When you have a long section of beads that you want to thread with wire (and have it keep its shape) but the wire is soft, there are ways to support it. One such method is to wrap a frame around the beads.
Start with a generous length of wire – calculating the number of lengths you want to go around it, plus 3″ for the loop and neck on either side, plus extra – just in case.
Thread the bead with wire, as you would normally for a connector. Wrap a loop with round nose pliers and a long neck (the number of times around the shaft depends on how many times you’re planning on wrapping wires around, but I made 5 in the video).
Push the beads flush against that finished loop and do the same on the other side. Once you have finished wrapping, and have reached the beads with your long wire, move the wire along the side of the beads, straightening the wire with pliers as you go, until you have reached the other side.
Holding it firmly, but not pulling so tight that you bend the length of the beads, wrap around the other neck to secure. Continue along with the length. Repeat. Each time, straighten the wire with pliers and continue only after you are happy with the last wrap.
Make sure there is no slack – it is hard to remove slack once you have wrapped around the neck. So, don’t rush and you may have to unravel the first couple of times. You want to end the wrap around one of the necks, and in equal numbers along either side – but it is not absolutely essential.
Trim and straighten out. Now you are ready to add chain on either side using strong jump rings. If you want something even more secure, you could have locked the chain directly into the wire wrapped loop. However, that is not necessary if you’re using strong jumprings. It is also harder to do wraps with the chain flinging about, although not impossible.
