Tuturial 301: Wire Wrapping a Briolette

 

I hope everyone is enjoying a long holiday weekend!  In case you have a little extra time on your hands and need a simple jewelry project to keep you busy, I wanted to offer my third tutorial:  wire-wrapping a briolette and making a pair of earrings!

 

To begin, you will need these basic tools and supplies:  round nose pliers, flat nose pliers, wire cutters,

 

 

26 gauge wire, fleur de lis connectors (available at The Paris Carousel), briolette stones (I've used London blue quartz), and a pair of ear wires (please see my Tutorial 201 for how to oxidize sterling silver).

 

 

First, cut a piece of wire approximately 1-1/2 inches long and slide it through the hole of the briolette. There should be about 1/3 of the wire on one side of the briolette, and 2/3 on the other.

 

 

Twist the wire to form a little triangle over the briolette.

 

 

Grip the triangle with your pliers.

 

 

Twist the shorter end of the wire over the longer end one full time.

 

 

A closer look...

 

 

Cut the shorter tail off as closely as possible.

 

 

Your wire should now look like this.

 

 

With your round nose pliers, create a little dip in the wire, close to the briolette.

 

 

It should like this.

 

 

Slide the bottom end of the fleur de lis connector onto the dip.

 

 

Form a loop and wrap the wire around one full time.

 

 

A closer look...

 

 

Cut the tail of the wire off as closely as possible.

 

 

With your flat nose pliers, open the loop on your ear wires

 

 

and slide top of the fleur de lis connector into it.

 

 

Squeeze closed with flat nosed pliers.

 

 

Voila – your finished earring!

 

 

Repeat the process and you will soon have a pair!

 

 

As always, I hope this tutorial has been fun and informative, and welcome your feedback or suggestions!  I'll leave you with a sneak peek at my latest necklace designs, coming to The French Circus tomorrow!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, mes amis!  :)