How to Learn to Wire Wrap Jewelry
Wire-wrap jewelry designs are a method of setting stones, marbles or other objects in hand-twisted "cages" made of jewelry wire. The art of wire wrapping requires a steady hand, the right tools, and much practice, but it is rewarding to master both for the enjoyment of the skill and the successful creation of beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry artworks.
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Things You'll Need
- Craft wire, various sizes
- Jewelry pliers set
- Stones, marbles or beads to wrap
Instructions
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1
Buy quality tools. For successful wire wrapping, purchase, at minimum, a set of jewelry-working tools containing a pair of toothless needle-nosed pliers, wire snips and cone-nosed pliers. For best results, all of these should have springs in their handles to keep them open when not being squeezed. If possible, get additional sets of needle-nosed pliers with longer tapers and smaller nose tips, especially if you want to do particularly intricate wire shapes.
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Experiment with different types of wire. Purchase and keep on hand supplies of wire in different gauges (thickness) and of different kinds of metal. Practice making twists, loops and shapes in these wires to begin to get a feel for how the different wires react to different treatments and how sturdy they are. Tug on finished wire shapes to get a feel for their sturdiness and how much weight they can hold.
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3
Master some basic wire shapes. For wire wraps, the most common shapes are various types of loops and spirals, large and small. Work on making loops that close without overlapping and have an attractive shape (cone-nosed pliers are best for this, or for small, pronounced round curves). Work also on making tight, flat and wide spiral discs (these are an important foundation for spiral wraps).
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Start with simpler wire wraps. Begin by wrapping large beads so that you can thread the wire through the bead and focus on the shape of the wrap rather than the structure. Try some spiral wraps using a thicker craft wire and stones that are roughly bullet-shaped, wrapping the wire spiral up and around the length of the stone. Move on to wraps that use joints; for these, attach two or more pieces of wire by wrapping tight coils around their middles, like a rubber band around a bunch of pencils. Bend the tendrils of wire to encase the object you're wrapping.
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Look for inspiration. Be on the look-out for completed wire wraps and find techniques and shapes that you can incorporate into your designs. Look for wire-wrap necklaces at arts and crafts fairs or online at sites where crafters sell, such as ebay or etsy.com.
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Practice and observe improvement. Your ability to successfully create wire wraps that are not only strong, but attractive, will improve as you gain muscle memory and thus, better control over the wire and pliers.
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