How to Make a Crescent Moon Pendant Using Wire

Ah the moon, don't you just love it? I certainly do! But sadly it disappears during the day and although the sun is nice, you can't exactly admire it's beauty (Don't gaze at the sun, kids!)

So why not make a moon that you can carry around with you?

In this Instructable, I will show you:

• How to use household objects to make a crescent moon shape with wire.
• How to add beads to your project using wire.
• Some tips, at the end, on what kind of wire to use if you want to make your moon smaller (for earrings) or bigger (for let's say window decorations).

Lets get started!

You will need:

• Wire: I'm using 18 gauge and 26 gauge silver plated wire (remember the higher the gauge the thinner the wire so you can use your judgement!)
• Four Beads: Mine are 6mm Czech glass but you can use 4mm beads or 8mm just up or lower the number of beads you use.
• A Ruler
• Piers: Flat nosed, Round nosed, Snips
• Two tubes/ forms: Circumference of mine are 9.5cm & 6cm (3.7" & 2.3")
• Cloth: to straighten your wire

Remember to always cut your wire longer then recommended if you think you need to. It gets easier with experience to determine how much you need for a project but I find it's always better to have too much than too little.

1. Cut a length of your 18 gauge wire 15cm (6") long.
2. Use a cloth (or your sleeve!) to help straighten your wire.

1. Using your ruler measure 9cm (3.5") in on one side.
2. Bend your wire at this point so you now have a long side (9cm/3.5") and a short side (6cm/2.3").
3. Continue to bend the wire along this point until they both meet up (Pic.2)
4. Grab your pliers and "squeeze" the bend so its less open (Pic.3)

Find two forms, one big and one slightly smaller, to aid you in making your moon. I'm using the inside tube off some foil and the handle of *sigh*....... a cheese grater. I too wish it was something cooler but lets move on.

My big tube is 9.5cm (3.7") in circumference and my smaller one is 6cm (2.3").

In these pictures your longer piece of wire is at the bottom and the shorter at the top (see notes on Pic.1).

1. Lay your folded wire on your big tube.
2. Pressing down with your thumb to keep it in place, bend your long piece of wire right around your tube.
3. You should have something similar to Pic.4.

Grab your smaller form and do the same with your short piece of wire.

Now you can do some final tinkering at this stage to get the shape you want. I was pretty happy with mine but thought the part where I bent it was a tad pointy so I just separated it a bit.

Remember the moon is like us, it goes through phases! Be it a punk phase, a Pokémon phase or a Batman phase (although I would consider some of these things more a way of life).

I believe I have gone off topic...

What I'm trying to say is don't get too hung up with the final shape and feel free to experiment with different sizes of tubes.

You might need to use your snips here to cut off a tiny bit of excess wire so you can get the loops the size you want.

1. Grab your round nosed pliers and create a loop on your top wire.
2. Do the same at the bottom.

I recommend not closing your loops fully here as it helps with the wire wrapping in the next step.

Grab your thin wire (26 gauge) and cut a length of it 20cm (7.9") long.

1. Attach the wire to your moon by wrapping it around your top loop 3 times.
2. Cut off any excess and use your flat nosed pliers to push in the sharp point.
3. Wrap through both loops 4 times tightly so both your loops are now touching (see Pic.5)
4. Now wrap your wire on the inside of your crescent 4 times.

Choose some beads to adorn your moon with. I know what you're thinking, great idea using white beads to then take pictures on a white background, to which I'd say..... I have no good excuse (sorry).

1. Thread a bead onto your wire and wrap your wire 3 times around the outside crescent.
2. Continue to add your beads in a zig-zag threading your wire so its going over and then under your thick wire (see note in Pic.2)
3. When you reach the end, finish off by wrapping your wire 3-4 times and cut off the excess (and push in the pointy bit!).

Eye clasps are mostly used in jewelry to attach things together. In this case we are hooking it onto the top loop of our moon so we can then easily hang it onto our chain.

1. Cut a piece of your thick 18 gauge wire 2.5cm (1").
2. Using your round nosed pliers, make a small loop on either side.

You can now clip this onto the top of your moon and close any open loops.

Congratulations, you're finished!

You can make these crescent moons any size you want. If you want to make smaller ones and make earrings I'd recommend using 20 gauge and 28 gauge wire and use some 4mm beads or some "seed beads". If you want to go bigger you can use 16 gauge and 24 gauge wire. It's up to you!

Now go forth and make many moons!!!