How to Wrap Briolette Beads with Wire

November 2nd, 2008 | Techniques

Level: beginner
tools: round nose pliers, chain nose pliers, wire cutters
materials: briolette bead(s), your choice of wire

Briolettes are tear drop shaped beads that have drilled hole on top. If you already know the basic wire wrapping technique using head pins, this is the next wire wrapping technique to learn! They can be a center piece of your necklace, a cluster for earrings, or you can incorporate briolette wrapped beads with other wrapped beads using head pins.

First, cut a 3 inch peice of wire, and string a bead on the wire. Here, I used 26 gauge sterling silver wire. You can also use gold or copper instead.

With your fingers, bend both sides of the wire with an angle. Insert your finger into the “X” area where the wires crossed, and press down toward the bead.

With your chain nose pliers, bend one side of the wire down with an angle. Bend the other wire straight up with an angle to form a 90 degree angle with the two wires.

Grip the triangle loop with your chain nose pliers and flip it over. Wrap about two times, and trim the excess wire as close as possible. From here, create another wrapped loop with the basic wire wrapping technique. Place your round nose pliers right above the wrap you created, and bend the wire to 90 degree angle. Depending on where you place the pliers, you can adjust size of the loop.

If you would like to attach any components to the loop, now is the time to do so. String all components (such as chains or rings) before closing the loop. Grip the loop with your chain nose pliers, and wrap about two times until it meets the end of the other wrapped wire. Cut off the excess wire and finish by tucking in the end.

This wire wrapping technique is easy to learn and a very useful technique to have in your jewelry design toolbox. You can add wrapped briolette beads to earrings, bracelets, necklaces and more!

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