I just made quite a few pieces of jewelry to donate to a benefit and I took step by steps of how I did it. Here is what you will need...
~Beads
~Beading Wire (sometimes called Tiger Tail)
~Crimp Beads
~Clasp (I would start off with a variety pack because they will usually also have the wire ring that you will need to attach the dangle part of the necklace and sometimes even the Head Pin as well)
~Bead crimper (You can substitute your pliers if you need to but a crimper is best)
~Needle Nose Pliers
~Wire Cutters or Heavy Scissors
If you want to add on the dangle part of the necklace you will need a Head Pin
You will start by taking your wire and cutting it to the length you need, leave about 2 inches extra for attaching the clasp. Place a bead crimp on the wire and then one end of the clasp. Then loop the other end of the wire back through the bead crimp and crimp the bead. Crimping is a 2 step process and the instructions will be on the box when you buy your bead crimper. If you do not have a bead crimper you can use pliers and just crush the bead flat. This will do the job although the crimp will not be as sturdy and wont look as nice.
You can now cut the excess on the wire tail but leave a little so that you can cover it with the beads you start to add on, if you don't cover the wire with the beads it will itch your neck.
Now start to string on the rest of your beads until you have about an inch or inch and a half of wire left. Now you will do pretty much the same process you started with. Place a bead crimp on the wire along with the other part of your clasp. This part will be a little tougher than the first part because you have to loop the wire back in through the bead crimp and also push it back through the beads you have already strung on. You will want to make sure you do not leave any gaps in the string, crimp the bead on so that it is tight to the string of beads.
If you have some wire left that you cant push through the beads simply use your wire cutters to cut it very closely to the beads so that it doesn't stick out and scratch you while you are wearing it.
You can now start on the dangle part if you want to add it. Take your Head Pin and add on the amount of beads that you want. If you have excess wire left you can use your wire cutters to trim.
Then you will use your needle nose pliers to shape the wire into a loop, if you have round nose pliers these will work really well here. Close the loop completely and then take your wire ring which you will need to open a bit and connect them.
You can now attach the ring to your claps and your done! Here is the finished product.
