It's been a while since I took a look at an unusual shaped finding so this is a perfect opportunity to see just what a wire guardian is and more importantly, how you use it.
Wire guardians are used at the beginning and end of bracelets and necklaces to help protect the beading wire from abrasion by your clasp, especially in bracelet designs which can take a bit of knocking about as you wear them.
Here's a quick tutorial on how to use them:
String a crimp tube on the end of your beading wire.
Thread the wire up through one arm of the wire guardian.....
and down through the other arm.
String the clasp (or split ring, or whatever finding your design calls for) onto the wire and into the loop of the wire guardian.
Thread the wire back through the crimp.....
and crimp it securely in place.
And here's what it looks like - it's really neat and tidy, the clasp has some wriggle room and the wire guardian stops the beading wire from being worn away by the movement of the clasp.
Wire guardians are relatively new to the jewellery making scene but you should be able to pick them up at bead stores stocking Beadalon products.
'Til next time.....
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