Wire Wrapped Stone Pendant Tutorial.

If you have decided to make your own jewelry from wire, beads and stone cabochons, but do not know where to start, you have come to the right place – I have a great Wire wrapped beads tutorial for you. Making jewelry out of wire and stones is actually a lot easier than you might think at first glance. If you learn and try this technique, you can make beautiful and unique jewelry with just a few basic inexpensive materials. In fact, all you need to get started is some stone beads, some wire, and a small set of hand tools. You don’t need solders or gas torches! We are not going to solder anything!

Here is a Wire wrapped beads tutorial. Today we will make a pendant from a flat, oval stone bead with a hole and copper wire.

I will use natural soft copper wire with a thickness of 1 mm (18 ga) and 0.4 mm (26 ga). To create a pendant with your own hands, you can use any wire of suitable thickness. The choice of material is up to you.

We need a small set of hand tools for working with wire. You can take an inexpensive set of pliers and wire cutters, which can be bought in a special store for crafts. You can also order appropriate tools in online stores. Be sure to buy pliers with silicone tips (Rubber Tip Pliers). This is an indispensable tool for working with wire. They will come in handy in every Wire wrapped beads tutorial.

We need four pieces of 1 mm thick wire about 50 cm each.

Slip one wire through the hole in the bead. Weave the three wires approximately in the middle together using any weaving method.

Bend the weaving to match it to the bead’s shape.

Weave four wires together on both sides.

Then continue weaving. Bend the weavings as shown in the photo.

Continue to weave and bend the weavings.

Split the weavings into two.

Continue the work. Make beautiful spirals made of weavings.

Continue to weave the wire on the back side.

Cut the excess wire, bend the ends and sew them (attach) to the weaving.

Now we need to make a loop for a cord or necklace. Cut off the excess wire, bend the ends. Fasten to the bottom weaving.

Natural copper wire can be patinated and polished if desired. I patinated the copper in ammonia vapor. I hung the pendant over a solution of ammonia in a glass jar with a lid. After a while, when the copper gets darkened and covered with a brown patina, I take the pendant out of the jar. Thus, by following my Wire wrapped beads tutorial and patinating the whole piece, you can make something amazing.

I polished copper with felt circles using a grinder. I also used polishing pastes.

To prevent copper from darkening over time, it can be coated with a special colorless varnish. You can even use nail polish.