Woven Cage Pendant

Copyright 2009 Donna Spadafore Page: 1

Tutorial: Woven Cage Pendant Created by Donna Spadafore www.gailavira.com gailavira.blogspot.com Please do not distribute, lend or copy. Do not mass produce. Please always give credit to the designer. Copyrights 2009 Donna Spadafore

This lesson teaches you to make a woven cage to

show off your beautiful focal beads. There are

many ways to alter the final look of the cage.

Take 10% off your next purchase from

http://tutorial.gailavira.com if you use the

coupon code RC10.

Materials: 24 of 22g Round Wire (dead soft or half

hard)

13 28g Round Wire (dead soft)

1 5 headpin 20g or 22g (headpins this long

are difficult to find. If you do not have a

torch to make your own ball headpin you can

find a free tutorial for knotted headpins on

my web-site: http://tutorial.gailavira.com)

1 10mm focal bead

9 4mm spacer bead

1 accent bead (size depends on your

personal taste)

8 2mm beads

Tools: Wire cutters

Round Nose Pliers

Bail making pliers or mandrel that is the

desired size for the bail

Needle file or wire rounder


Step 1:

Cut the 22g wire into 8 3 pieces.

Step 2:

Cut a 4 piece of 28g wire. Wrap one end around

one of the 22g wires 4-5 times. Try to make this

wrap about 3/8-1/2 away from the end.

Step 3:

Put another piece of 22g wire next to the first

one. Bring the 28g wire over the top of the 2nd

piece of 22g wire, then wrap it around the wire,

bringing it back up between the two 22 g wires.

The way this is being joined is also the way the

entire piece will be woven.

Step 4:

Continue adding the rest of the 22g wires as in

step 3.

After all the wires have been added, be sure to

line up the tips of the wires, to get them as even

as possible. This will be more difficult to do after

the next couple of steps, so it is best to keep

everything even at this stage.


Step 5:

Take your piece of scrap 16g wire and wrap the

bundle of 22g wires around it.

The 16g wire isnt necessary, but will make it

much easier to hold onto the bundle as you

continue to weave. It will also help them stay in a

circle instead of being flattened as you work.

Step 6:

Close the circle by wrapping the 28g wire around

the first 22g wire the same way you added all the

other wires.

You have just completed your first round of

weaving.

Step 7:

Below the first woven round, bend all the wires

outward at approximately a 90 angle. Try to

space them evenly around the center.


Step 8:

Begin weaving again. The weave is done in the

same manner that the wires were joined.

Step 9:

Keep weaving until you have a web-like circle

that is 12-13mm in diameter.

Step 10:

Bend all the wires downward at the edge of the

weave at another 90 angle.

In this picture I have taken the 16g wire out of

the center to make it easier to see the position of

the other wires. However, as you can see through

the rest of the tutorial, it is still being used to

help hold the pendant as it is being woven.


Step 11:

Add a 4mm bead to the 28g wire and wrap it

around the next wire as if you were continuing a

normal weave.

Step 12:

Continue adding 4mm beads as in the previous

step until you have a full circle of beads.

Step 13:

Weave two more rows underneath the row of

beads.


Step 14:

Turn the pendant over and push the wires inward

toward the center. The angle that the wires take

at this point is completely up to you and how you

want your finished pendant to look.

It will be easier to continue weaving if you curve

the ends of the wire outward so that none of the

wires actually cross each other at any point.

Step 15:

Continue weaving, allowing the 22g wires to

come together to give the top of the cage a

tapered look. You can weave as far down as you

like, just be sure that you still have wire to keep

going.

Step 16:

Once you reach the point that you would like to

be the bottom of the first woven section, add

another row of smaller beads (for this pendant I

am using 2mm beads) the same way the first row

of beads was added. (Optional)


Step 17:

Bend the wires outward just beneath the last row.

Do not worry about the angle at this point. The

wires will be shaped around the bead after it is

added.

Step 18:

Wrap the 28g wire around the 22g wire that is

closest to where the weave ended several times

to anchor it. Do not cut off the tail yet.

Step 19:

If you have not already done so, cut the

beginning tail off of the 28g wire at the top of the

pendant and press it close to the 22g wire.

