crystal spiral snowflake locket

Designed by Erika Hammerschmidt

needed:

• 180 inches of 26-gauge round half-hard sterling silver wire
• Six 4mm round crystal beads
• Wire cutters
• Round-nose pliers

making the first half

1. Cut a 50-inch length of wire. Curl an inch of one end of it into a spiral.


2. String one crystal bead onto the wire from the other end. Bring it close to the spiral.


3. Measure 1 inch from the spiral. Bend the wire back at that point and cross over to make a loop.


4. Make two more loops as shown. String the wire back through the bead. Bring the bead up to the base of the loops.


5. Twist the loops, leaving only tiny openings at the ends. Twist the remainder of the inch of wire, holding the wire just below the bead with the pliers to make sure a 1/10" gap remains there.


6. String another bead, and measure another inch to create the second arm of the snowflake.


7. Repeat the previous steps until there are six arms. Make sure they are evenly spaced, and that all the loops on the ends of the arms and all the gaps at the bases of the beads are facing the same direction.


8. Loop the remaining wire around the arms of the snowflake one at a time, starting at the center and spiraling outward to create a hexagonal basket-like shape.


9. Stop just before you reach the gaps at the bases of the beads. Twist the wire around one of the snowflake arms a couple of times, and cut off the remaining wire until there is only 1 inch left.


10. Curl that inch into a spiral and bend it to lie flat against the outside of the basket-shape. This side of your pendant will be the top. Set aside the remaining wire; you will need it to make the chain.


11. Cut two new pieces of wire, each 2" long. Stick them through the basket-shape vertically, one on each side, just inside the outermost two corners of the hexagon.


12. Curl one end of one of these pieces of wire around the outside of the nearest corner and back in on the other side, inserting it back through the wall of the basket.


13. Curl the remainder into a spiral inside the basket.


14. Repeat with the other four ends. You should end up with four spirals that will hold a photo in place inside the locket.

making the second half:

15. Cut another 50 inches of wire. Curl the first inch of it into a spiral.


16. Measure 3/4" from the spiral. Bend the wire back at that point, and twist. Make sure that the loop you leave at the end is about 1/4" long.


17. Repeat the previous step until you have six snowflake arms. Make sure they are evenly spaced and that the loops on the ends are all facing the same direction.


18. Loop the remaining wire around the arms of the snowflake one at a time, starting at the center and spiraling outward to create a basket-like shape.


19. Stop when you reach the bases of the loops at the ends of the snowflake arms. Twist the wire around one of the snowflake arms a couple of times, and cut off the remaining wire until there is only 1 inch left.


20. Curl that inch into a spiral and bend it to lie flat against the outside of the basket-shape. Set aside the remaining wire; you will need it to make the chain.


21. Flatten all the loops at the ends of the snowflake arms, except for the one right above the spiral you just created. This will be your top loop.


22. For the top loop, twist and flatten the tip of the loop but leave the base open and round, about 1/10" in diameter. Bend the tip outward, toward the outside of the basket-shape.


23. Curl all the flattened loops outward the same way, except the bottom loop (the one opposite the top loop).


24. For the bottom loop, bend it in a slight curve in the opposite direction from the others, and then turn the tip of it slightly the other way.

attaching the halves:

25. Make sure the second half fits onto the first half, and that all the arms line up. The bent bottom loop of the second half should fit through the gap at the base of the bottom bead on the first half. This will be the latch of the locket.


26. Cut a 1-inch piece of wire. String one end of it through the top loop of the second half, and the gap at the base of the top bead of the first half.


27. Curl the 1-inch wire piece into a spiral linking the two halves together.


28. Curl the other end into another spiral facing the opposite direction, creating a spirally S-shape.


29. Cut another 1-inch piece of wire. String it through the other side of the loops you just joined.


30. Curl it into a spiral S-shape like the previous one.


31. You have just made the links that form the hinge of the locket. They will also connect the pendant to the chain.


32. Make any last-minute adjustments. Make sure the locket opens and shuts properly.

making the chain:

33. Cut the remaining wire into 1-inch pieces. You should make between 70 and 80 of them, depending on how long you want the necklace to be. You may have extra wire left over, which you can use for other projects.


34. The chain will attach to the pendant through the spiral links you made at the end of the previous section. Insert the tip of one of your 1-inch pieces through one of the spirals.


35. Curl the end of the 1-inch piece into a spiral to link with that spiral. Then curl the other end of the 1-inch piece into another spiral facing the other way, to make a spirally S-shape. This is your first chain link.


36. Make another chain link by bending the next 1-inch piece into a spiral S-shape to link with the first one. Continue until you have used half of the 1-inch pieces.


37. For the last chain link on this side, make the final spiral with a somewhat larger hole in the center, so it can serve as the loop for the hook clasp.


38. Starting with the spiral on the other link attached to the pendant, make the other half of the chain in the same way.


39. On the last link, instead of creating a second spiral, bend the second half of the link into a hook. Turn back the tip of the hook, as shown.


40. The necklace is now done. You can insert a small circular photo into the locket by bending the photo-frame spirals upward and then bending them back downward once the photo is in place.