Carelebeads: Wire Wrapped Rings

One of my best sellers at sales lately is my wire wrapped rings. I sell them for $5 each. They are fairly simple to make and at my last sale, I was even custom making some for the smaller fingers that were eager to wear something shiny.

As I said, they are failry easy to make. Start with a piece of wire. I like to use 20 gauge because it isn't too thin or too thick. I use crafting wire that can be found at any craft store.

Wire, ring madrel, beads, needle nose pliers, round nose pliers, hammer

Bend wire in half with bead in center.

All of my rings have one of my own small glass beads. You could use any small size bead on your ring. Thread the bead onto the wire until it is centered. Bend the wire in half and position the bead in the center.

I have a ring mandrel so I can make rings different sizes and know what sizes they are. Before the mandrel, I used cylindrical bottles that small beads (such as seed beads) come in. Use what you have that will give you the right size ring.

Wrap top wire 3 times

Centre the bead on the mandrel (or whatever you are using). Wrap the top wire around the mandrel 3 times. Then wrap the bottom wire around 3 times making sure you tighten the bead and wire as you go.

Bottom wire wrapped around the bead.
Use round pliers to bend into wrap.

Take the bottom wire and wrap around the bead until it is almost all the way around.
Using round nose pliers, bend the end of the wire and push it into the wrap so there isn't a sharp point. Next wrap the top wire around the other wrap. Finish the end again by bending the wire into the wrap.

Re-adjust where needed using the needle nose or round nose pliers. When you are happy with the shape of the ring, uise a nylon hammer to strengthen the wire. Hammer the back part of the ring while it is on the mandrel. This will help it hold its shape.

Remove the ring from the mandrel and you are done.

I have yet to figure out exactly how to get certain looks. A lot of what I do is trial and error. So play arond with it and see what you can come up with.

There are many more complicated wire wrapped rings which turn out quite pretty. But to keep my cost at $5, I think I will stick to my simple wrapped ring.