Wire Wrapping Tutorials and Helpful Hints

I have been crocheting for many years. I started with large crochet hooks and thick thread as a child and many years later, I learned to crochet with bedspread weight thread and small crochet hooks.

If you are a beginner, there are multiple books on learning to crochet. Check out your library to find a book you like or better yet, check out several books. I find it is helpful to read text written by different authors to see which one conveys instructions that make the most sense to me. I did not have lots of luck finding many books specifically on bead crocheting or for that matter, crocheting with sterling silver wire, one book on bead crocheting that I found and purchased, Bead Crochet by Bethany Barry, has been helpful and very inspirational – what talent Ms. Barry has!

If you already know how to crochet, great! If you have only crocheted with yarn, you might want to try crocheting with bedspread weight thread first before trying wire. I would suggest size 10 bedspread thread (very common and easy to find – Walmart, Michael’s, Joanne’s or probably just about any craft store). I would avoid using sizes 20 or 30 as these sizes are very fine. Crocheting with thread has a different feel than crocheting with yarn and with wire being fine like thread, it could be helpful to learn this first. Also, practicing with bedspread weight thread will help give you the feel of using a smaller crochet hook with the fine thread. It will also help you with gauging your tension as you hold the thread and help with creating smaller stitches – all very different feels than using yarn. When I transition back to working with yarn when crocheting a blanket, the crochet hook and yarn feel big and bulky to me. Likewise, the thread and small crochet hook will feel tiny to you at first.

Suggestion:  Look for bedspread weight thread that is on sale and/or buy an inexpensive brand. There are lots of different brands out there and some of them are pricey. Personally, I would go for practical, not pricey. Once you learn how to crochet with beads and you want to divert from using sterling silver wire from time to time or maybe all the time, that is when I would splurge and buy nice bedspread weight thread for my pieces. There are lots of really fun threads out there – I really like the ladder thread and the fuzzy threads.

So with all that said, here is what I did to learn how to transition from thread to wire:

• I first crocheted with beads using thread to get the feel of placing the beads.
• I then transitioned to craft wire (26 or 28 gauge) and practiced extensively with that.
• At long last, I used sterling silver.

I practiced several times with thread and beads and then later with craft wire and beads. I made swatches that I later took apart because I had used my regular stash of beads. You can save yourself the hassle of undoing your practice swatches simply by using beads that you won’t mind throwing away. I would suggest using inexpensive seed beads, 2 and 4 mm sized beads, and/or plastic beads. A source for inexpensive beads is yard sales. Buy somebody’s old jewelry, cut the strands up, and use the beads. And on your adventure, should you chose this route, you may find a gem of a necklace that you have to add to your personal collection! Of course, Walmart has inexpensive beads and saves you the time of finding and cutting up old jewelry. You can also find great buys on beads and thread on auction sites.

It may take you several practice sessions of crocheting to get to the point that you feel comfortable enough to use sterling silver wire. Or you might master the skill with one or two tries. If you are like me and need several practice sessions with your thread and craft wire, don’t despair! By the time I ventured into wire crochet, I had been yarn and thread crocheting for, well, lots of years (I started crocheting at age 8 so let’s just say lots and lots of years) and I found this to be a challenging skill to learn. If you are getting frustrating, put your crocheting down for a day or two and then go back and give it another try. Once you learn how to do this, you will love the unique pieces you can create!

Currently, I primarily use 26 gauge sterling silver wire. Many wire crocheters use 28 gauge. I use 28 gauge when using small beads (4 mm and smaller). When crocheting with larger beads and especially with semi-precious stones, I like to use the heavier 26 gauge. It is more hard on your fingertips (I get calluses), but I tend to break 28 gauge wire. This does not mean that you will break 28 gauge. I believe it is the tension that the individual creates when crocheting, and I tend to hold my wire tightly and pull hard so 28 gauge is too wimpy for me.

There is a new type of sterling silver on the market called Argentium. Argentium silver contains 92.5% silver, the same as sterling silver. The difference between the two types of silver wire is the copper. Sterling silver is made with 7.5% copper. Argentium has replaced copper with germanium. Copper is the tarnishing factor in sterling silver so with this eliminated, the inventors of Argentium have created a virtually tarnish free silver. This tarnish free feature is very beneficial when crocheting with sterling silver. Cleaning a crocheted piece of jewelry is extremely difficult because of the intrinsic nature of the piece so using Argentium and storing your crocheted jewelry in a plastic bag will keep it looking virtually like new for years to come.

