Making spirals is a basic wire working technique that adds pizzazz and style to jewelry designs. In this Beading Lesson, I'll show you a few different ways to perfect your skills.

To make a freehand spiral, begin with a basic loop. Use round nose pliers to make a loop, then grip it between the jaws of chain nose or flat nose pliers. Turn your wrist to form a spiral. You can use any size wire for spirals. You can also flatten your spiral with a hammer and bench block.

You can also use a Spiral Making Tool to make it easier. Cut small pieces of wire in the same gauge as the spiral you want to make. Bend them in half and place them around the washers on the tool. This ensures that there is the right amount of space between the acrylic plates to make a nice, flat spiral. Place the wire in the hole inside the tool and turn the handle to form a spiral.

To make an interlocking spiral chain, cut a 6" piece of 20-gauge Artistic Wire and make a spiral on each end. Fold the piece in the middle to form a U shape. Make another matching wire and place the folded part through the U shape on the first spiraled wire. Bend the fold down on the first spiraled wire to hold the second wire in place.