Wire coils look cool and are easy to make. These instructions will show you how to make a flat coil, which I have used to secure a bead to make a decorative dangle.
Skill Level
Easy
Time Required
Couple of Minutes or Less Time
Materials
Comments
Wire
Dead soft (my preference) or half hard. Don't use full-hard (spring) wire, or your coil (if you can even make one) will be brittle and susceptible to breakage. If desired, you can anneal wire to regain its malleability. Any gauge of wire will work for coiling. I used 20 gauge wire for this project. See this table if you need millimeter equivalents.
Wire Cutters
I used flush cutters.
Pliers
Round nose and/or flat nose. Pliers must be smooth.
Beads
Optional, but so pretty!
Here are all of the materials I used to make my dangle.
You don't need to cut your wire from the spool. If you are using a bead, string it on the wire. Be sure to put the bottom of the bead toward the end of the wire.
There are two main ways to start the coil. I like to use my roundnose pliers, which I position near the end of the wire. Turn either the pliers or the wire to start a loop. If your loop looks funky, use your wire cutter to cut the bad section out (great for poor starts). Once you have the initial turn made, switch to flatnose pliers. Hold the loop flat in the jaws of the pliers and use your fingers to curl the wire around the loop. Wrap it in a tight, flat spiral until you have the desired size. Alternatively, you can start the coil using the flatnose pliers by making a sharp bend with the end of the wire and crushing it back toward the spool. This is a good starting method if you don't like any spaces or 'eyes' in your coils. Again, use your fingers to wrap the coil, stabilizing it by holding the flat section in the jaws of your pliers.
I like to use my pliers to kink the coil backwards so that my bead will hang straight down from the coil. If you don't bend your wire, you will see the coil positioned off to one side or the other with respect to the base of the bead. Before you slide the bead down, you can flatten and harden the coil, if desired, with a hammer/anvil or by compressing it (hard) in the jaws of your pliers. Now you can cut your dangle from the spool and wrap it as desired. Coils made with thick wire often do well with a simple loop at the top. To make such a loop, let the bead slide down to the top of the coil and position your roundnose pliers just over the bead. While grasping the wire with the pliers, turn either your wrist or the dangle until the wire circles around to reach the top of the bead. Cut the wire a bit past this point. If the bead hole is large enough, you can use your roundnose pliers to position the simple loop so that the end is secured inside the hole. Make a wrapped loop (i.e., wrap the wire around itself one or more times) if you are using a thin wire.
How to Make a Coiled Wire Dangle 
Here are all of the materials I used to make my dangle.
You don't need to cut your wire from the spool. If you are using a bead, string it on the wire. Be sure to put the bottom of the bead toward the end of the wire.
There are two main ways to start the coil. I like to use my roundnose pliers, which I position near the end of the wire. Turn either the pliers or the wire to start a loop. If your loop looks funky, use your wire cutter to cut the bad section out (great for poor starts). Once you have the initial turn made, switch to flatnose pliers. Hold the loop flat in the jaws of the pliers and use your fingers to curl the wire around the loop. Wrap it in a tight, flat spiral until you have the desired size. Alternatively, you can start the coil using the flatnose pliers by making a sharp bend with the end of the wire and crushing it back toward the spool. This is a good starting method if you don't like any spaces or 'eyes' in your coils. Again, use your fingers to wrap the coil, stabilizing it by holding the flat section in the jaws of your pliers.