Shawl Pins

Making shawl pins with wire is a lot of fun.  These are my first tries.  I had only 20 gauge wire to work with, and they are quite fragile, so next time I would try making them with thicker wire.  One problem is that the beads I like may not fit on much thicker wire. 

                                                Shawl Pin using 20 gauge wire and beads

I used a pen to shape the coil end of the pin, and I did 2 wraps.  I didn't sharpen the end with a file because the pin is meant for a loosely woven, knitted, or crocheted shawl. 

This was my first try at making a pin.  It turned out small, so I didn't have much room to add beads to it. 

Two good tutorials are these:
Fibula--Shawl pins--step by step by Deborah Read
Safety pin Style Shawl pin by Shala Kerrigan at Bella Online