A bead wire-wrapping tutorial can be controversial

I don't know if you remember, but earlier this year, I posted a tutorial on how to wrap briolette beads.

I just recently got an interesting e-mail from a fellow jewelry maker. She said that wrapping briolettes was information that she worked hard to discover herself and that it was hard-earned; she was upset that I was sharing it. She called me out on her blog, too.

Well do you know what I say. Knowledge is worthless unless it is shared. It's not a commodity to hoard.

Furthermore, ANYONE can figure out how to wrap beads. Most bead magazines have instructions. Plus it's easy enough to find by googling.

So in as a response to her letter, I am re-posting my tutorial, below.

Good luck to all my fellow beaders and jewelry makers, and I hope your briolettes turn out BRILLIANTLY!


The Contrariwise Method to wrap briolettes and tear-shaped beads

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.


• Wrap the wire back up the bead carefully, then secure it by tucking it into the bead hole or wrapping it a couple of times under the loop. (If you want a "messy" look, wrap the wire back up loosely.)


• 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!

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