Cabochon Feet

by Mint Spring

Category: Classic
Technique(s): Wrapping
Skill Level: Advanced

This technique developed as a way to really "show off" those cabochons whose detailed beauty lies in the fact that they are translucent. You know, the ones that you want to hang in a brightly-lit window! When made as a regular framed pendant, these stones must lay on the skin or shirt, allowing no light to get through the back, resulting in a "dead" stone.

Special Instructions: Please note that this is an Advanced or Designer pattern of technique only; I am not going into detail about the basics of how to frame a cabochon. Use those skills you have already mastered to frame your stone, adding my "foot technique" as you go. Please take a moment to read over the directions before you begin to work with them!

Materials

21 Gauge Square Half Hard 14/20 Gold Filled Wire

H4-21SQH

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 feet
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1FT
Price: $7.03
Gold Club Price: $5.28

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20 Gauge Round Half Hard 14/20 Gold Filled Wire

H4-20H

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 feet
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 1FT
Price: $7.02
Gold Club Price: $5.26

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Tools

C.H.P Milano Italian Flush Cutter, 5 1/2 Inches

PLR-487.00

PLR-487.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $16.97
Gold Club Price: $12.73

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Marker -extra fine

Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each

Scotch 0.94 Inch Painters Tape for Taping Wires Together

G13-5

G13-5
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $5.97
Gold Club Price: $4.48

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12 Inch Stainless Steel Ruler

G7-30

G7-30
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $2.97
Gold Club Price: $2.23

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3.6 Volt Automatic Wire Twister (Cordless Screwdriver)

G5-15

G5-15
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $42.97
Gold Club Price: $32.23

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Chain Nose Wire Pliers

G2-508

G2-508
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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Flat Nose Wire Pliers

G2-506

G2-506
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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Round Nose Wire Pliers

G2-507

G2-507
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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6 1/2 Inch Bail Making Pliers

G2-18

G2-18
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $12.78
Gold Club Price: $9.58

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Instructions

Step 1:

Step 1

Use the 1/4" tape to wrap the perimeter of the stone. On the tape, mark where the wraps and the feet will be placed, as well as the bottom/center. "Feet" can be made at each corner, centered on each side, or where ever you think the stone needs to be lifted.
Note: Wraps for feet MUST be wide enough to hide the "return" wires on each side of a foot, as described in step 7.

Step 2

Straighten, measure and cut the necessary number of wires for the cabochon frame (width of stone plus 2). Add four or more additional wires. (These give the necessary height for the feet). Be sure to add length for the bail and any decorative treatment you wish for embellishment. Twist any wires if you wish. Make a frame bundle, taping it together near the ends.
Note: If using twisted wires, keep them in the area that will show. Do not put them in the area of additional wires used for the feet.

Step 3

Mark the center line of the bundle and transfer the wrapping marks to the bundle from the tape.
Note: Each wrapped area will create a foot. If you want/need additional wraps without the feet, they will be marked and wrapped AFTER the feet are made, and the excess wire has been removed, but before the cab is locked into the frame.

Mint Spring's Cabochon Feet - , Classic Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, Wrapping, Wire Wrapping Jewelry,

Step 4

Using the 20-gauge half round wire, wrap each foot area making sure to use the same number of wraps for each one. (This will keep each foot the same width.) Make sure the feet are located in the correct places, and bend the frame to fit around the cabochon. (If necessary, the wraps can be carefully moved a little to center them.) When feet are centered and the frame fits the cabochon, use a scrap of square wire to make a couple of wraps, connecting the frame together, leaving the wires for the bail, etc. sticking above. Do NOT make the bail yet.

Step 5

Working either on or off the stone, locate the wire that will support the back of the cabochon in place. (This is the wire that you would normally use if you had not added the extra pieces for the feet.) Using the front edge of one side of your flat nose pliers, gently push this wire toward the inside of the frame. (There should be all of the added feet wires below this.) Continue creating the back framing for the cabochon. (I find it helps to get the needed wire pushed inside the bundle and then gently use my chain or flat nose pliers to position it as needed.)

Step 6

Insert the cab and secure it in place by bending the front wires onto the stone as usual. If you have NO feet joining the bail, DO NOT make the bail yet.

Step 7

MAKING THE FEET: On each side of the wraps, mark the distance that is half the width (or a little greater) of the wrap.
Note: Mark only the wires to be cut which are BELOW the wire holding the back of the cab in place. It is better to mark these too long than too short, as they can always be trimmed later if necessary. Carefully cut the marked wires on one side of the foot. Use chain nose pliers to bend the cut ends behind the foot and crimp as tightly as possible. Then cut the other side and repeat the bend. Repeat this procedure for each foot.

Step 8

If there are no feet joining the bail, carefully replace the square wire holding the top of the frame together and remove any cut and dangling wires. Make the bail and finish the remaining wires however you would like. If there are feet joining the bail area, make the bail incorporating all of the original wires.

Reviews

Mint Spring

Mint Schlief is a native Virginian and has lived there for most of her life. She is a graduate of Stuart Hall School for Girls in Staunton, Virginia and attended Westhampton College in Richmond. Mint also took design and sewing classes at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Professionally, she is a high-end kitchen and bathroom designer who currently works with Custom Kitchens, Inc., (Richmond, VA), as she has for 34 years.

Although Mint's journey into wire-jewelry artistry actually began in 2007, she can trace the original source way back! After she met and married her wonderful and supportive husband, Dean in 1977, they visited Mint's grandson in Italy. While touring Venice, she purchased several Murano pendants, which the locals wore on strands of seed beads twisted into a rope necklace. However none of these were long enough for her neck, and being the crafter that she is, Mint decided to make her own! To pursue this venture she paid a visit to 'More Than Just Beads' in Williamsburg to purchase the necessary seed beads. While there, Mint saw her first piece of wire jewelry; a framed cabochon pendant that was a project taught by the shop owner, Sande Hubbard.

Mint says, "I was fascinated and signed up for her next class. I then attended Bead Fest Wire in Wilmington, Delaware and took every class that Dale "Cougar" Armstrong offered."

"No, I have never finished the necklace for the glass pendants, as wire has consumed my life! And being much too prolific, I have started Mint Spring's Designs LLC, and I participate in juried Fine Art shows whenever possible. I have been nationally published twice, thanks to my friend and mentor "Cougar." Without Sande, "Cougar," and my beloved husband Dean, none of this would have been possible."

Mint Schlief and her husband Dean reside in rural Virginia.