Wire-Wrapping Bracelet With Beads Tutorial

Hi my lovely wire wrappers!

There is nothing more satisfying than wearing a beautifully handcrafted bracelet that you made.

In this advanced tutorial, I will be showing you how to make a wire-wrapping bracelet with beads.

Follow me along in this step-by-step guide and master techniques such as: wire-framing, wire-structuring and wire-weaving.

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Wire-Wrapping Bracelet With Beads Tutorial (Front)

LEVEL: ADVANCED

MATERIALS + TOOLS

Small Round Stone Beads (5pcs)
Brown Copper Wire (16 AWG)
Brown Copper Wire (21 AWG)
Gold Copper Wire (24 AWG)
Wire Cutter
Nylon jaw pliers
Stepped Bail-Making Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Awl
Diamond Needle Files Flat
Finest Steel Wire Wool
Masking Tape
Wavy Line Template (Hand drawn)
Small Hammer with Flat Mallet Head
Metal Base Plate
Bracelet Measurement Cone

WIRE-WRAPPING BRACELET WITH BEADS TUTORIAL

Step 1 of 15 – WIRE FRAMING

Firstly, prepare all required materials and tools as listed above (fig. 1a, 1b).

Then, draw two wavy lines on a piece of paper as a template for wire-framing (fig. 1c).

Bend two strings of 16-gauge copper wire that are 12 inches long each and tape them as shown (fig. 1d, 1e).

Step 2 of 15 – WIRE BEADING AND STRUCTURING

After making the frame, it is time to add details for your bracelet.

We begin with one round stone bead and a string of 21-gauge copper wire through it (fig. 2a).

Wrap 5 loops on the top frame with the front end of the 21-gauge wire (fig. 2b, 2c).

Use a beading awl to position the loops next to the bead and give the wire an edge (fig. 2d, 2e).

Then, wrap the excess wire on the side of the bead as shown (fig. 2f).

Continue to secure the bead by wrapping the back end of the 21-gauge wire on the bottom frame with 5 loops (fig. 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j).

Note: For this tutorial, wrap 4 to 5 wire loops when anchoring on the wire frame to have stronger hold and visible details.

Step 3 of 15

Thirdly, tape the first bead and the front end of the 21-gauge wire in position (fig. 3a).

Then, use a round nose pliers and make a twist structure on the free end of the same 21-gauge wire (fig. 3b).

Slide in a second bead and anchor the wire on the bottom frame (fig. 3c, 3d, 3e).

Make a second anchor on the top frame and shape the wire with an awl (fig. 3f, 3g, 3h).

Step 4 of 15

Repeat Step 3:

Make a twist structure with round nose plier (fig. 4a, 4b, 4c).
Slide in a third bead and anchor the wire on bottom frame (fig. 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h).
Pull the wire along the side of the bead and make a second anchor on the top frame (fig. 4i, 4j, 4k).

Step 5 of 15

Instead of making two anchors, you only have to anchor once for this step.

So, make a twist structure with round nose plier from the free wire end (fig. 5a, 5b).

Slide in the fourth bead and anchor the wire on top frame (fig. 5c, 5d, 5e).

Complete the design by cutting off the excess wire with a wire cutter (fig. 5f).

Step 6 of 15

Back to the first bead, make a twist structure from the free wire with a round nose plier (fig. 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d).

Then, slide in the fifth and final bead into the wire and make a double anchor on the wire frames as shown (fig. 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i).

Step 7 of 15

Finally, to finish off the design, make three twisting structures as shown:

First big twist: (fig. 7a, 7b, 7c)
Second big twist: (fig. 7d, 7e)
Third small twist: (fig. 7f, 7g, 7h)

Tidy up the bracelet design by cutting off the excess wire (fig.7i, 7j).

Step 8 of 15

Back to the fourth bead, repeat the same design from step 7 with a new string of 21-gauge wire (fig. 8a).

Start with an anchor on the top frame (fig. 8b, 8c).

Then, line the wire along the bead toward the bottom frame and make a second anchor (fig. 8d, 8e, 8f).

Complete the design by making 3 twisting structure as shown (fig. 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l).

CHECKPOINT 1

This is how your wire-wrapping bracelet with bead should look so far:

Step 9 of 15 WIRE WEAVING

Start with a new string of 24-gauge wire (fig. 9a).

Hold the twist structure in place by anchoring it to the wire frame (fig. 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e).

Then, proceed with the wire-weaving pattern:

Make 3 starting loops then pull the wire directly to the opposite side and end it with 3 loops (fig. 9f, 9g).

To make a 3D pattern, pull the wire across instead of directly to the opposite side as shown (fig. 9h, 9i, 9j).

Repeat this weaving pattern until you reach the tip (fig. 9k).

Remember to close the wire frame gap gradually as you weave (fig. 9l).

Step 10 of 15

For this end of the bracelet, we will create the clasp hoop.

Use a stepped bail making pliers to make a hoop on the bottom wire end of the 16-gauge frame (fig. 10a, 10b, 10c).

Then, trim the top wire end with a wire cutter and smoothen it out with a flat diamond needle files (fig. 10d, 10e).

Next, use a round nose plier and make a twist structure on the top wire frame (fig. 10f, 10g, 10h).

Tidy it up by wrapping the existing 24-gauge until the end of the top frame (fig. 10i, 10j, 10k, 10l, 10m, 10n).

Step 11 of 15

For the bottom wire frame, make a perfect round clasp hoop with a stepped bail making pliers (fig. 11a, 11b, 11c).

Trim the excess wire as shown (fig. 11d, 11e).

Then, start a new string of 24-gauge copper wire and finish wrapping the bottom wire frame completely (fig. 11f, 11g, 11h, 11i, 11j, 11k).

Tip: Start from the middle of the clasp hoop so it is easier to trim off the excess wire.

Step 12 of 15

Rotate your bracelet to the fifth bead, and repeat Step 9:

Anchor the 21-gauge twist wire to the 16-gauge bottom wire frame with a new string of 24-gauge copper wire (fig. 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f).

Then, repeat the Step 9 weaving pattern as shown (fig. 12g, 12h, 12i).