Things You'll Need
Craft wire
Wire nippers
Marker
Crimp beads
Crimping pliers
Flat river stone
Plastic rubber bands
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers
Ribbon or cord
Wire wrapping is a jewelry-making method in which jewelers bend and wrap metal craft wire around beads or stones. This method is good for making natural stone pendants and necklaces, especially with stones that possess no hole for stringing. Using inexpensive craft wire and a stone either purchased at a craft store or found on a nature walk, you can make a wire-wrapped stone pendant necklace.
Step 1
Measure and cut three 6-to-8-inch lengths of 24-gauge craft wire, depending on the height of the stone. Straighten and lay the wire side by side and mark the center point on all three wires. Bundle the wires together and string a crimp bead around the bundle. Line up the center marks and crimp the bead with crimping pliers, making sure that the bundle lays flat when crimped.
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Step 2
Position the bundle with the crimp bead at the bottom center of the stone and gently mold the bundle around the stone. Mark the bundle at the midpoint of the stone on both sides, then add and crimp with a crimp bead on those marks.
Step 3
Mold the bundle more firmly around the stone and create a 90-degree bend where the two ends meet at the top center of the stone to form the neck of the pendant. Temporarily secure the neck with a small plastic rubber band.
Step 4
Tighten the bundle around the stone by pulling the outer wires of the bundle toward the center of the stone on both sides. Using flat nose pliers, make small bends in the outer bundle wires halfway between each crimp bead on the bottom and between the crimp beads and the neck on the top.
Step 5
Remove the rubber band from the neck and gently pull apart the six wire tails. Twist the two center wires on each side together three or four times, and then curl the ends backward with round nose pliers to form a double loop, laying the ends flush with the twist.
Step 6
Measure and cut 4 inches of the 24-gauge wire and coil-wrap the twisted loop and the other four tails together. Using flat nose pliers, create flat coils on the ends of the four remaining tails and lay them flat against the coiled neck. String ribbon or cord through the double loop and wear.
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