Tools and Supplies

• Basic key chain rings are available in local craft shops and online jewelry supply stores. Jump rings are used to attach wire components to the key chain. Select charms or beads made of durable metal, wood or plastic. A piece of felt and a ruler or bead board with measurement labels can serve as your work surface. Chain-nose pliers with a comfortable handle are important for working with jump rings and bending the wire. Jewelry wire cutters remove the excess wire and trim head pins. Select a wire wrapping tool, such as a jig, dowel or mandrel, to bend the wire into the shape you desire.
  
  

Basic Wire Wrap Key Chain

• Cut a piece of wire to the desired length with the wire cutters. Wrap the wire around the jig, dowel or mandrel with the chain-nosed pliers, bending the wire around the rods to make the curves and loops in the wire for your design. Curl the wire into a closed loop at each end. Use the chain-nosed pliers to open a jump ring and attach it to a closed loop of the wire. Slide the jump ring onto the key ring and close it.
  
  

Wire Wrap Key Chain with a Charm or Bead

• Follow the steps to create a basic wire wrap key chain. Open a jump ring with the chain-nosed pliers and attach it to the wire where you would like to place the charm. Slide the charm onto the jump ring. Close the jump ring.
  
  Lay out the beads that you want to attach to the key chain. Slide a headpin through the bead and curl the wire into a closed loop at the end with the chain-nosed pliers. Cut off the excess wire. Open a jump ring and place it through the closed loop of the beaded headpin and the wire. Close the jump ring.
  
  

Wire Wrap a Gemstone

• Wrap half-round wire (wire with a rounded side and a flat side) tightly around a gemstone to create a focal piece on the key chain. To do this, place the flat side of the wire against the stone and secure it with a piece of tape. Continue to wrap the wire around the stone with your hands or chain-nosed pliers until you reach the edge. Finish the wire by curling it around a dowel or mandrel several times and cut off the excess. Attach a jump ring through the final loop at the edge of the stone. Slide the jump ring onto the key chain and close it. Remove the tape.