Getting Started:

Before making your first stitch, whether in a practice swatch or the real McCoy, you must string your beads onto your medium (thread, craft wire, or sterling silver wire). You can thread your beads onto your thread or wire in a pattern or you can randomly thread them on. For random threading, you can use a bead spinner. I have never used one, but they look quite handy, and they very quickly string your beads. My thought is that they would be exceptionally handy if you were using seed beads or other small sized beads (it would take a considerable amount of time to string seed beads).

I was recently published for the second time in Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine, Winter 2007, Wire Crochet Bracelet, page 25. This bracelet was done in a pattern and the tutorial explains laying out a pattern in detail along with step by step instructions and photos on crocheting the bracelet with the level of difficult being intermediate. I know that Barnes & Noble carries this magazine and I am quite sure that many other bookstores and craft/bead stores would also carry it.

Helpful Hints for Problems that May Arise:

Stitch Error:

If you make an error in a stitch, it is difficult, but not impossible, to unravel a stitch or two but not an entire chain or piece (this pertains to sterling silver wire, not thread). 26 gauge is easier and more forgiving to unravel than 28 gauge is. Unraveling does harden your wire so do it gingerly as your wire can get brittle and break. Pull your stitch out slowly and gently to prevent it from kinking.

Running out of Wire/Breaking Wire:

If you break your wire in the midst of a project, no worries! Simply create a new slip knot on your crochet hook and continue on from where the wire broke. Be sure to weave your two wire ends into your bracelet (I usually do this when I am completely done crocheting the entire piece). Likewise if you run out of wire, grab a new spool. You will have to re-string your beads onto the new spool but then you can continue on and weave in the ends.

Crochet Hooks:

I use only steel crochet hooks, sizes 0 to 2, using 2 with smaller beads and 0 with larger beads. You would not want to use wooden crochet hooks, and I have never tried plastic, but I would guess that the wire would ruin a plastic crochet hook and probably gouge it or mark it as the wire would with a wooden crochet hook.

Beads

The smallest sized beads I have used were extremely small seed beads, must have been a 10° or 11°, and they were too small. Seed beads are used quite often in wire crochet but no smaller than 8°. I have used odd shaped beads and as large as 8 mm beads. I am careful to surround the larger beads and odd shaped beads with smaller beads so when crocheted, my piece does not become too bulky. I love to crochet random designs where there is no set pattern - just grab a bunch of beads that look great together, string them onto the wire, and crochet. So string your beads and away you go!

I have been working with sterling silver wire for a few years - long enough that I have been dubbed by my children “The Wire Bender” (they watch way too much Avatar, a cartoon, where the characters are earth, wind, fire, and water benders). I have never taken a formal class on wire wrapping but have learned lots with the help of some really great wire wrapping books and other online web sites. If you are new to wire wrapping, this is a good starting point for learning about sterling silver wire.

Here is a list of terms and their definitions you will probably hear or read regarding wire wrapping at some time or another:

• Flush cut & pinch cut - A flush cut is created with a flush cutters. When cutting your wire with a flush cutters, one cut creates a nice flat cut on the sterling silver wire and the other cut creates a pinched or wedge-shaped cut. When cutting your sterling silver wire, you want to have a flush cut.
• Simple loop - this is a loop made at the end of your sterling silver wire
• Spiral or Scroll - There are a lot of uses for a spiral. I use them as a stop for a bead and I also make them into clasps.
• Work hardening - Sterling silver wire is made up of large crystals. As the wire is worked with, it hardens. This hardening effect breaks the crystals down into smaller crystals and the wire becomes stiffer and stiffer as the crystals become smaller and smaller. If worked too much, the wire will break.
• Wrapped loop - This is a loop that is wrapped around the stem wire which creates a secure loop that will not pull open.

