Seven Different Types of DIY Headpins!!

To make all of the headpins in this lesson with me, you will need seven 2 inch lengths of silver plated 26 gauge wire (I may earn from qualifying purchases). You can certainly use other gauges and materials, but that’s what I’m using for the purposes of this lesson.

So, once we’ve straightened all the 2 inch lengths of wire, we can dive in:

We’ll start with the Single Roll Headpin. Bend the very end of one of wires with your chain nose pliers. Use the pliers to flatten the tiny loop, and you have your completed Single Roll Headpin. This is a super easy and super fast way to make a headpin, but it’s important to note that it will only support beads with small holes. Beads with larger holes will require a headpin with more substance.

That said, let’s move on to the Double and Triple Roll Headpins. These headpins start out with the same two steps used in a Single Roll Headpin. To make a Double Roll, hold the single roll in your chain nose pliers and bend the wire up around the roll. To make a Triple Roll, release the pliers and repeat this step one more time.

A Bent Basic Loop Headpin is exactly what it sounds like. Make a Basic Loop on your wire with your round nose pliers. With your chain nose pliers, gently bend the loop to a ninety degree angle so it becomes a shelf for the bead to sit on.

A Spiral Headpin also starts with a small Basic Loop. We then use the same steps we used to create the Roll Headpins. You can change the final look by changing the size of the initial loop. You can even start with a tiny roll to create a tight spiral. To finish the look, you can bend the wire so it sits directly in the middle of the spiral.

To make a Bent Spiral Headpin, add the additional step of bending the spiral to a ninety degree angle so it becomes a shelf for the bead to sit on.

A Coil Headpin begins with a Basic Loop, but instead of just one loop, continue wrapping around the round nose pliers for two or three rotations. You will then have a coil to serve as the bottom of the headpin. Bend the wire at a ninety degree angle so the coil becomes a shelf for the bead.

 The Tied Coil Headpin is exactly the same as the regular Coil Headpin except that instead of bending the wire at a ninety degree angle, you’re going to feed it through the hole in the coil, creating a knot. You may find it easier to pull the wire end with your chain nose pliers to secure the knot. I always find that I get a much prettier end product when I use the pliers to tighten things down instead of my fingers.