end of the wire, in opposite directions.
2. Straighten, measure and cut one piece of half-round wire, 2″ long. Use round or chain nose pliers to make a small, angled loop at one end, leaving it just open enough to fit onto the round wire chosen. Use this half-round wire to wrap the center of the round wire, 6 to 10 times to show. Trim and file the ends smooth before placing them down, flat against the round wire.
   
3. Use the middle step on 6-Step Round or the smaller barrel of Double Barrel Bail pliers to bend a curve into each end of the wire, immediately after and in the opposite direction of, each tiny looped end.
4. Design Variation:  In Step 1, make a tiny loop at just one end of the round wire and thread on a bead or a pearl. Make the second tiny loop at the opposite end, in the opposite direction from the first. In Step 2, when wrapping the half round wire, make 2 or 3 wraps before the bead/pearl, bring the half round down alongside the bead/pearl to its other end, and continue wrapping around the round wire, 2 or 3 times to show. Finish as in Step 3.