How to wirewrap a briolette or top-drilled bead

I've had some folks on Etsy ask me to write a tutorial on how to wire wrap a briolette. So I finally got around to it. Remember, this is the way I do it, and it may differ from other instructions you can find in bead books or on the internet.

Supplies:

Silver wire. (22, 24, or 26 gauge, depending on the desired effect, size of stone, and size of holes in the stone ) I don't cut my wire at a particular length; I use the entire roll and cut it at the end.

Bead / gemstone (briolette, teardrop, or marquise shape)

Round Nose Pliers

Cutting Pliers

Fingers

Instructions:
1)Thread the wire through the bead's hole, making it poke out about an inch on one side.

2)Pinch both wires at the top of the briolette to form the shape of a triangle, making sure that the stone is centered

3) Take the short end and wrap it around the longer wire 2-3 times, like this:

4)Snip off the tiny bit of wire sticking out.

5)Using your round pliers, create a loop:

(You could actuall stop here, finish with a wrapped loop, and be done. But we'll continue with wrapping the wire down the gemstone.)

6)Now start wrapping the wire. You will wrap around the wire below the loop, then wrap around the bead. You can stop wrapping above the hole in the bead or below it, depending on the look you want. In this case I wrapped below the hole.

7) At this point you need to decide how to finish this off. There are a number of ways:

• Cut the wire flush and either tuck it under the last wrap or press it neatly against the stone. (Tucking it under can cause the wrapping to loosen and become "messy". )



• Wrap the wire back up the bead carefully, then secure it by tucking it into the bead hole. Below is an example of what it would look like. (This gorgeous wirewrapping was done by Raes Creations, who had the earrings for sale in her Etsy shop. Her blog is here. )

• To create a purposely "messy" look, wrap the wire back up the bead loosely. Then secure below the loop as explained above. Example that I found on Etsy:



• To create a swirl in front of the bead, cut the wire, leaving about 1/2 inch. Then create the swirl and press it against the bead. Example:


• Wrap the wire back up once accross the front of the wrapping, then a couple of times below the loop. (My preferred method). Example:

And that's all there is to it! Happy wire wrapping!

Update on 3/18/08: The above can now be found at my online shop.

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