HOW TO TURN LOOPS ON HEAD PINS & EYE PINS
WHAT ARE HEAD PINS AND EYE PINS?
Head Pins and Eye Pins are essential jewelry-making components used to string beads and other elements, creating dangles, pendants, and connections within a piece.
Head Pins have a flat or decorative head on one end to prevent beads from falling off, while Eye Pins have a loop on one end for connecting components.
Both are finished by making a loop with the remaining wire, used in everything from basic earrings to complex necklaces.
Follow the simple instructions below to learn how to create loops on your pins.
TURNING A LOOP
You will need: Round Nose Pliers And Cutter Pliers.
STEP 1
Cut your head pin or eye pin to 1cm above your bead.
STEP 2
Use the pliers to bend the pin at a 90° angle.
STEP 3
Grip the end of the pin and turn to start forming a loop.
STEP 4
Bring the end all the way around to close the loop.
MAKING A WRAPPED LOOP
Wrapped loops are more difficult to master but they are useful when you want to make sure there is no gap in the loop.
This can be important if you are looping on to a fine material that might come through the gap.
Follow the step by step instructions below to learn how to create a wrapped loop on your pins.
You will need: Round Nose Pliers, Flat Nose Pliers and Cutter Pliers.
STEP 1
Do NOT cut your head pin or eye pin as you will need a long 'tail' to create your wrap.
Bend it at a 90 degree angle a few millimeters above your beads.
STEP 2
Bring the end around into a loop until it crosses back over the pin.
STEP 3
Grip the loop in some flat or snipe nose pliers and grip the end in your round nose pliers.
Start to wrap the end around the base of the pin.
STEP 4
Wrap around approx 3 times or until you have covered the visible base of the pin.
STEP 5
Cut off any excess using wire cutters.
STEP 6
Your finished wrapped loop should look like this.