'Butterfly Sparkle' Necklace

Tips:

• Work from the spool of wire as much as possible to avoid waste and kinks in the wire
• Gently stroke the wire when hammering and be careful not to hammer any wires that cross
• Adjust the chain and components to the required length.
• Vary the design by adding or reducing components and adding seed beads or crystals onto the butterfly

To construct the filigree butterfly pendant, start by cutting approx. 40cm of 0.9mm wire.  Find the middle of the wire using round nose pliers and create a circle, make a wrapped loop with approx. 8 twists, this creates the head and body of the butterfly. 

Next, make the bottom smaller wings by bending the wire around the handle of pliers, wrap each piece of wire around the body twice working up the body towards the head.

To create the larger wings again use the handle of pliers but make each wing at least double the size of the smaller ones, approx 2cm from the body to the tip of the wing.

Wrap the wire around the body twice, again working up the body.  The end of the wire will form the antennae of the butterfly. Use round nose pliers to form their shape.  To work harden the butterfly frame use a ‘Whammer’ or chasing hammer on a steel block.

Cut x2 pieces of 8cm 0.9mm wire and x2 pieces of 6cm 0.9mm wire.  Use round nose pliers to create 4 swirly ‘S’ shapes. These will fill, decorate and reinforce the wings. Before attaching, work harden the shapes by hammering on the steel block.

Using 0.32mm wire, attach the ‘S’ shapes inside the corresponding wings. Try to position the anchor points in the same points on each of the shapes. Trim the ends facing inside the butterfly and use chain nose pliers to tuck ends in.

Attach jump rings to the top wings of the pendants so that you can add the chain and components. Select the components and layout the design using chain and jump rings to attach to the filigree butterfly.

Once you are happy with the length of the necklace and have attached the bow components then you can attach the toggle clasp with jump rings. It is worth adding 2 jump rings each side to add strength.

To make the charms cut approx 4cm of 0.9mm wire for each head pin. Use round nose pliers and turn a small loop to form the end of the head pin.  Thread on a seed bead and a main bead and then finish with another seed bead. Make a wrapped loop.

Once you have created all the charms that are required, use jump rings to attach to the chain at equal intervals between the crystal bows.