A Wire Wrapping Journey

Wire wrapping is one of the oldest forms of jewellery making and examples can be seen right back to 1446 BC. The likes of the Egyptians used the technique in their decorations and elements can be found in ancient tombs belonging to Pharaohs

Our very own in house designer and self confessed wire-geek Claire has been dabbling in wire wrapping for the last 4 years. She saw a necklace and thought to herself “i want to know how to make that” and that was where her journey began. She ordered some craft wire and jewellery making Tools from the internet, got herself some raw obsidian she found on a walk. Unfortunately she didn’t realise how sharp it was and ended up slicing her finger open - rookie mistake and one she didn’t make again. A few space ship sticking plasters later she’d completed her obsidian wire wrapped pendant and proper chuffed with herself ordered more supplies to feed her new hobby.

Take a look at one of her first ever designs below; be kind she says she’s a little embarrassed ;)

Key things to think about if you want to start your own wire wrapping journey;

Start with a few tutorials, the internet is full of people wanting to share their own techniques with the world. Try not to let them overwhelm you at first - stick to looking at the basics.

Find something you fancy wrapping. This could be anything such as, pebbles/stones, semi precious beads, cabochons, Glass Beads, crystals or sea glass and shells from a trip to the beach. We’ve even found designs using guitar plectrums and watch faces which are on a new level of awesome!

Get the appropriate wire - take into consideration quality, gauge, length and Colour. Choose the right wire for the look you’re wanting to achieve. If you want an antiqued look use sterling Silver or our favourite bare Copper craft wire as this can then be oxidised with Liver of Sulphur which is inexpensive and simple to do. 0.4mm copper craft wire is a popular go to for Claire, its soft and malleable. She usually wraps this around a thicker 1.5mm copper craft wire. This wasn’t how she started, her first designs used the fine wire alone, focusing on wrapping and twisting around the natural curves of her stones and crystals. You can then progress to doing the coil designs like below;

Get the right tools, you will need wire cutters and pliers.

Start simple and don’t be afraid to get it wrong, practice makes perfect and its fun to look back at some of those first train wrecks.
Wing it - if you follow a tutorial and it gets a bit tricky don’t give up, make it your own.

Above all, have fun. Get creative and show us your makes. Follow us on Instagram, message us on Facebook, watch our tutorials on Youtube and tweet us. We would love to see what you create. xXx Sarah xXx

P.S stock up on the sticking plasters x Claire x