How to Make Wire-Wrap Jewelry

Wire-wrapped stones are an increasingly popular type of jewelry item created by encasing a stone (or other similar item, such as a marble or sea shell) in a secure cage of twisted, bendable wire. Creating jewelry from wire wraps requires not only the proper skills and techniques for creating the wrap itself, but good choices about how to use this type of item in jewelry designs.

Things You'll Need

• Small gemstones to be wrapped
• Thick beading wire
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Wire cutters
• Jewelry cord
• Jewelry findings, such as clasps and earring fixtures
• Beads

Instructions

1. Decide how your stone is going to sit when wrapped. Shift the stone around in your hand and look at it from different angles. Figure out which way you want to position it in terms of what will be the top, bottom, front and back when the stone is set (if the stone is longer than it is thin, you'll have the best luck hanging it with the long side up and down).

2. Cut a long piece of wire using your wire snips. Make this length of wire at least six times the measurement of your stone from the top you've chosen to the bottom.

3. Prepare the bottom of the wire for the wrap. Twist the end into a tight spiral by gripping the end with the tip of your needle-nosed pliers and wrapping the wire around itself. Make this spiral flat if the bottom of your stone is relatively flat or wide and rounded; make the spiral slightly bowl-shaped if the bottom of your stone is conical or pointy.

4. Wrap the gemstone. Use your fingers to press the small spiral against the bottom of the stone, then wrap the rest of the wire spiraling up and around the sides of the stone to the top. The heavier and more slippery your stone is, the closer you should make your spirals, as this creates more of them and makes the wrap more secure.

5. Create a loop at the top of the wrap for hanging: Use your pliers to create a right-angle bend extending away from the top of the stone. Twist this end into a small loop, then trim the wire.

6. Use your wrapped stone in jewelry designs. Make small wraps of the same kind of stone into earrings or make any kind of wrap into a pendant. Make necklaces using just pendants, or combine wraps with beads made of similar kinds of stone, metal (be sure to coordinate all metal fixtures with the wire you used) or glass. Attach wire-wrapped stones to black or brown leather cord, or attach to a jewelry chain if your wire matches (such as sterling silver wire on a silver chain).