This design evolved from a multi loop fused glass bail that I made at the same time as the single loop bail from earlier in the week. I wasn’t sure how viable it was really going to be, but I have to admit, this thing is ridiculously cute.
Materials needed:
glass (I’m using a blue Bud Light bottle)
jumprings
leather cord
round nose pliers
needle nose pliers
glass glue
Step 1:
Make the multi loop bail. Start by cutting the glass. For the bail we will need 3 strips of glass:
1@ .25″ x 1.5″
2@ .325″ (3/8″) x 1.5″
Next, cut 3 pieces of nichrome wire at .75″ each. Use the round nose wire to bend these into a U shape.
Start by placing one of the 3/8″ wide strips on the kiln washed triangle bead mold. Add the 1/4″ wide strip to create a V shape on the mold.
Add the prepared mandrel to the glass V, and add 3 evenly spaced glue dots to hold the nichrome wire in place.
Add the 3 nichrome wires with the loop side up.
Now add the last strip of glass.
Step 2:
Making the chimes. The chimes are also created from 3 strips of glass each.
Small Chime:
1 @ .25″ x 1″
2 @ .325″ (3/8″) x 1″
Medium Chime
1 @ .25″ x 1.5″
2 @ .325″ (3.8″) x 1.5″
Long Chime
1 @ .25″ x 2″
2 @ .325″ (3/8″) x 2″
Before we can assemble the chimes, we need to make the nichrome loops. These are more like head pins. Cut 3 pieces of 20 gauge nichrome wire at .75″ long. Using the round nose pliers, make a loop on one end of each wire.
The assembly for the chimes is a bit similar to assembling the bail. Begin by adding a one of the 3/8″ wide strips for each chime to the triangle mold. Add the complementing 1/4″ wide strip to each chime to create a V shape.
Add one nichrome headpin to each chime, with the loop extending out one end of the chime. Use glue if necessary to keep the headpin in place.
Now, fuse the whole thing using the full fuse firing schedule on the triangle mold instructions (also found on the website).
Step 3:
Assemble the chimes. Using your needle nose pliers, open the jump ring. If you haven’t used jump rings before, note that it is important to twist them open. I’m using pliers and my fingernail, but you can use 2 sets of pliers if you like.
Once the jump ring is open, use it to loop one chime to the bail. I’ve done mine in descending order of size, but you can do arrange them however you like.
Twist the jump ring closed until the ends line up
Continue and add the other chimes. I’ve taken a photo of the assembled pendant in my hand for scale.
Last, add a leather cord or chain to the bail bead. You will probably have to ream out the bead release first.
Related articles:
Kiln Formed Beads with Fused in Loops
Triangle Bead Mold Instructions