The importance of refining your designs

As you develop your craft, brand and artistic style, tailoring and refining designs is as important as coming up with new ones.

I have a small library of wire jewelry making books and sometimes I use a design straight out of those pages. Often I make it as is, using the materials and measurements specified by the author. Sometimes it works perfectly like that, but sometimes I need to modify it to meet my own standards. 

Recently I went through a few different variations with one bracelet trying to make it more wearable. 

I love the smooth ribbons of sterling wire, but the original specs just didn't lay right. At least not on my wrist, which admittedly, is pretty small. It's possible that the piece with the longer ribbons would work on a larger lady and for that reason I have it in the shop (bottom one with the orange beads).

But as I played with the pattern, I found that flat beads work better because they don't break the plane of the wires. They help the flow of the piece by keeping it close to the skin, so I made that change. Another change is that the bead links use simple, headpin loops instead of wrapped loops. With smaller, flat beads, I think wrapping overwhelms them and the beads present less cleanly. Simple loops aren't as strong though, so I use half-hard wire and hammer the loops themselves before attaching them to the ribbons.

If you look at the two aqua versions up there, you'll see that I've increased the ribbon sections by one by making them shorter. The middle bracelet is still too big for me, but that's ok - it's an important investment in my process. The one on the top fits me perfectly but, I put it up for sale. By adding ribbon sections the bracelet is less awkward on smaller women and using smaller beads makes it perfect as a layering piece. 

As I went along, I kept notes about lengths of wire to be cut, placement on the pliers to make the right size loops, size of beads used and how those things interact and effect the other and the total size of the item itself. For instance, if I use 10mm beads, I need a certain amount of wire to make the bead links. If they're larger, I'll of course need to use a longer section of wire. Larger bead links increase the overall length and so the ribbon sections may need to be modified. 

Another thing that can effect how the bracelet works is the wire gauge (thickness). In order to fit three sections into one loop, that loop needs to be big enough - the thicker the wire, the larger the loop. That changes the overall length of the bead links and, by extension, the bracelet, and the wire needs to be cut differently. But by experimenting and keeping good notes as I work, I can reproduce the same bracelet at a later date without having to resort to trial and error again. I also know very quickly how the proportions are going to work - large beads, large wire, large loops v. smaller ones. 

All in all though, this is a very adaptable design. I can use a traditional hook and eye clasp either with or without the eye, instead having the hook attach to a bead link directly (that needs one loop a little larger, which of course effects the length of wire to start with). I can vary the size of the ribbons and the bead links to better fit with the choice of beads. Using larger beads makes it a focal bracelet, smaller for layering or a more minimal look. I can vary the style of bead - rectangle, round or whatever so long as the whole thing drapes well. It's meant to be graceful, fluid, harmonious, so paying careful attention to the design and changing it to fit my vision and brand is key. 

So be brave! Break out of your template and experiment. Especially if you have a niggling doubt that something isn't right. Your judgment is your best guide!