Tutorial - Crocheting a Wire Beaded Bracelet - Part One

Below i will attempt to explain how to crochet with wire, i am not fantastic at the crocheting terms so i have provided links to easy to understand instructions.

You need :-
One Large Metal Crochet Hook - i have used 5.5 crochet hook, because you are used wire - your hook might not be very good for crocheting wool afterwards, though metal hooks stand up pretty well.
24 - 28 Gauge Wire - This wire is found at beading shops and comes in lots of colours. Keep in mind - the thinner it is, the easier it breaks - the thicker it is, the more your fingers will hurt :-)

Different types of Wire from 24 gauge to 28 gauge ( the smaller the number the thicker it is)

Around 100-120 beads - smaller beads work well, not big chunky ones and not heaps of seed beads (really little ones).
One Clasp - Toogle clasps or multi strand clasps work best - I like to use multi strand clasps.

These clasps are from Fire Mountain Gems

Instructions:
5ch
5sc with bead, 1 ch,
continue to length to wrap around wrist - minus length of clasp.

Length of Beaded Wire Needed = wrist circumference MINUS closed clasp length

Step One
Feed all your beads one end of the wire, keeping the rest of the wire on the spool. You will need 1 bead per stitch, 100 beads is a good number to start.

Beads fed onto the wire.

Step Two
First Make a Starting Chain ( or go here) the width you would like your bracelet to be, i have used 5 stitches across. The more stitches the wide your bracelet will be, and the more beads you will need at the start.

Step Three
Start your normal row of stitches, Single Crochet, (or go here) you need to have one bead per stitch (or two if you are useing small seed beads. To do this, push the bead up next to your needle first.
Then push your needle through the loop and hook the wire on the left hand side of the bead, trapping the bead in the loop, and pull the wire back through the hole. Continue along the row, trapping a bead with each stitch. At the end do an extra chain stitch without a bead on the end, then turn your work and work back.

After a few rows your work will look like this, very messy and random, which is perfect!

Tips
Tip One - Because it is messy any mistakes don't matter, you can just move the wire around at the end to look how you want it to.
Tip Two - After finishing one row push up the loops for the next row, like in the picture below. This makes it easier to work out where to stick your needle.
Tip Three - if you are crocheting along and run out of beads before you are finished, just chop off your wire from the spool with plenty of wire to spare and feed on some more beads, then just scrunch up the wire on the end to stop them from falling off.

Tip Four - When you are done pick your favourite side then move around any beads that are facing the other side to look nice from your favourite side

So this is what I have so far.
A beautiful mess! I will finish the bracelet tonigfht and tomorrow i will show you how to attach a clasp!

If you see any mistakes or anything is not clear enough please leave me a note - I am new to crocheting and any advice would be muchly appreciated :-)

A Completed Bracelet with Gold Wire