wire wrap Archives - Wire Jewelry Tutorials

This new lesson shows an easy way to wire wrap a top/side drilled stone. I’ve used this for claw shaped stones, crystal points, even the rectangular “stick” beads you can find at many craft stores and it works great for all of them. You just need to make sure the hole on the stone is large enough to fit 18g wire through it.

Tools and supplies:
Top drilled stone with hole going side to side that is large enough to fit 18g wire.
18g wire (round, dead soft)
28g wire (round, dead soft)
flush cutters
round nose pliers
flat nose pliers
chain nose pliers (AKA needle nose pliers)
5-6mm mandrel (or bail making pliers, or other cylindrical object that is 5-6 mm in diameter
ruler

In the video I teach a simple swirl design for the front of the stone. However, there is no end to the way you can modify this front piece. In the photos below I show a couple pieces with a leaf motif, and one with snake-like curves.

Rose Quarts and Green Agate Wire Wrap Pendants

Red and Gold Wire Wrap Resin Crystal Pendant

See more of my videos at the GailaviraJewelryWJT YouTube channel.

You can find my free wire wrap PDF tutorials by clicking here.

As you can probably tell already, I use a lot of crystal points in my jewelry designs. Whether they are drilled or undrilled, they can present a lot of design challenges. That’s one of the things I like most about them. So, when I found a great deal on a lot of tiny undrilled crystal points, well, challenge accepted.

When I said they were tiny, I meant it. These are about 3mm thick and 15-18mm long. At first, trying to wrap these securely without covering up the stone seemed like it would be more trouble that it was worth. But then I had one of those moments where it just clicked. I’ve come up with a couple of ways to wrap them, but this one, with it’s graceful curve that sweeps up the side, is one of my favorites.

So, when facebook reminded me that it’s been 3 years since my last video (oops) so I decided to do a quick one and show you how I wrap these little itty bitty crystals.

I still haven’t quite found a video set up I’m completely happy with, so please bear with me while I experiment. As always, if you have any suggestions for improving my videos, I’d love to hear them 🙂 .

This one is a very quick and simple wrap for crystal points that are very small. The one I’m using in the video is about 3.5mm thick and 18mm long. For a crystal point this size, I used 16 gauge (1.2mm) wire.

For this project, you’ll also need a needle file or a piece of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper (for smoothing wire ends), flush cutters, needle nose pliers, round nose pliers, bail making pliers (in a pinch you can use the widest part of your round nose pliers), a hammer and a bench block.

You can wrap larger crystals in a similar style, however, the larger the crystal point, the thicker the wire you will need.

You can watch the video below, or if you prefer, you can watch it on Youtube.

Tag: wire wrap

Easy Wire Wrap for a Top Drilled Stone

New Video Tutorial on Youtube – Tiny Crystal Point Wire Wrap