How to Make Wire Wrap Rings and Jewelry

Wire wrapping is a versatile jewelry technique

Wire wrapping is a broad term that describes manipulating wire in a decorative or functional way to create jewelry or art. It can be as simple as creating a wire-wrapped loop to connect one jewelry component to another or as complicated as creating a wire-wrapped pendant with elaborate embellishments. First, learn how to make a wire wrapped ring and then to use a versatile wire wrapping technique that will allow you to turn virtually any object into a pendant without drilling holes, using glue or otherwise disturbing the object to be wire wrapped.

Things You'll Need

• 18-gauge wire
• Round nose pliers
• Wire (flush) cutters
• Ballpoint pen with smooth shaft
• 24-gauge wire
• Object to be wrapped
• Chain nose pliers
• Needle files

Instructions

Wire Wrapped Ring

1. Cut a 12-inch piece of 18-gauge wire.

2. Bend the wire in half to find the midpoint.

3. Put your ring finger in the bend of the wire.

4. Take the left wire and wrap it around your finger twice.

5. Take the right wire and do the same. Both wires should now be in front of your finger and pointing straight up.

6. Take the ring off.

7. Take each of the wire ends and wrap them around a ballpoint pen to form a loop.

8. Cut any excess wire.

9. Turn one loop up and the other down, so that the loops sit on top of each other to form a figure 8.

Wire Wrapped Pendant

1. Measure and cut four arm-lengths of wire. Trim all to the same size.

2. Take three wires and shape them around the object to be wrapped, ending with open wires on each side of the top of the object.

3. Remove object from wire. The wires should now form a rough outline of the object. Put the wires down.

4. Take the fourth wire and cut it into three equal portions. Pick up the three longer wires (the wires outlining your object) and bind them together by using the shorter wires to make coils at the bottom and on each side of the cage you are creating to hold the object. Make one coil at a time, starting at the bottom of the piece. Coils should hug the wire but also be loose enough to slide around if you need them to.

   To make a coil, hold the three long wires--the ones that will hold your object--together and wrap one of the shorter wires around the bottom of the wires five or six times until you have a neat coil that binds all three wires. Try to keep the coils straight (not slanted) and as close together as you can without overlapping. After you have finished the bottom coil, repeat this procedure to create two more coils to bind together the wires on each side of the cage.

5. Open the wires between the coils. You'll see a cage start to form. Fit the bottom of the object inside the wires. Pull one wire to the front of the object, one to the middle and one behind.

6. Find the wires above the side coils and shape them around the top of the object. Pull one wire to the front, one to the middle, and one to the back, just as you did before.

7. Pull all the wire ends straight up. Choose one wire to wrap around all the rest.

8. Wrap three times. Then cut the wrapping wire. There should be five wires coming straight out of the top.

9. Choose two middle wires (wires that are close together and look like they are coming straight out of the top of the piece) and bend both into a right angle using your chain-nose pliers. Hold the piece so the bent wires are coming straight at you. Take your round-nose pliers and grip the bent wires as close as you can to the right angle bend. Take the end of the wires that are coming straight at you and wrap them over the top jaw of the pliers.

10. Remove the top jaw of the pliers from the loop and insert the bottom jaw of the pliers into the same loop. You will now clearly see a "stem" under the loop you have just created. Wrap the short wires around this stem a few times, forming a small coil. Then cut the wires so they disappear into the coil.

11. You can now cut the remaining wires or use them to embellish the object.

Tips & Warnings

• If the finished cage is looser than you'd like, you can tighten the wires. Take your chain nose pliers and hold them straight above the wire you want to tighten. Grip the wire with the pliers and turn it to the left or right. You will see a small lightning bolt shape in the wire. This tightening technique is both functional and decorative.

• Be sure to fold down any sharp ends of wires you cut. If sharpness remains, use a needle file to file it smooth.

Resources

• Incredible Art Lessons: Wrapped Wire Jewelry
• Kathy Frey: Sculptural Wire Jewelry
• "Bead&Button Magazine": Wirework
• Key Stone Jewelry: How to Make a Beaded Bracelet with Wire