{"title":"How to Make a Wire-Wrapped Crystal Suncatcher From a Bangle","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-make-a-wire-wrapped-suncatcher","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Artria Jewelry","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9FYcpCvMiTC90DqUfsZdjg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3eEJx4BfOo"},"tldr":"How to make a wire-wrapped suncatcher: wrap crystal beads onto a bangle with copper wire, hang a faceted crystal and add a beaded chain.","quickAnswer":"How to make a wire-wrapped suncatcher: wrap crystal beads onto a bangle with copper wire, hang a faceted crystal and add a beaded chain. A medium project: about 1 hour 15 minutes. Materials cost about $6 to $15. You need 12 things, including metal bangle, 26 gauge copper wire and 18 gauge copper wire. The 10 steps start with choose a Bangle and Crystals for the Wire-Wrapped Suncatcher and attach the Faceted Crystals to Copper Jump Rings.","totalDurationSeconds":1117,"videoDurationSeconds":1117,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":75,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":75,"estimatedCost":{"currency":"USD","min":6,"max":15},"yield":"1 suncatcher"},"tools":["flush cutters","chain nose pliers (2 pairs)","6-step bail making or round nose pliers","ruler"],"materials":["metal bangle","26 gauge copper wire","18 gauge copper wire","16 gauge copper wire","8mm crystal beads","faceted crystal drop","teardrop crystal","10mm jump rings"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Choose a Bangle and Crystals for the Wire-Wrapped Suncatcher","text":"Pick a bangle for the frame. A thrifted one or an old one from your jewelry box is perfect. Then choose a faceted crystal drop to dangle in the center, where it will catch the sun, and a teardrop crystal for the bottom. Pick 30 to 50 small crystal beads for wrapping around the bangle. Here it is a brass bangle with light pinks, purples and clear beads."},{"number":2,"title":"Attach the Faceted Crystals to Copper Jump Rings","text":"Get the hanging crystals ready before anything else. Use two pairs of pliers to twist a 10mm jump ring open sideways. Slide a faceted crystal onto it and twist the ring closed so the ends meet. Do the same for the teardrop crystal. Set both aside. They get attached once the bangle is fully wrapped."},{"number":3,"title":"Start Wrapping 26 Gauge Copper Wire Around the Bangle","text":"Cut about an arm's length of 26 gauge copper wire, roughly a meter. Hold an inch of the tail against the bangle with one hand. With your dominant hand, wrap the wire around the bangle three times, close together. Keep a firm grip so the wraps stay snug. You do not have to pull hard. Leave the tail for now and deal with it at the end."},{"number":4,"title":"Slide a Crystal Bead Onto the Wire and Wrap the Bangle","text":"Once you have three wraps, slide a crystal bead onto the wire. Push it up against the outside edge of the bangle so it sits on top. Hold it in place with your thumb and wrap the wire around the bangle three more times right next to it. The wraps lock the bead in place. Any size of bead works. These are 8mm crystals."},{"number":5,"title":"Alternate Crystal Bead Colors Around the Bangle","text":"Keep going: three wraps, a bead, three wraps, a bead. Change colors as you go. Artria Jewelry works from light to dark and back again, mixing clear, pink and purple. Hold the wire taut and firm the whole way around. If a bead tilts, nudge it back to the outer edge before you make the next wraps."},{"number":6,"title":"Finish the Copper Wire and Snip the Ends Flush","text":"When the beads meet the start, wrap the wire three to five times to secure it. Five is more secure. Snip the wire on the inside of the bangle with flush cutters, then press the end flat with chain nose pliers. Wrap the starting tail around the bangle too, snip it and tuck it in. Space the beads out evenly if any have bunched up."},{"number":7,"title":"Hang the Faceted Crystal Inside the Wire-Wrapped Bangle","text":"Take one of the crystals you put on a jump ring earlier. Open another jump ring, hook it through the crystal's ring, and close it around the top of the bangle where you want the suncatcher to hang. The crystal should dangle in the middle of the circle. This can get a little fiddly. Two pairs of pliers make it easier to twist the ring shut."},{"number":8,"title":"Make Lollipop Loop Bead Links With 18 Gauge Copper Wire","text":"For the chain above and below, make bead links. Turn a small loop at the end of a piece of 18 gauge wire and center it. That is a lollipop loop. Slide a bead on, bend the wire over and make a matching loop on the other side with looping pliers. Snip the extra with the flat side of the cutters facing your piece."},{"number":9,"title":"Link the Beaded Chain and Teardrop Crystal to the Suncatcher","text":"Connect each new link to the one before by opening a loop, hooking it on and closing it. Build a short chain for the top and attach it to the jump ring on the bangle. Directly opposite, at the bottom, attach a second short chain and hang the teardrop crystal from its end. Use the same bead colors so the top and bottom match."},{"number":10,"title":"Add a 16 Gauge Copper Hanging Loop to the Suncatcher","text":"For the top, you can tie on a ribbon or use a ring. Here a hanging loop is made from about 2 inches of 16 gauge copper wire. Make a small loop at one end, then a larger one at the other so it forms a figure eight. Snip the extra. Twist the smaller loop open, attach it to the top of the chain and close it. Now it is ready to hang."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-22T14:21:37.616Z","published":"2026-10-22T14:21:37.233Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}