Sunday, July 6, 2014

Make Your Own Simple Folded End Cones

I love strung and knotted pieces, and it always requires a lot of head-scratching to decide the best way to finish off the ends. Most of the time, I prefer to hide my "dirty work"--all the knots, crimps, etc.--involved in fastening the ends. This idea was inspired by some beadcaps I bought at a gem show:
I thought something like this might work as an end cone, if the two "wings" on either side were wider; then I could curl the ends over and hide more of my dirty work.

The easiest way was to just modify my poppy cap design, creating just two giant "petals." I started with a couple of discs, as usual (these are 1" in diameter, but you could make them any size you like), and textured them:
Then I made center holes, and two more holes on either side of the center hole:
I cut notches on both, as shown, with my metal snips, and rounded the ends a bit:
Then I annealed and pickled, then folded each shape over, as pictured, with my tiny bail-making pliers (but you could use a kebab skewer or something skinny like that as well):

Then I curled the wings on one side inwards, at a slight angle (so that it's slightly pointier at the top):
Then I folded the remaining wings up and over with my fingers, tapped them down gently with my nylon-head hammer, et voila!
Now you're ready to string and knot away!

Keirsten
Etsy
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17 comments :

  1. what a fabulous idea . I esp like that these are rectangular in shape , sometimes I don't want a round cone at the end as they tend to stick out esp with only a few strands. thanks for the tutorial.

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  2. its a great idea, thanks for the tutorial

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  3. Genius Keirsten - what a great idea...!

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  4. Very VERY cool! Thank you for this excellent and easy-to-follow tutorial!

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  5. What a brilliant idea!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

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  6. Yep, totally cool idea! I think it's really the shape that attracts me, not one you see a lot.

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  7. Wonderful!!! You always come up with such creative stuff girl!!!

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  8. I love to hide my dirty work, too... and these are wonderful!

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  9. This is a great tutorial! Time to get out the metal-working tools. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  10. Fabulous idea! Genius, girl, simply genius :)

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  11. Thanks so much, ♥love♥ these...!

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  12. Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing :0)

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  13. PS Will share on my blog so others can come visit!

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