Things you'll need so that you can follow along and learn how to wire wrap a cabochon pendant:

1. Wire cutters
2. Round needle nose pliers
3. Flat needle nose pliers
4. 24 guage wire. I'm using Sterling Silver but any kind can be used. Be sure that it is crafting wire, though, and not the kind of wire you get at the hardware store.
5. A nice stone, preferably cut as a cabochon.

Cabochon (kab-uh-shon) refers to a specific way a stone is cut. A cabochon cut is usually oval-ish in shape, flat on the back, and slightly convex on the front, with the front being smooth and without facets.

Today I'm going to teach you how to do a wire wrap pendant for a cabochon stone.

Step 1

Cut off 6 lengths of wire. Measure the wire to the stone so that, without kinking the wire but instead curving the wire as show in the picture, the stone fits one third of the curve. Also cut off a 1.5 to 2 inch piece of wire.

Step 2

Next, let's make the first brace. Arrange the 6 strips of wire in your hands with the smaller piece tucked under as shown in the picture. Make sure that the smaller wire is approximately in the middle of the 6-wire strip; we'll be making the center brace first.

With your index finger, bend the smaller wire around the 6 longer wires, and then pinch it with your fingers.

Then use the flat needle nose pliers to clamp it in place.

Continue to bend the wire around, clamping with the flat needle nose pliers after each bend to ensure that the brace fits tightly against the 6-wire strip. Make sure not to clamp too tightly though as you will need to move these braces around.

After you have gone around as many times as you like, cut the two ends off so that the ends are both on the same side of the 6-wire strip: this will be the side that faces the stone and not seen.

Step 3

To make a nice ornament on our pendant, bend the outermost wire of the 6-wire strip out and away from the rest of the strip, pivoting on the brace you just made. We'll use it to do something fancy. Then make two more braces on either side of the first brace. Note that the brace is smaller on the side in which we bent a wire away since there are now less wires in the strip on that side. Cut the ornament wire down to about an inch.

Step 4

Now, bend the entire 6-wire strip around the edge of your stone, so that the center brace sits at what you consider to be the bottom of the stone; the part that will hang lowest. The other two braces will be half way up the sides of the stone. Ensure that the side of the 6-wire strip that has the brace ends faces the stone so that they are not seen. Ensure that the wire that you will use as an ornament sits near what you consider to be the front of the stone. If you made your braces right, they should slide on the wire strip so that you can easily move them to a nice, symetrical place where it will help add strength to the wrap. Usually half-way is best.

Step 5

Once the strip is conformed to the edge of the stone so that you have all of it pinched at the top of the stone (as shown in the picture above), take another edge wire from the 6-wire strip, like you did for the ornament, and wrap it around the neck of the pendant so as to hold the wire strip in place around the stone.

Cut the excess off and clamp the end of it nicely to the neck with the flat needle nose pliers so the the end isn't poking out.

Step 6

Next, take your round needle nose pliers and use the tip to push the edge wires in and onto the face of the stone. The should be done as snug against the stone as possible as this is what's holding the stone in place. Continue to push in wires as your artistic vision sees fit. Just keep in mind that not only are you making the aesthetic design, you are also making the functional design as well: it must be strong enough to hold the stone! In my case I decided it was enough to just push in the first wire, but you can push in as many as you like.

Step 7

Here we are going to make the ornament we started earlier. Use the round needle nose pliers and grab the tip of the wire with the very tip of the pliers, then twist the pliers to get a spiral started.

Then use the flat needle nose pliers to continue the sprial by grabing the flat face of it and rolling it up.

Now you have a cool spiral!

Step 8

Finally, we will finish the pendant by making the bail, which is simply what you call the loop that the chain goes through. Flatten out all the wires with the round needle nose pliers as shown in the picture.

Then wrap all the wires around the pliers nose, then around the neck of the bail. Go around the neck twice pulling relatively tight.

Next, fan out the wires, then cut them so they are of equal length away from the neck. Use both the round and flat needle nose pliers to make more spirals around the neck.

Now you're done!

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Artopium Mike