How to Wrap Wire Well

Wire wrapping is a jewelry-making and craft technique that dates back to ancient man. You can find examples of lovely jewelry and household objects using wrapped wire in museums around the world. Careful wire wrapping will result in jewelry and household objects that will last for generations.

Things You'll Need

• Nylon jawed pliers
• Wire cutter
• Round nose pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Flat nose pliers
• Needle files
• Wire rounder
• Sandpaper
• Mandrels

Instructions

Select and Prepare the Wire

1. Select the appropriate shape wire for the project. Round wire is a good general purpose wire to use for most wire wrapping projects. Consider half-round wire when the wire will sit flush against the surface of the wire-wrapped object. Consider square wire when the project requires the wire to be twisted in a decorative fashion.

2. Select the appropriate size wire for the project. Wire is sold in standard sizes called gauges. The larger the gauge wire, the thinner the wire. While there are no hard and fast rules for what wire to use for specific types of jewelry-making or other projects, certain sized wire is typically used for jewelry projects. For example, heavy 14-gauge wire is often used to make wire-wrapped bangle bracelets. 16-gauge or 18-gauge wire generally works well when wire wrapping lampworked glass beads. 20-gauge wire is often used to make the ear wire for wire-wrapped earrings. Thin wires, such as 22-gauge or 24-gauge wire, are required for freshwater pearls, beads made from precious stones and other beads with very fine holes.

3. Prepare the wire before feeding a bead onto it to wire wrap by straightening it and running nylon jawed pliers over the length of the wire to be used. Repeat until the wire is straight, slightly hardened and there are no visible kinks in the wire. The number of times you need to run the pliers over the wire will depend on the gauge wire used and the condition of the wire when removed from the spool.

Wrap the Wire

1. Conserve wire by wrapping directly from the spool rather than cutting pieces and trimming excess.

2. Make consistent loops. Use stepped wire wrapping pliers or mark a line on round nose pliers so all wrapped wire has the exact same size loop.

3. Wrap wire three times around the base of loops. Use the excess wire for leverage to pull the wire around the base of the loop when wrapping.

4. Trim the excess wire using wire cutters. Cut only brass, copper, silver or gold with your wire cutters. Jewelry-making materials such as beading wire, memory wire and steel will dull wire cutters. Reserve a pair of wire cutters for wire wrapping only.

5. Use needle files to remove sharp spots on wrapped wire. Use wire rounders to file the ends of wire smooth.

6. Check your work and correct as you complete your project. Check again once the project is complete.

7. Use the proper tool for the proper purpose. Use round nose pliers or mandrels to wrap and close round rings. Use chain nose pliers or flat nosed pliers to push the end of wrapped wire into place. Use needle files or wire rounders to file off burs at the end of the wire. Use sandpaper to remove unsightly tool marks caused when wire wrapping, if any.

References

• "Weave, Wrap, Coil: Creating Artisan Wire Jewelry"; Jodi Bombardier; 2010
• "Jewelry Studio: Wire Wrapping"; Linda Chandler; 2008
• "Inspired Wire"; Cynthia B. Wuller; 2008
• "Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping"; Dale Armstrong; 2009
• "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains and their Derivative"; Jean Reist Stark, Josephine Reist Smith; 1997

Resources

• "Chain and Bead Jewelry Creative Connections"; Scott David Plumlee; 2009
• "Wrapped in Gems"; Mai Sato-Flores and Jesse Flores; 2008
• "Bead on a Wire: Making Handcrafted Wire and Beaded Jewelry"; Sharilyn Miller; 2005