Beginner wirewrapping

[Kalorlo]

I've been having a few goes at basketweave wirewrapping - I'm including the first two only because the photographs are so different from my usual. I had a go with a friend's Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX40. Macro mode and totally automatic settings. *drools at the quality* My camera search has ramped up, let me tell you! I want something *now*

(I am considering going for a bridge camera now - my dad has used SLRs for years, both digital and not, and thinks the current range of bridge-types are a much better bet. Given that I don't have a decent quality camera for normal photos either, I think it'd probably be a better idea at this stage to get something that's small and portable. I can look again in a year or two, if I find I really want a DSLR.)



Here we have my first try. This was using 0.8mm and 0.315mm silver-plated wire. I was having a lot of difficulty with the wire kinking as I wrapped, and I wasn't very good at attaching the next piece of wire... You can also see where I scraped and dented the thicker wire at the top. I have since filed the edges of my pliers, but it wasn't helped that this wire is really soft - I got it from an eBay seller rather than where I usually get my wire, and was very surprised by how soft it was. You can deform it with your fingertips without much trying, and my other wire is all a lot springier. This and the next piece were also partly an exercise in getting used to it.

Anyway, I made a S-shape to do my wrapping round, and noticed that it looked rather like a cartoon cat's tail. So I wrapped it leaving blank sections to give it stripes. I think my wrapping wire was actually a bit too thin to work with easily - it's awfully wavy in the widest parts, not helped by all the kinking!

The next time, I made this one:



Same 0.8mm wire, wrapped in 0.6mm copper wire. It was really tricky to make the soft wire keep anything like a circle shape. I did try pulling it through my fingers for a bit beforehand, which I think helped a little. This time, my wrapping wire was too thick compared to the other wire - that's why it wouldn't wrap closely enough round the outside edges of the circles. The big gaps are where I added the next piece of wire - not good! I'm also sad about how fast the copper tarnished when I was working with it. I wanted it to be shiny, damnit! I think I'll try cleaning it up and then put it safely in a bag where I won't be touching it

Aaaaand, last night I made this:



Back to the old camera, sigh. Now, this is using 1.2mm and 0.4mm silver-plated wire, and I think it worked much better. I picked up new wire from The Bead Shop in Seven Dials, which is my usual place. Hey, it was springy! Attaching new wires went better. It was still tricky to get the circles done - I need some mandrels :p

You probably can't see, but I attached new wires much better this time (and also made sure I was working with very long ones so I didn't have to do it so often). There was a slight design flaw with the beads - I put the ones on the inner circle before starting to wrap, but forgot to put any on the outer. And it looked wrong to have big gaps round the outer circle, so I ended up wrapping through the second set of beads instead. Not ideal. There's also a slight problem in that once I'd got all the way round and pushed everything tight, the two uppermost pairs of beads didn't have quite enough space to sit side-by-side. So the wrapped ones are squeezed slightly through to the back. They were fine when I put them on! Eh well.

My wrapping of the wider sections is more consistent this time - there're a few wiggles, but not nearly so many. I'm really happy with the consistency of the top section. The beads are frosted ones - they look less dark in person.

I still need rather more practice, but I love the look when people manage to do it tidily

Bonus picture: SHINIES!



Also from The Bead Shop - they have some bags of assorted random Czech glass beads, so I got one of bigger beads and one of smaller. Eeeee, they're so shiny! The box is from Maplin - I also picked up three of these when I was out because I find them really handy. They're only £1.99 apiece and have non-removable compartments, so your beads can't slide under the bottom of the dividers (They stack, too).

[Di Sandland]

Getting wire-wrapping neat is definitely an acquired skill! But there is a visible difference between your first attempt and your last one.

As for springiness - wire is sold in hardnesses - soft, half-hard and hard.

I tend to use half-hard, which is springier than soft but easier to manipulate than hard. If I'm making clasps and stuff, I use hard.

Wire can be work-hardened in various ways - did you notice that as your wrapping progressed that the wire got progressively stiffer?

I'm not the expert and I'm sure they'll contribute when they're about with various ways of hardening your wire. (they will also correct stuff I may have got completely ar*se about face

[Kalorlo]

I know that you can get silver wire in different hardnesses, but I've never seen it specified for copper wire, why is why I was thrown. I had this hazy assumption that it would all be the same...

I have seen some mentions of work-hardening, which is why I tried pulling it through my fingers a few times the second time - it was tricky with this stuff though, because it was awfully easy to scratch off the plating. I wouldn't want to try to do much to it involving tools!

I picked up some copper and brass wire in different thicknesses so I can do things without worrying about plating. Shame that neither of them were available in 1.2mm at the shop, because I liked that thickness.

[mizgeorge]

Copper doesn't really harden much tbh.

plated wire isn't brilliant for practising stuff like this - copper and brass are far easier to work with, and much closer to using sterling. Once you're confident, a roll of thin gauge sterling wire really isn't that expensive - and goes a very long way. You can use it very effectively on a copper frame for example.

My favourite source for copper (and other) wires is www.wires.co.uk. Always very good quality, and they're nice guys to deal with.

You've clearly made great steps forward already - like everything else practice, practice, practice and it'll be perfect in no time. I make quite a lot of basket weave bails, and it does take a while to get the feel for the wire.

If you want to get your copper back to shiny clean, just mix a little salt into some lemon juice and dip it in the solution. Don't leave it too long or it tends to go a little pink. Rinse and dry and it'll be like a new penny!

[Kalorlo]

Thanks, George! I'll add them to my bookmarks. Aha, I seem to recall seeing mention of lemon juice before - I'll definitely do that. I love the look of copper when it's shiny and new

[amazingbabe]

I know from a friend of mine who does beautiful intricate wire wrapped that she uses dead soft all the way hope this helps xx

[kymbi]

I found it took a while to get my wire-wrapping neat, but after some practice, it does get easier, and I tend to use soft-grade silver that hardens as you use it. I used copper until I felt confident enough to use silver - I also find www.wires.co.uk a great source.

I can see that your technique has improved in the samples you've posted, and in no time you will have the feel for it - I look forward to seeing more of your wire-wrapping as you get more confident with it

[Ominicci]

Keep persevering Kym. My 17 yr old daughter saw a wire wrap earrings tutorial in one of my Step By Step Wire magazines last and by the time she had made 4 pairs for her friends they were perfect!. Sign up to BeadingDaily.com (american) and you get access to some free tutorials. Or subscribe to the magazine!

[amazingbabe]

Watch out for the step by step mags on ebay, they are brilliant xx

[The Dragon]

I like what you have done so far and yes, there is a definate improvement in the technique as you go along.

If you want to see a slightly different take on wire wrapping log onto wire-sculpture.com (sorry don't know how to post a direct link) and take a look at the videos and gallery. He's a bit windy but you can pick up a few tips and tricks if you stick with it.