Gauges of Wire:

Wire comes in a huge range of different sized gauges. In looking at my American Standard Wire Gauge, the smallest gauge is 38 with the largest being 1……why do the numbers have to be backwards in relation to the gauge size?! Very good reason, actually - the gauge relates to the number of times the sterling silver wire is pulled through holes in steel plates with each pull going through a smaller hole to reach the desired gauge so that means that 28 gauge is pulled through steel plates 28 times to get it that small. The smallest gauge I have used is 28 for crocheting and to date, the largest size I have worked with is 14, and I have used everything in between.

Hardness of wires:

• Dead soft or soft - Dead soft wire is very malleable, easy to work with and is very widely used by wire wrappers.
• Half Hard - This wire has some stiffness to it and is likewise very popular with wire wrappers.
• Hard - I have no experience working with hard wire and to my knowledge, it is not commonly used with wire wrapping because of its rigidity.

I primarily use dead soft wire. I do not worry that it is too soft for a project for a few reasons:

1. Working with the wire hardens it.
2. If working with it will not make the wire hard enough, I can work harden it by hammering it with a rawhide or rubber hammer.
3. If I am making a piece of jewelry with a frame, I am going to use a thick gauge (at least 16) and although dead soft, because of its thickness, the wire is stiff.

Types of Silver:

Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The copper component in sterling silver causes the tarnishing effect. Argentium® is a new type of silver on the market. Argentium is also 92.5% silver but instead of copper, there is germanium which does not tarnish thereby creating a virtually tarnish free silver! I love it, and as I am using up my sterling silver wire supply, I am purchasing Argentium. The price difference between sterling silver wire and Argentium is roughly a dollar an ounce last time I purchased wire through Rio Grande - not bad considering all the time Argentium will save you in not having to clean your wire!

Safety:

The number one rule is to use common sense when working with anything that could potentially be harmful. When you cut your wire, for example, you will end up with a sharp edge on the wire. In addition to this, when you snip a piece of wire, it literally becomes a projectile missile. Be smart! I place my cutters at the point that I want to cut and then cup my hand over the area. The last thing I want to do is go to the local emergency room to have a piece of metal removed from my eye.

Cleaniless:

Work with clean hands. Natural body oils, lotions and creams will only help tarnish your sterling, not to mention that lotioned hands might make the wire difficult to hold onto. Even if you are working with Argentium, wash before starting your project. I get asked all the time how I keep my jewelry so clean - simple! Clean hands.

Also, clean your wire thoroughly before twisting and bending it. I use Connoisseurs Jewelry Wipes which I purchase at Walmart in the jewelry department. They are disposable wipes that will clean your sterling silver wire really well. There are also Sunshine clothes but from a dollar point of view, the Connoisseurs are more economical.

Straightening Your Wire:

When sterling silver wire is purchased, it comes in a coil. This needs to be straightened before using it. There are a couple of ways to straighten your wire: Cut the length of wire desired and either use Connoisseurs to clean and straighten your wire at the same time or if the wire is not being cooperative or is kinked, use a wire straightening (aka nylon jaw) pliers.

Precious Metal Scraps:

Keep your scraps in a closable container (not a baggie - the wire ends will poke through). These scraps are not garbage but can be sold back to a refiner. Some refiners have a minimum weight amount but others don’t. Some will issue you a check for your scraps at market value of sterling silver on the day they receive your shipment and others will give you the choice of a check or new material (new material will have a fabrication fee so be sure to ask about this).

Refining Argentium:

At this time if you are using Argentium and you send it into a refiner and ask for new material, you will get back sterling silver. I am sure this will change in the future, but for now, that is the way things are. Also, if you are like me and are using both sterling silver wire and Argentium wire, you do not need to keep them in separate containers - again, I am sure this will change in the future but currently since the refiners are not making a differentiation between the two, you don’t have to either.

I always ask for the $$ when refining since I am transitioning my stock to Argentium only - I am tired of cleaning my wire!

Storage:

Always store your sterling silver wire and finished jewelry in plastic bags. This will slow down the tarnishing effect tremendously. Rio Grande also carries anti-tarnish zip bags. I have never used these - just letting you know about them. If you end up having several different gauges, a good way to keep everything organized and stored is with a Sterilite (again, Walmart) plastic file folder container. I have hanging folders inside with different gauges in each folder.