Friday 5 August 2011

Tutorial: Wire-Wrapped Crystal Bracelet

Crystal jewellery is everywhere at the moment, be it agate slice pendants, geode cluster rings or polished cabochon earrings!
With so much around, I’ve a wish-list a mile long and a lot of inspiration!

I know, I know, I’ve already done wrapped crystal necklaces aplenty!

The latest of my crystal jewellery endeavours is this wire-wrapped crystal cuff:


The inspiration was this bracelet from Diva at Miss Selfridge:


Swirl Centre Stone Cuff, RRP £15, Miss Selfridge


It took me a while to figure out how to put this bracelet together and I messed up a couple of times!
Read on to find out how I did it. 


 
Time needed: approx 20-30 minutes

You need:
Crystal
Thin gauge wire
Thick gauge wire
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Flat nose pliers



1. Cut a length of thicker gauge wire a few centimetres wider than your crystal. Using round nose pliers, curl one end over to make a looped bail.


Hold this piece of wire against the back of your crystal and wrap the crystal with the thinner gauge wire. Tuck in the ends at the back of the crystal.
This process is really similar to that used my Chicken andEgg Necklace, so I reused the pictures! 



2.  Using the thick gauge wire again, bend over the end with the round nose pliers.



3. Start bending the wire back and forth in a cuff shape, bending around the round nose pliers when you get to the ends. I used an existing cuff as a guide for size and shape. Slide on the crystal once you have around three strands of wire on your cuff and twist to hold the strands together.



4. Continue bending the wire as in step 3 until you have three more strands. Use round nose pliers to curl the other end of the wire you cut in step 1 in a loop around one of these strands, cutting off any excess. Again, twist the strands together.



5. Before cutting off excess wire from the main part of the bracelet, wrap it around the bottom of the cuff. Cut off another short piece of wire to wrap around the other side. Use flat-nose pliers to bend the ends in.


Linking up at The More The Merrier Monday @ The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, and all the fab link parties in my sidebar!

homework

27 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Just wanted to let you know that this tutorial is great. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

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  2. So pretty! I might have to give this a go some time. Thanks for the tutorial. :)
    S&R

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  3. I have made similar cuffs in the past but I have trouble in retaining the shape (round) once I have tried it on...is there trick to maintain the shape ?

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  4. This is really nice! Thanks for sharing it with us!!!

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  5. beautiful job on your bracelet.
    ps. i loved pan's labyrinth too. great movie.

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  6. This is another gorgeous piece! I love it! I hope you will link up again this week!

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  7. AMAZING! If you get a chance I would love you to link your bracelet up to More the Merrier Monday. It lasts through Wednesday so you have plenty of time to stop by. See you there. http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

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  8. Very impressive! I tried to wire-wrap crystals and stones to make pendants years ago, but never came up with anything I realy liked. This tutorial looks like something I can do. (gulp!) Thanks for sharing!
    Your newest follower,
    Rikka J.
    Ricochet and Away!
    p.s. thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog!

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  9. I'd never have know you didn't make jewellery like this all the time. It looks lovely ! Thanks for the tutorial

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  10. It turned out very similar! Love it :)

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  11. What a beautiful cuff! Thanks for linking to the Tuesday To Do Party!
    Smiles!
    Jami
    www.blackberryvine.blogspot.com

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  12. Great tutorial! What a fun idea! Love the bracelet!!

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  13. This is gorgeous! I make jewelry too - thanks so much for the tutorial, it really turned out great!!

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  14. Love this idea and yours turned out great! I actually like it better than your inspiration. I'm pinning this for future reference!

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  15. This is beautiful!!! I love to make jewelry. Thanks for the sweet comment over on my blog today :)

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  16. I just love the easy way to get such a cool bangle!

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  17. Hi is there any way you can tell me what size wire to use? It didn't say I also looked at the heart you made that looked like a dream catcher inside but it also didn't say what size wire to use, it would be very helpful to me. Thank you

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bev, I'm not quite sure what gauge wire I used since it was left over from my parents jewellery business (so...the 90's!) and didn't have any label. I'd guess it was 1-2mm for the thicker, and 0.25-0.5mm for the thinner wire :) Really I suppose it's a matter of taste, whether you like a chunkier or a finer look to your finished piece :) The dream catcher heart uses the same gauge wire.

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  18. Great idea for a party.

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  19. As promised, here is the post featuring this wonderful tutorial! http://www.beadinggem.com/2012/04/easy-wire-work-bracelet-tutorials.html Many thanks for inspiring us.

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  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  21. GRAZIE PER LA FANTASTICA IDEA =_= GRAZI,GRAZIE,GRAZIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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  22. Great tutorial I love this bracelet!

    http://jewelryrage.com/

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  23. Love the bracelet. Very nice tutorial. Easy to follow. Just want to let you know I wrote a short post with pic, and link back to you, so I can share your wonderful tutorial. I hope you don't mind (-;
    http://mixedkreations.com/blog/2013/03/diy-wrapped-crystal-bracelet/

    Thank you for sharing and I hope you have a great week.
    Linda

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Reading all your sweet comments makes me happy! :) I appreciate each and every one and try to reply to all that I can!

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