These bangles are a simple, elegant classic. They look great in a few different widths, or make a whole armful for real boho style.  For a slightly different take, here’s how to make a trio; two x 2mm wide, one x 3mm wide and a small ring to bind them together. 

You will need:

2 x 22cm lengths of 2mm round sterling silver wire

1 x 22cm length of 3mm round sterling silver wire

1 x 4cm length of 3mm wire

Steel rule

Fine permanent marker

Half round pliers

Medium and Easy solder

Borax cone and Dish

Flux brush

Torch

Brass tweezers

Pickle solution

Piercing saw

Flat sided needle file

Emery paper

A ball peinor chasing hammer

Round bracelet mandrel

Ring or jump ring mandrel

Steel bench block

Tumble polisher

Step One

Measure and mark 22cm lengths of your silver wire.  22cm will make a bangle of approximately 7cm diameter.   Cut using a piercing saw and file the ends flat with a needle file.   Smooth further with fine grade emery paper.

Step Two

Use half round pliers to bring the ends together neatly. Don’t worry about it being a perfect circle at this stage, but do check that you have a good, tight join. File with a flat sided needle file if it isn’t perfect at first!

Step Three

Flux the joint thoroughly, and apply a pallion of medium solder. Solder the ends of the bangle together, remembering to heat the whole bangle, before rocking the heart across the join when nearing the solder melting point.

Step Four

Quench and pickle the bangle. Clean up the joint using emery paper.

Step Five

Place the bangle on your mandrel and hammer all the way around using a ball pein or chasing hammer. It’s easiest and neatest to rotate the bangle, and keep your hammer at a steady angle.

Place the bangle on a steel block or anvil, and hammer all around the side surface. Turn it over, and repeat.

Repeat steps one to five with the other 2mm wire, and the 3mm wire until you have formed all three bangles.

Step 6 

Take your 4cm piece of 3mm round wire, and prepare exactly as you did for the bangles (steps one to four). This time, use easy solder.

Form the small hammered ring around a ring or jump ring mandrel, and hammer the sides.

Step 7

Once it is perfectly round, use a piercing saw to cut through your solder join. This may sound odd, but it’s the simplest way to ensure your binding ring is pefectly circular!

Step 8

Open the binding ring and place the bangles into it. Hold the ring up with soldering pliers and flux and apply easy solder. Alternatively, solder paste is excellent for jobs like this, as it’s great for sticking in place. You won’t need flux if using the paste, as it’s included in the mix. Solder the join.

Step 9

Quench the whole piece, and clean the join of the binding ring. You may want to hammer the sides again to neaten it up.

Step 10

Pickle the whole piece, rinse and tumble polish well.

This will further work harden the bangles, as well as giving them a fantastic shine.

Steampunk- the best way to describe it is one foot in the age of steam, the other in present day!

The computer or laptop you’re currently using- it’s plastic and likely to be a bit bland and mass produced.

Imagine if the Victorian artisans had made your computer! It would be elaborately decorated with brass, polished wood, copper, glass, etching and engraving- decoration for the sake of decoration.

Steampunk is……. What if the future had happened sooner?

The best thing about Steampunk in jewellery making is that all the conventional rules are completely thrown out the window. Materials that you wouldn’t normally put together, colours that you wouldn’t normally marry, the emphasis and use of coils and mechanical parts and items do not even need to be symmetrical to be easy on the eye.

Aquiring the materials is very easy and recycling is greatly encouraged- use old jewellery, break down broken watches and even bottle caps!

So, with a little imagination, anything is possible with Steampunk.

Steampunk themed Charm Bracelet

 

This project was designed by Sian Lyndsay Williamson. Sian is a currently self-taught and runs her website from home, based in Staffordshire. Since moving from her St. Andrews hometown 5 years ago, Sian took up jewellery crafting after struggling to find employment, and has never looked back. Sian hopes to gain her qualifications when her two young sons are in full time education.

Here’s how to make a very quick and easy Steampunk themed Charm Bracelet:

You will need:

Antique Black Jumprings

Gold Plated curb chain

3 Feature Charms- e.g. Swooping Swallow, Owl, Hearts and Keys, Dragonfly, Moon Maiden

Toggle and Clasp

Gold Plated Head Pins

Pink Glass Bead Mix

 Daisy Spacers

Tiny hearts and butterfly spacers

Filigree connectors

Quartz chipstones 

Reclaimed cogs

Chain nose pliers

Round nose pliers

Flush cutters

 Step 1

Start with 35 links of curb chain and attach the clasp and toggle to each end.

Step 2

Slide a tiny butterfly spacer and approximately 4 large quartz chipstones onto a headpin. Make a lopp in the pin, feed onto a link of the chain and wrap the wire around twice. Snip the excess and tuck the wire in.

Using a jumpring, attach a feature pendant to the next but one link along. Mount a glass bead through a headpin between two daisy spacers and attach to the chain using the same method as above.

Step 3

Slide a tiny heart spacer on a headpin and attach this to a cog part. Connect the filigree connector using a jumpring.

Step 4

Connect the filagree to the curb chain, using a jumpring.

Step 5

Fill out the rest of the curb chain, spacing out evenly.

 

Variant- Why not try with different chipstones? Here I’ve used Carnelian and added detail to the cogs with Swarovski Crystals.

You might want to make the feature pendants yourself from art clay silver, copper clay, bronze clay or even wood clay for a more unique touch.