With seed beading, the crowning achievement is often creating an
amulet bag. When making an amulet bag, the beader also includes fringe and a strap. Since I started out with basic beaded necklaces and I enjoy working with wire now also, it didn’t take me long to figure out a way to design a hook that would allow the strap on an amulet bag to be removed and worn as a beaded necklace. I like to make items that can be worn in more than one way. These amulet wire hooks are a super simple project. In fact, I sort of dismissed it as an idea for a project until I started getting asked by my seed bead buddies to make them hooks for their bags. Whether you’re a wire worker or beader, you’ll find these hooks handy.
Just about any size and type of wire could be used to make these hooks. I’ve tried it with square and round, and I’ve also tried a number of different gages. (This is a good way to use up wire scraps too). However, after some experimenting, I find that 18 - 20-gauge round wire seems to work the best. It’s strong enough to handle the weight of the bag, but it’s still soft enough to manipulate into hooks.
You’ll need the following to make these hooks:
Round 18-gauge wire – approx. two inches for each hook
Jeweler’s file
Round-nosed pliers
Chain-nosed pliers
