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Garden Gate Clasp Tutorial

Create a wire hook and eye clasp to use with a multi-strand design.  I think this would look great on a bracelet with some floral inspired art beads.  Ah, spring – so glad you are here!
Supplies:
9″ 18 gauge half hard sterling silver wire
4″ 22 gauge copper wire
Tools: Round and chain nose pliers, flush wire cutters, chasing hammer, bench block

Directions:
1. Cut the silver wire into two 4.5″ lengths.  Bend the wires around a tube of beads (or a Sharpie Marker), form into two circles. 
2. Use your fingers to bend and form one circle into a slightly oval shape, a little thinner than the circle.  This part of the clasp will need to fit inside the circle. 
3. Create spirals on the end of wires with round nose pliers, keeping the spirals as uniform as possible.
4. Hammer the ends of the spirals with the chasing hammer on a bench block.  Hammer the circle on the round clasp and the end of the oval.  Don’t hammer on the part of the wires that crosses over each other. 
5. With the chain nose pliers, bend the oval clasp section in half to form the hook.
6. Cut the copper wire into two 2″ lengths and wrap around the center of the clasps.
The last two photos show the clasp in it’s natural state and antiqued with liver of sulphur.
Designers note: Use brass or copper wire to practice this design before trying it in silver wire.

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48 Comment

  1. Kristi Bowman
    April 12, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    I love this clasp Heather, I really look forward to trying it out. Thanks for the instructions!!

  2. Two Dog Pond
    April 12, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    That is a great idea! Thank you – I'm off to try it now.

  3. Katie
    April 12, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    Thank you so much for posting this. I love it,can't wait to try it.

  4. Jane Perala
    April 12, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    Beautiful – what a great idea – thanks for sharing!

  5. diane hawkey
    April 12, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    Brilliant!~

  6. Mil Delicias
    April 12, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    Muchas gracias

    Mil Delicias-Tupilandia

  7. Elaine Ray
    April 12, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    Absolutely beautiful – Thanks for sharing!

  8. Marbella Jewelry Designs
    April 12, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    so pretty!

  9. TesoriTrovati
    April 12, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Gasp! That is simply stunning!
    Thank you for sharing that bit o' loveliness!
    Enjoy the day!
    Erin

  10. Larry Lourcey
    April 12, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Very cool design – guessing it is waay harder than it looks in the photographs!

  11. Malin de Koning
    April 12, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    Great design!

  12. Marian Hertzog
    April 12, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    Wow….that is really pretty! Thanks for sharing! You are so creative!

  13. Sally Anderson
    April 12, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this. I'm not experienced with the wire stuff yet but sure will try this!

  14. Jenni
    April 12, 2011 at 11:22 pm

    I love this clasp. Thank you for sharing your design and instructions.
    Jenni

  15. Beadbug
    April 12, 2011 at 11:31 pm

    What a beautiful clasp thanks so much for sharing.

  16. Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor
    April 12, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    Awesome clasp design Heather! Your work is always so clever!

  17. CraftCrave
    April 13, 2011 at 1:40 am

    Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [13 Apr 01:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

  18. BooBeads
    April 13, 2011 at 2:01 am

    What a lovely clasp!

    Thanks for sharing!

  19. rosebud101
    April 13, 2011 at 2:09 am

    Thanks for the tutorial, Heather. It is a beautiful clasp!

  20. Lupe Meter
    April 13, 2011 at 5:34 am

    I really like this clasp…what a great design and it doesn't look hard at all. Thanks for sharing the tute with us! 8D

  21. JeannieK
    April 13, 2011 at 11:31 am

    This is genius

  22. Alice
    April 13, 2011 at 1:25 pm

    How funny, I just left a comment on your own blog about this lovely clasp.

    Thanks so much for sharing the tutorial!!!!

  23. chicandfrog
    April 13, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    Thanks for sharing! This clasp looks amazing!

  24. Work Of Our Hands
    April 14, 2011 at 1:52 am

    love it thank you

  25. Boston Baked Beads
    April 14, 2011 at 11:46 am

    Beautiful!

  26. Claycass
    April 14, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    Wow! That is nice. Thanks for sharing.

  27. Rosewind Studio
    April 15, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    I just love this clasp! It's simple yet elegant and looks to be suitable for any skill level. Thanks for the mini lesson!
    -Shannon

  28. roseworksjewelry
    April 16, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Cute design!

  29. For My Sweet Daughter
    May 4, 2011 at 11:22 pm

    Thanks for sharing, that is a great clasp!

  30. Jamie
    May 28, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    Thank you for sharing this.. it's awesome! Very pretty..

  31. Dan Zuluaga
    July 9, 2011 at 3:00 am

    This Garden Gate Clasp is wonderful! If you make hand made jewelry as a profession or a past time and haven't tried sterling silver wire, you should. However, due to the increased cost in silver a higher gauge copper wire is more economical and can result in the same resistance or lower much more cheaply.

  32. Linda Larsen
    March 12, 2012 at 3:44 am

    this is a great clasp and very original and interesting…thanks for sharing! found it on Pinterest….

  33. Mixed Kreations
    March 18, 2012 at 10:59 am

    Love this clasp! Most of my clasp are just the simple hook clasp type. I will have to give this one a try.
    Thank you for sharing.

  34. Maro Morales
    April 14, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Thanks for sharing! Is beautiful…

  35. Pearl Blay
    May 21, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    Lovely! It's not often I come across a multi-strand clasp design.

  36. fotolabida1
    June 7, 2012 at 11:53 am

    ΠΟΛΥ ΚΑΛΕΣ ΟΙ ΟΔΗΓΙΕΣ!!!!!!!ΟΜΟΡΦΟ ΣΧΕΔΙΟ!!!!!ΚΑΛΗ ΣΥΝΕΧΕΙΑ!!!

  37. Laurel Hanson
    November 29, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    Love this clasp! Very original!

  38. Divya N
    December 17, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    The process is simpler than I thought..would def try it..thanks

  39. Sublime Wire Jewellery sculptor and Design
    October 8, 2013 at 6:55 am

    Lovely clasp thank you

  40. Style Guide
    December 14, 2013 at 1:31 am

    Great clasp tutorial! I posted a link to you on my site: hope you don't mind!

  41. daisy
    January 31, 2014 at 8:25 pm

    Such pretty design and very clear instructions! I came to this post from Pearl's fb page; think I'm going to give this a try; thank you for sharing this!!

  42. TN HerbFarmer
    July 20, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    I love this clasp. Do you have a picture of it in use?

  43. TN HerbFarmer
    July 20, 2014 at 12:54 pm

    Do you have a picture of it in use? I would love to see it.

  44. Bolaji Borah Oluwafemi
    September 9, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    I am speechless. I love this and I have no excuse but to do it right away.

  45. isabelle laurent
    March 26, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    c'est vraiment superbe, je vais essayer. Merci pour cette très bonne idée

  46. ShantyChicBeads
    February 1, 2016 at 11:56 pm

    Love it!!!

  47. Karin Kaufman
    October 7, 2016 at 4:19 am

    Could you please show how this lovely clasp connects to a necklace?

  48. Unknown
    October 15, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    I am going to try this for my handmade jacket. Lovely looking.

Comments are closed.