How to Make a Heart Necklace with Wire for Beginners + Video

A wire heart necklace like this one turns a few feet of jewelry wire into a pendant you’d actually reach for, whether you’re layering it under a sweater or wearing it on its own with a plain tee.

The whole shape comes from bending and twirling a single length of wire by hand, no soldering or wire-wrapping around a stone involved, so it’s a good next project once you’ve shaped a jump ring or two and want to try something bigger. Give it under an hour to finish, most of it spent getting the two loops to sit evenly across from each other.

If you haven’t shaped your own jump rings yet, that’s a good next stop among our jewelry making tutorials before you start this one, and once you’re hooked on pendants, our necklace and pendant tutorials collection has plenty more wire-based pieces to try next.

Wire Heart Necklace at a Glance

• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Time: 30 to 45 minutes
• Cost: Under $10
• Ages: 12+, with adult help for the wire cutting
• Best for: A handmade Valentine’s Day or anniversary gift

How to Make a Heart Necklace with Wire

Things You’ll Need

Materials

• 16-gauge jewelry wire, sturdy enough to hold its shape once it’s bent into the heart
• Small round beads, strung along the bottom of the heart for a little sparkle
• Pin head wire, to build the dangling teardrop charm
• A teardrop bead, for the charm hanging from the bottom of the heart
• Jump rings, to attach the finished pendant to its chain (you can make your own jump rings too)
• Jewelry chain, long enough to wear the pendant comfortably
• Beading wire, to hold the small beads in place along the heart

Tools

• A ruler, to measure and mark the wire before cutting
• Jewelry pliers with both looping and cutting jaws, for shaping the loops and trimming the wire

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Watch How to Make a Wire Heart Necklace

This video walks through the whole wire heart pendant from the first loop to the finished necklace, if you’d rather watch it than read each step.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Measuring the Wire

Hold the wire spool from its open end and lay a ruler flat in front of you. Line up the open end at the 8-inch mark, since that’s how much wire this pendant uses, then note where the 1-inch mark falls so you know where to cut.

Step 2: Cutting the Wire

Mark that 1-inch point with a marker, or just pinch it between two fingers if you’d rather skip the marker. Snap the cutting pliers through the wire right at that spot to free your working length from the spool.

Step 3: Making the 1st Loop

Grip the very end of the wire with the tips of your looping pliers and roll the wire once around the jaw to form a small circle. Press the open end flat against the wire’s base with the flat-nose side of the pliers so the loop closes and doesn’t spring back open.

Step 4: Turning the Wire

Flip the wire around so the other open end faces you. This is the end you’ll shape into the second loop.

Step 5: Making the 2nd Loop

Form a loop at this end the same way you made the first one. Check that both loops face each other before moving on, since that’s what lets the heart’s two lobes line up later.

Step 6: Making the Twirl Pattern

Hold one of the loops steady with your flat-nose pliers and use your free hand to wind the straight length of wire around it. Keep the winding loose rather than cranking it tight, since a tight coil is harder to adjust later if you change your mind about the size.

Step 7: Making the 2nd Twirl Pattern

Turn to the other loop and wind the wire around it the same way. We kept both twirls the same size for a symmetrical look, but there’s nothing wrong with leaving them uneven if that’s the shape you’re after.

Step 8: Marking the Middle of the Wire

Find the halfway point on the wire between your two twirls and mark it, either with a marker or just by pinching it. This is where the heart’s center dip will form.

Step 9: Bending the Wire

Hold that middle point with your flat-nose pliers and fold the wire at the mark. Push the two twirls toward each other as you fold so they end up close together instead of drifting apart.

Step 10: Adjusting the Heart Shape

Use your fingers to nudge the two lobes and the center dip into a heart you’re happy with. We aimed for symmetry, but a slightly lopsided heart still reads as a heart, so don’t stress over getting it perfect.

Step 11: Adding Beads

Cut about 3 inches of beading wire and coil the open end around one side of the heart near the bottom, wrapping it 3 to 4 times to anchor it. Thread your small beads onto the open end, then coil that end around the opposite side of the heart to lock the beading in place.

Step 12: Adding Teardrop Charm

Slide a seed bead and then a teardrop bead onto a pin head wire. Coil the open end once around the bottom middle of the heart to form a loop, then wrap the remaining wire underneath that loop to secure the charm.

Step 13: Attaching Jewelry Chain

Open a jump ring, hook it through the top loop of the heart, and close it again. Slide your jewelry chain through that same jump ring and the necklace is ready to wear.

Tips for Your Wire Heart Pendant

• Use a thicker 14- or 16-gauge wire for a bigger heart, since it holds its shape better, and switch to an 18- to 20-gauge wire for a smaller, more flexible pendant.
• When you’re closing a loop with the pliers, work close to the tip of the jaws rather than the base. It’s easier to keep the loop tidy that way, and it matters even more on jewelry this small.
• If you want to hammer the wire for texture, do that before you add the beads. Hammering flattens and stiffens the wire, so getting it done first keeps the shape steady while you’re beading.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I use instead of 16-gauge wire for this pendant?

You can go with an 18-gauge wire if 16-gauge feels too stiff to bend by hand. It shapes more easily and still holds a heart pattern fine, though the finished pendant will feel a little lighter and more delicate than one made with the thicker gauge.

How long does it take to make a wire heart necklace?

Most people finish this pendant in 30 to 45 minutes once the wire is cut. The loops and twirls take the longest to get comfortable with, so your first heart will likely take longer than your second or third.

How do I make a bigger or smaller wire heart pendant?

Start with a longer or shorter piece of wire than the 8 inches used here, scaling the whole design up or down. A longer piece gives you a bigger heart with room for larger twirls, while a shorter piece makes a daintier pendant with tighter loops.

Why isn’t my wire heart symmetrical?

Uneven loops or twirls are the usual cause, so check that both sides matched before you bent the middle point. If the heart is already bent and just looks a bit lopsided, you can still nudge the wire back into shape by hand since it hasn’t been hammered or hardened yet.

Can a beginner make this without any wire jewelry experience?

Yes, as long as you’re comfortable holding pliers, though it helps to have made something simple like a jump ring first. The trickiest part for a first-timer is usually keeping the two loops even, so don’t worry if your first attempt looks a little rough around the twirls.

Here are some of our other wire jewelry-making tutorials you may like:

1. Wire wrapping stones
2. How to Make Wire Ring
3. Wire wrapped bead pendant
4. Stud Earrings with Wire and Beads

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