I will admit, I always went for secure and practical in my designs for the majority of my jewelry making career. I used lobster and spring ring clasps with chain on the other side- so that I had a secure and adjustable (practical) closure to my jewelry.
Here is what I didn't like about that. First of all, I didn't make the clasp, and sometimes, they broke.
Second, it was not the punctuation I desired at the end of the sentence, er um, necklace.
Cindy Wimmers "S" clasp tutorial changed my life. Literally.
I was now able to make an "S" clasp, that was pretty, matched my style, and could still make the piece adjustable.
I highly recommend checking it out. And the nice part of these, are you can put your own spin on them.
Here are a few things I have learned about S clasps. First of all, PLEASE do not make them too flimsy. I recommend using nothing below 16g. 16g can even be used to make smaller size clasps....for my big ones, I use 14g, and I still hammer it to work harden it. There is nothing worse then a clasp that can be pulled open.
Another thing I learned, was that using these on bracelets, which I saw everyone doing, so I did it too, doesn't always work. Now, I make my bracelets adjustable but putting chain on the opposite side, allowing people to fasten it at just the perfect length. However, if it is not fastened tight enough, it will slip out and fall off. In order to fix that, I went from make S clasps with the rounder top like Cindy's to these (for bracelets).
These have a longer hook, so that the chain has to travel pretty far back to come undone. They have been working wonderful!!!!
So now you can make an easy practical clasp, but what about making it pretty? Well, I really love how Nikki of Love Root made her S clasp to fit the design of her necklace in this piece (I think Nikki made it anyway)
NOTE: clasp below is by Gail Cormier of Supply you Soul- thanks for that info Nikki!
Use your Wire Work Boot Camp knowledge and carry it into your clasp making- I know you guys can rock this Boot Camp! So once you master making clasps, or if you already have, lets see how creative we can be in making them fit our designs.
