Tutorial: Wire-Wrapped Crystals - Decorative Techniques

Following my agate necklace post, here are some decorative methods for making your wire-wrapped crystal pendant that little bit extra special!

For all of these you’ll need:

Crystal

Jewellery wire

Flat nose pliers

Round nose pliers

Side cutters

 

Wire Spirals

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This is time consuming and fiddly, but looks good once you’re finished!

1. Using flat nose pliers, bend the end of your jewellery wire over on itself, squeezing between the pliers to close any small gaps.

2. Repeat step 1 until your spiral starts to get bigger. Then you can hold it flat with the pliers and bend the wire around with your fingers.

3. Once the spiral is done, the crystal-wrapping method is similar to the way I explained in my agate necklace tutorial, only this time you start with the spiral (rather than the bail!)

4. Place the spiral where you want it to go, wrap the crystal as described previously. At the back of this crystal, I looped the wire around itself a couple of times so it holds better.

5. Cut off the end and make the bail as described in my previous wire-wrapped agate crystal necklace tutorial.

Wire Coils

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This one isn’t quite as fiddly as the spirals!

1. Bend the end of your jewellery wire around the end of the round nose pliers to create a tiny loop and repeat a few times.

2. Every few bends of the wire, change the grip of your pliers on the wire so that only their tip is gripping hold of your half-formed coil. This way, the coil ends up an even size. (Alternatively you can wind the wire all the way around the pliers to create a coiled cone)

3. Wrap the wire around your crystal, starting with the coil and ending with the bail.

Beaded Wire-Wrapping

 

A simple method to add extra colours or enhance the overall look of your pendant.

1. Slide a bead onto the wire, leaving several inches at the end of the wire.

2. Bend the wire back around the bead.

3. Use flat nose pliers to bend the wire around itself to create a coiled effect. Cut off any excess with side cutters.

4. Wrap the crystal. With this particular pendant, I created the bail half-way through wrapping in order to use both ends of the wire for beads.

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