Jewelry making is such a wonderful hobby but it can be difficult to know where to start! For beginners it can be overwhelming when it comes to shopping for jewelry supplies, setting up a workbench and learning new techniques.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Wire Wrapping Stones
For hundreds of years, professional jewelers have used all sorts of different settings to hold gemstones in place when making jewelry. Recently, however, jewelry made using a technique known as wire wrapping has become quite popular. Rather than using a setting, the gemstones used in wire-wrapped pieces are secured in place using thin wire. One of the great things about this technique is that it’s very simple to learn. It’s also a very affordable option as it only requires a few inexpensive tools and materials.
If you have ever thought about learning how to wrap stones in wire to make jewelry but didn’t know where to get started, you’ve come to the right place. Wire wrapping stones is actually much easier than it looks and learning how to do it enables you to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using only a few basic materials. In fact, all you need to get started is a gemstone, some wire and two types of pliers. Keep reading to discover how you can start creating unique jewelry by wire-wrapping crystals.
Supplies for Making Wire Wrapped Jewelry
The wire is, of course, one of the most important supplies when it comes to making wire-wrapped jewelry. It comes in various materials, gauges and strengths, and choosing what you need can be a bit overwhelming. Copper wire is the most common and affordable option, so it is perfect for beginners.
Copper wire
Copper is a popular choice for making jewelry for many reasons. It is a beautiful color and has many possibilities for lovely patinas, is easy to work with, and it is relatively inexpensive to purchase. Most jewelry suppliers should have a wide variety of copper wire sizes, shapes, and tempers to choose from. Copper is slightly softer than sterling silver, but for the most part is still comparable. Copper is often recommended as a great material for beginners who would like to practice working with wire before graduating to the more expensive sterling silver option.
When it comes to gauge, the lower the number, the thicker the wire. The 16-18-gauge wire is hard to bend but holds shape well. The 24-26-gauge wire bends easily but is also easy to damage. When you are just starting out, we recommend investing in a spool of 20-gauge wire and a spool of 26-gauge wire. You will use the 18-gauge wire for most of your projects, and the 26-gauge wire will be handy for embellishments. As you gain more experience, feel free to experience with different gauges to find what you personally like best. Make sure the wire you choose is “half-hard” strength. Half-hard wire holds shape well and is easy to bend, and it’s the best option for beginners.
You’ll Need Jewelry Making Pliers.
You’ll also need two types of pliers–needle-nose and side-cutting. You’ll use your needle-nose pliers to do a good bit of your wrapping, and you’ll use the side-cutting pliers for cutting your wire. You don’t need to invest in top-of-the-line tools, but you should look for ones that are designed for jewelry-making and have comfortable grips.
Tools can and should be altered. The edges of pliers are often rough and sharp Use 220 emery on a stick to smooth and slightly round all edges.
Nylon Tipped Pliers
Nylon tipped pliers are extremely useful if you want to avoid scratching your pieces. They allow you to get a tight grip without damaging the metal. If you are dealing with kinked wire, you can also use nylon tipped pliers to remove the kinks. This tool is great when you are working with gemstone beads, too, because it can prevent you from scratching or otherwise damaging them.
Lastly, you will need gemstones to wrap. You can wrap either tumbled or rough-cut stones, and ones with holes drilled through their centers are the easiest to work with. Rough hammer faceted beads come in several different shapes, and they are ideal for beginners.
Basic Techniques isolated copper wire wrapped stone
One of the most important techniques to learn for wire-wrapping crystals is coiling. Once you have mastered the art of coiling, you can create just about any design you can imagine. Start by cutting a piece of your 20-gauge wire and a much longer piece of your 26-gauge wire. Hold both pieces and wrap the 26-gauge wire around the other wire, pulling it tight. Keep wrapping tightly and you will create the coiled look that is common on many wire-wrapped pieces
Basic weaves. Wire wrap tutorials.
Discover Basic weaves to use with one, two, three and four… wire frames.
Once you know how to achieve the basic weaves, you can do so much with wire work. It is really simple when you know how.
I used 1 mm wire for the frames and 0.4 mm wire for the weaving as this helps to keep the weaving neat.
My tips:
Use appropriate wire thickness.
I make jewelry of wire 1 mm (18 ga) wire for the frames and 0.4 mm (26 ga) thick wire for the weaving.
You can use wire with a thickness of 0.8 mm (20 ga) wire for the frames and 0.3 mm (28 ga) wire for the weaving.
Tension is important when weaving. Too tight and you will pull your frame wires out of shape, but too loose and your weaving will be uneven.
Constantly tighten and snug your wire wraps as you go because if you wait too long and try to tighten out slack it will be very difficult to work your way back to the loose spot. Be sure to tighten everything up after every 2-3 wraps.
The metal jaws on pliers tend to mar wire, so I use nylon tipped pliers. Yes, the nylon will get dented and lose their shape over time but it will never scratch up a piece you’ve spent hours on. It’s worth spending $2-5 dollars on replacement jaws than ruin a beautiful finish to me.
When you have finished weaving, trim the weaving wire at the back of the piece, and secure by pressing firmly against a frame wire with flat nose pliers.
Basic weaves. Watch the video tutorials.
Let’s make a wire pendant! The video is in Russian, but you will understand everything without translation.
Copper in its natural state will slowly tarnish to a brown color, but if you want to keep it shiny, spray it with a clear lacquer or polyurethane.
I work with natural stones and natural metals (copper, nickel silver, brass, bronze, 925 sterling silver). I patinate the wire in special solutions, polish and sometimes varnish.
Also, check out Wire wrapping pendant tutorials:
Wire wrapped tutorials PDF Valeriy Vorobev
