Wire-Wrapping Classic Cabochon Tutorial

Greetings my lovely wire-wrappers!

I’m back with a new pendant piece for you to add to your cabochon stone collection.

Follow along in this step-by-step Wire-Wrapping Classic Cabochon Tutorial here.

Also, all my wire-wrapping jewelries are made without soldering.

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LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

MATERIALS + TOOLS

White Oval Stone
Brown Copper Wire (16 AWG)
Brown Copper Wire (18 AWG)
Brown Copper Wire (24 AWG)
Gold Copper Wire (21 AWG)
Wire Cutter ( Big , Small)
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Stepped Bail-Making Pliers
Bent Nose Pliers
Mini Long Needle Nose Plier
Round Nose Pliers
Diamond Needle Files (Round, Flat)
Small Hammer with Flat Mallet Head
Metal Base Plate
Masking Tape
Finest Steel Wire Wool
Pen / Marker Pen

WIRE-WRAPPING CLASSIC CABOCHON TUTORIAL

Step 1 of 13

Firstly, prepare all items listed in the Materials and Tools section above (fig. 1a, 1b).

We begin by creating the main wire frame for the cabochon stone.

Lightly hammer a string of 16-gauge brown copper wire and flatten its side (fig. 1c, 1d).

Wrap the flattened wire along the side of your cabochon stone.

Use masking tape to hold the wire frame in place (fig. 1e).

Mark the end point of the wire frame with a pen and bend out the excess wire with a bent nose pliers (fig. 1f, 1g, 1h, 1i, 1j).

Step 2 of 13

Next, take a new string of 21-gauge gold copper wire and wrap the bent wires together to close the frame (fig. 2a, 2b).

Continue wrapping through the straight wires around 1.5 inches for pendant bail-making later in the tutorial (fig. 2c).

Step 3 of 13

Thirdly, make a secondary frame with a new string of 16-gauge copper wire (fig. 3a).

Hammer the 16-gauge wire and flatten it out completely (fig. 3b, 3c).

Make a loop with the flatten wire and adjust it to fit the side of the cabochon stone as shown (fig. 3d, 3e, 3f).

Step 4 of 13

Moving on, make a second loop from the same flatten wire from Step 3 (fig. 4a, 4b).

Make sure the loop ends at the top of the frame (fig. 4c).

Use a wire cutter to trim the excess wire at an angle as shown (fig. 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h).

Then, smoothen the ends with diamond needle files (fig. 4i, 4j).

The secondary wire frame ends should look as shown (fig. 4k).

Step 5 of 13

Form the bail with a stepped bail-making pliers (fig. 5a).

Bend the straight wires to the front (curved) side of the cabochon pendant (fig. 5b).

Then, trim the excess 16-gauge and 21-gauge wires with wire cutters (fig. 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f).

Lastly, smoothen the trimmed ends and adjust the shape to give the bail a neat finish with needle files and needle nose pliers (fig. 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j).

Step 6 of 13

For this step, we will be weaving the main frame and secondary frame together in place.

Firstly, have the back side of main frame face you and start a new string of 24-gauge wire (fig. 6a).

Anchor the 24-gauge wire on the top left side of the main frame for two loops (fig. 6b, 6c).

On the pendant front side, weave the main frame and the secondary frame on the bottom side of both frames for 4 loops (fig. 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i, 6j, 6k).

Lastly, cross the remaining wire and anchor the last point on the top left side of the main frame (fig. 6l, 6m, 6n).

Trim the excess 24-gauge wire (fig. 6o).

The back side of your pendant should look like (fig. 6p).

Step 7 of 13

After that, we continue to add details to the frames.

On the front side of your pendant, start a new string of 24-gauge wire at the bottom right side (fig. 7a).

Weave the whole frame bundles for four loops as shown (fig. 7b, 7c, 7e, 7d, 7f, 7g, 7h).

Trim off the lower part of the excess wire (fig. 7i).

Step 8 of 13

We proceed to give a dimensional look by weaving through the wire frame bundles.

Begin with wrapping only the last two wire frames as shown (fig. 8a, 8b).

Then, pull the 24-gauge wire to the front-most wire frame (fig. 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f) and anchor it for two loops (fig. 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j).

Trim off the excess 24-gauge wire (fig. 8k).

Wire-Wrapping Classic Cabochon TutorialWire-Wrapping Classic Cabochon Tutorial — fig. 8a

Step 9 of 13

Similar to Step 7 and Step 8, repeat on the bottom left side with a new string of 24-gauge wire (fig. 9a):

Weave the wire frame bundle for four loops (fig. 9b).
Then, loop the last wire frame as shown (fig. 9c, 9d).
Lastly, pull the wire to the front and wrap the first and second frame for 2 loops (fig. 9e, 9f).
Use wire cutter to trim off the excess wire (fig. 9g, , 9i, 9j).

So far, your wire-wrapping classic cabochon pendant front side should look like (fig. 9h).

Step 10 of 13

For the last part of this tutorial, we will give the pendant a beautiful design structure.

Firstly, start a new string of 18-gauge copper wire and hammer it (fig. 10a, 10b, 10c).

We duplicate the bail for this new flatten 18-gauge wire using a stepped bail-making pliers (fig. 10d, 10e, 10f).

Then, make a 90-degree bend at the ending of the bail with a long needle nose pliers (fig. 10g, 10h, 10i).

Next, tape the new bail on the right side of the existing bail.

Make the first structure pattern by wrapping the wire in a triangle direction as shown (fig. 10j, 10k, 10l).

Lastly, use a long needle nose pliers to make a second bail (fig. 10m, 10n).

Step 11 of 13

This time the remaining wire will be towards the back side of the pendant.

Pull the wire towards the bottom right point and bend the top for a smooth curve (fig. 11a, 11b).

Then, wrap the wire to the front side and upwards to the bail (fig. 11c, 11d, 11e).

Make a wrap over the bail as shown (fig. 11f, 11g).

From the top front side, pull the wire down right front side of the frame (fig. 11h, 11i) and wrap it around the back top side (fig. 11j).

Finish the structure by making two loops over the bail (fig. 11k, 11l, 11m, 11n).