Wire wrapped jewelry tutorial free. Wire pendant.

Wire wrapped jewelry tutorial free. Wire Wrapped Stone Pendants. How to make wire jewelry for beginners step by step. Valeriy Vorobev.

The stone for the wire wrapped stone pendant.

I used a large cabochon (30*40 mm) of natural agate. The stone has no hole.
For making wire jewelry I recommend always use natural stones of volcanic origin. We often use metal tools, chemical solutions, polishing wire – so all of these can easily damage the stone. Natural volcanic stones are quite strong and much harder to scratch and damage than natural sedimentary stones, for example. So, this is quite an important detail in our wire wrapped jewelry tutorial.

Imagine this: you have been working hard for several hours making a wire wrapped stone pendant, and at some moment, you accidentally damaged the stone. That’s all, nothing can be done; all your efforts ended up being in vain. So, I advise you to take my advice to avoid such troubles.

Wire wrapped jewelry tutorial. Wire for wire jewelry.

Today we will use natural half-hard copper wire 1 mm thick for the base and soft wire 0.4 mm for the weaving.
I almost always use natural wire (copper, brass, bronze, melchior, nesilber) for my jewelry.
Why do I give preference to natural wires?

Natural metals can be heat treated. The wire can be heated and melted with a gas torch. The wire can be flattened by hammering on an anvil, it also can be patinated and polished. Natural wire can be soldered. So, natural wire is much easier to work with.

Copper wire is my favorite and frequently used material for jewelry making. I love the color of the wire. I also love working with copper wire. Making weavings, bending copper wire, patination and polishing is a pleasure for me. As for the price, it is the cheapest wire available. It is wise to use only cheap materials when you are just learning and a lot of products go to waste.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use other wires! I myself use different materials, too. You have to consider the characteristics of the wire before you make a jewelry piece with a particular design. Maybe we will try different materials in my future wire wrapped jewelry tutorials.

Tools for making wire jewelry.

To create a wire wrapped stone pendant, we will need a small set of hand tools. It is best to buy several tools at once in a set or separately – it’s for you to decide.
Do not buy expensive tools right away. I still use cheap hand tools on par with expensive tools. Later when you understand how and when to use each tool you can buy more expensive tools.

I strongly recommend buying rubber tipped pliers. It is an indispensable tool when weaving the wire. Without it, it is very difficult to make quality and beautiful weavings of wire.

Wire wrapped jewelry tutorial step by step. Wire Wrapped Stone Pendant.

Let’s start making a wire wrapped stone pendant with your own hands.

We will need four pieces of 1mm wire, about 50 cm each. You should always have a large stock of 0.4 mm thin wire. It will always come in handy. This advice is applicable to all my wire wrapped jewelry tutorials.

Large cabochon 30×40 mm of natural agate.
First of all, we need to measure the circumference of the cabochon. A strip of paper will do. Wrap the strip around the cabochon and make marks on both sides of the paper.

Place the strip of paper with measurements approximately in the middle of all the wires.

This is where we will weave the wire. You can choose any method of weaving. It is desirable not to make dense and thick weavings. Later on, we will need to slip the thin wire in between the weaved wire at the top and bottom. The weaving method that I used is just right for this.
Check out my free course (guide) on weaving – Free wire basic weaving course

It is best to bend the wire first like this (see the photo below).

And then bend the weaving around the cabochon.

If you are just starting to work with the wire, it will be hard to do it right the first time. Don’t worry, you will get it right. It takes patience and persistence. The most important thing in this craft is to practise as more as possible.

After bending the weaving around the cabochon, we need to staple (sew) the weavings together. Slip the wire between the wires several times and tighten it.

Use the same thin wire to weave the two outermost wires.

Then, very carefully bend it down to the cabochon. On this side, there will be the back side of the pendant.

It is necessary to make a support for the cabochon, in order to prevent it from falling out of the weaving. To do this, continue to weave the two wires in any weaving method.

In the process of weaving, in a few places sew weaving to the frame using the thin wire (the one I have mentioned previously).

You can create any pattern you want, you don’t have to repeat after me.

Cut off the extra ends and make nice curls.

Try on the cabochon. The cabochon now won’t fall out on the back side.

At the very end of the work, we will additionally strengthen the back side.

First, gently place the two outermost wires on the front side.

How to wire jewelry making. Pendant wire wrapping tutorial free.

Then, gently bend another one.

We will weave these three wires together.

With this weaving, we will press the cabochon from the front side.

Just as on the other side, weaving should be attached to the frame in several places. Create a pattern of wires. Avoid breaking or damaging the weaving when you sew it to the frame.

The arrows on the photo show the attachment points.

I am asked the same question over and over again – how do I bend the weavings? Basically, I bend these weavings of two or three main wires simply by hand. As I said before – you need to practice more often and you will succeed.
Let’s place another wire on the front side. Then, let’s weave it and sew it to the frame.

As I mentioned earlier, you can create any pattern you want on the front side. Use your imagination!

Weave together the remaining two wires. They will make a loop for a cord or chain. Bend the weaving. Do not forget to attach it to the bottom weaving.

Continue to weave the wire and attach it to the frame.

Cut off the excess wire and complete the pattern on the back side. Now the cabochon is securely attached on both sides. And most importantly, it is nicely attached! It looks really good. This is the main goal of my wire wrapped jewelry tutorial.

Now the cabochon is securely attached on both sides. Just look how nicely it looks! All thanks to my exclusive wire wrapped jewelry tutorial.

Patination and polishing of the copper wire.

Next, I patinated the copper in ammonia vapor. In our country, ammonia is sold in small bottles at drugstores. I poured the ammonia solution into a glass jar and hung the piece of jewelry over the ammonia for a while. The patination is completed when the copper has darkened a bit.

Special solutions for patination are now sold. Read the instructions for the solution carefully. There are universal patination solutions that are suitable for all metals. And there are solutions for patinating only a specific metal.

After patination, I polished the copper. I used a special machine with felt tips. I also used polishing pastes.
In order for the copper not to darken over time, it can be coated with a special colorless varnish.

Add a chain or leather cord to the wire wrapped stone pendant.

The wire wrapped stone pendant is ready. The pendant can be worn, you can give it as a gift or sell it for a profit!
That’s all for today. See you next time.
Good luck in your beginnings!

Valeriy Vorobev

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