Cut the top wires to approximately away from

the top of the pendant. File them smooth.


Step 20:

Using your round nose pliers, curl one of the top

wires outward till it touches the top of the weave.

Step 21:

Repeat step 20 with the remaining top wires.

Set this piece aside for now.

Step 22:

Place your beads onto the headpin. For this

pendant I have used four beads.

Bead 1: This one is only there because the accent

bead I am using has a rather large hole. This

bead is to keep the accent bead from slipping

over the end of the headpin. If the accent bead

you are using doesnt have a large hole, then this

bead is optional.

Bead 2: Accent Bead

Bead 3: This bead is being used to keep a

sufficient amount of space between the focal bead

and the accent bead. Without it, the bottom

section of the woven cage will cover too much of

the accent bead.

Bead 4: Focal.


Step 23:

Take the 16g wire out of the center of the cage

and insert the top of the headpin into the center

of the cage, coming up through the bottom of the

cage.

Step 24:

Cut a piece of 28g wire and coil it onto the part of

the headpin that is coming out of the top of the

cage. You will need a coil that is about 2 long.

Push the coil all the way into the cage. You

should still have about 1 of coil over the top of

the cage.

Step 25:

Holding the headpin so that the beads are

pressed up against the last woven row of the

cage, bend the coiled headpin at a 90 angle

5mm above the top of the curls at the top of the

cage.


Step 26:

Using your bail making pliers, or a mandrel that is

the size you want the bail to be, make a loop out

of the coiled wire, just above the bend from the

previous step.

Step 27:

Wrap the coiled wire around the stem just

below the loop until it touches the coils at the top

of the pendant.

Step 28:

Cut the wire, through the coil, and press the end

against the stem. Try to tuck it up under the

curls, if possible.

Step 29:

Using the tail wire from the weaving (step 18)

continue wrapping around the 22g wire. Hold the

wire against the bead occasionally to see where

you are. This coil should end about 3/16 away

from the bottom of the focal bead. If you need to,

you can add another piece of wire if the tail wire

from the weaving isnt long enough.


Step 30:

Coil 6 of the other wires so that the coils all end

the same distance away from the bottom of the

focal bead as the first wire (step 29).

This should leave you with 7 coiled wires.

Step 31:

Cut another 3 piece of 28g wire. Coil it around

the remaining 22g wire so that the end is even

with the other coils. Do NOT cut this wire.

Step 32:

Bend the 22g wires outward approximately

below the bottoms of the coils.


Step 33:

Press the coiled wires against the bead to shape

them. Try to keep them evenly spaced.

Step 34:

Begin weaving again, as before, keeping the

wires evenly spaced as you go. Weave until you

cover the spacer bead.

Step 35:

Wrap the 28g wire around one of the 22g wires

several times to secure it.


Step 36:

Cut all the 22g wires about 6mm () below the

weave.

Step 37:

Curl all the bottom wires upward to match the

curls at the top of the pendant.

2009 Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry

This tutorial is intended for use by one person

only. Please do not share this tutorial with anyone

else. Distribution of this tutorial is not allowed

without express written consent from the author.

If you wish to use the techniques in this lesson to

teach a class you must first contact the author for

permission.

If you are an individual, independent jewelry

artist you may use this lesson to make jewelry

for sale. You may not use this lesson to mass

produce items for a commercial operation.

Derivatives of this tutorial (instructions using

designs based on the one in this tutorial, even if

they are not exact duplicates) are not allowed

without written consent from the author.

If you would like to be notified when new tutorials

are released, Like Gailavira on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/gailavira

Or follow on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/gailavira


As you can see here, there are many ways to

alter this design.

The Blue Aventurine Caged Pendant on the left

was used as the model for this tutorial. The Onyx

pendant below it was made without the accent

bead on the bottom. I did not have any bead the

correct size for the top of the pendant, so I used

several daisy spacer beads in each space.

The Rhodonite and rose quartz pendant below

also does not use an accent bead. Instead, I have

added extra rows of beads to the weave to accent

the focal.

Woven Cage Pendant

Documents

Transcript of Woven Cage Pendant