Wire BirdNest Necklace Tutorial

I saw wire bird nest style necklaces all over Instagram and on mommy blogs.

They're definitely a popular necklace choice and are really easy to make if you're looking for an afternoon crafting project.

Materials Needed:

Jewelry wire

Beads

Jewelry tool for cutting and bending the wire

I chose a silver colored wire at 22 gauge because it seemed thin and pliable enough for this project.  I also chose light pink beads to compliment the color of the wire.  

Start off by cutting five to six feet of wire.  You can definitely go with seven, but five or six feet should suffice.  Take whatever number of beads you would like to use and  place them on one end of the wire, anywhere from three to five inches down.  I eye-balled this because this is the section you will use to to create the "eye-hole" for the necklace.

Loosely start wrapping the long end of the wire around all three beads.  This doesn't require you to go through them, just around.  I would wrap around five times.  To secure the five loops (they are loose at this point), you will feed the wire between one section of the beads.  This will be one connecting point of your nest.  Wrap it around this section two to three times to secure the circumference of the nest.  To this at least two more times for the other points in between the beads.  Once you have the circumference secured, you will no longer have to hold it all together, it looks more like a solid piece at this point. 

Flip it over and start making loops with the long end of the wire.  These also be loose, almost accordion-like, and I chose to make figure-eights.  These will help create the bottom of your nest.

Once you have a good number of figure-eights or loops created (I usually had six done at this point), start feeding the wire through these loops and back around through the points you made earlier.  These points are the spaces between the beads.  Once you have those secured, keep building your nest.  Wrap the wire around the circumference and continue making figure-eights, whatever helps to build your nest.  You have a lot of creative freedom with this part.

Here you can see that I made a fourth "point" but you also see three major points between the beads.  I added a lot of wiring to the sides of the nest by wrapping the wire around.  I chose to add another point to give it more stability.  You know you're just about done when you have about six inches left on the longer end of the wire.  Connect the tail and what's left of the wire at the top and then twist.

Either by using your fingers or your jewelry tool, curve the wire around to create a loop. I used my jewelry tool to hold and stabilize the loop as I twisted the excess wire around the base of the loop to secure it.

There you go! You know have a birdnest pendant and you can either swap out a necklace chain or you can purchase one from any crafting shop.

I think these would be perfect gifts for a bridal party or for the guests of a baby shower.  They're simple to make, inexpensive, and can symbolize so many different things.  I usually see them with new moms and the "eggs" are different colors.  Be creative and add different numbers of beads, different colored wire, and other types of beads.  It's a fun project and perfect for completing while watching a movie.  Now I'm off to give these to friends.

Have a great weekend!

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