Instructions for a Wire-Wrapped Pendant
Wire-wrapped pendants are made by wrapping jewelry wire around a stone pendant and bending it into an eye-catching design. The wire holds the stone pendant in place without the need of a "claw" or metal tab. You can wrap faceted stone pendants and cabochons with jewelry wire to make beautiful works of art to sell, give away as one-of-a-kind gifts or keep for yourself.
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Things You'll Need
- Wire cutters
- 20-gauge square soft wire
- 22-gauge half-round wire
- Ruler
- Clear tape
- Felt-tipped pen
- Stone pendant
- Flat-nose pliers
- Pen knife
- Ring mandrel
Instructions
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1
Cut six 8-inch pieces of 20-gauge square soft wire with wire cutters. Line up the ends of the six pieces of wire and tape the ends together with clear tape. Measure the 4-inch halfway point of the wires and mark it with a felt-tipped pen.
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2
Place the pendant stone down so that its bottom is centered at the 4-inch mark. Measure the bottom of the pendant to determine how wide the band of binding wires needs to be. Mark the bundle of 8-inch wires with this length, centered on the 4-inch mark.
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3
Fold 1/16 inch of the end of the 22-gauge wire over with your flat-nose pliers and slant the bent end slightly out of parallel with the rest of the wire. Hook the folded end around the 8-inch wire bundle at one of the binding marks. Wrap the 22-gauge wire around the 8-inch wire bundle in even windings. When you reach the other bundle mark, cut the wire and fold it over the top of the bundle so that it faces up. Press down the ends of the binding wire against the wire bundle with the flat-nose pliers to flatten them out.
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4
Flip the wire bundle over and measure 1/4 inch on either side of the 22-gauge wire wrap and make a mark with your felt-tipped pen. Measure 1/4 inch out from this mark and make another mark on both sides. Remove the tape from the ends of the wire bundle.
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5
Insert a penknife blade tip carefully under the first wire of the bundle on either side of the 22-gauge wire wrap. Pull up the wires away from the bundle at an angle. Bend the wire down at the first 1/4-inch mark and then bend it up at the second 1/4-inch mark to put the wire back in line with the bundle. Do the same with the other wire. This creates a decorative hump shape that will hold the pendant tightly. Wrap a 5-inch piece of 22-gauge wire at the end of both hump shapes in the same manner as the other binding wires.
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6
Set the center 4-inch binding onto the ring mandrel at the 6 gauge mark and press the wires down around the mandrel to round them out. Remove the wire assembly from the mandrel.
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7
Insert the pendant stone into the rounded bottom of the wire assembly. Start to bend or form the wires around the stone, slowly bending the wire bundle and slanting it up to a triangle point over the top of the stone. Cross the wires over at the center of the top of the stone. Bend the wires straight up with flat-nose pliers at this point. Align the wire bundle ends and tape them together to hold them in place.
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8
Cut a 5-inch piece of 22-gauge square hard wire and bend it into an uneven U shape that is 3/4 inch longer at one end than the other. Hook the short end of the U-shaped wire onto the wire bundle at the top center of the pendant. Wrap the 22-gauge wire around the bundle wire four times, wrapping down towards the oval as you do so.
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9
Remove the tape. Spread the center of the wire bundle open with a pen knife, with four wires on each side. Bend the top two wires together forward towards you and then straight down over the front of the pendant. Tape these two wires together. Cut a 5-inch piece of 22-gauge wire and wrap it five times around the wires. Wrap the wire down towards the pendant, not up away from it. Take off the tape and spread the wires apart. Bend the wrapped part of the two wires down towards the pendant with the flat-nose pliers.
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10
Tuck the stone under the tips of the mound you bent into the wire. Pull the two bound wires forward and curve them slightly over the top of the stone. Wrap the two wires down on either side of the pendant stone. Wrap them across the side of the wire bundle and then towards the back of the pendant. Curve in the wire and thread it through the wire bundle and out of the other side. Bend it flat against the interior width of the wire bundle. Trim the wire end and insert it into the wire wrapping.
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11
Bend down all but two of the remaining wires into a curve, three on either side of the wrapped bundle top spaced out evenly to make a crown shape with them. Trim the ends of the wires. Cut the remaining two wires to 1/2 inch long. Spread them apart and make overlapping loops with them. Cut a 1 2/4-inch piece of 22-gauge wire and make loops at both ends. Bring the two loops together and overlap them. Thread this piece through the overlapping loops at the top of the pendant to make the eye.
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