Wire Knitting
I’ve used wire in my jewellery right from the get-go. In the beginning it was merely something to string beads onto, only later did it becom a tool for making findings, beaded chains, jump rings and then chainmail. But it wasn’t until I got into wire-wrapping semi-precious gems that I really began to think differently about wire. I’d seen wire knitted before, in pretty necklaces and bracelets in the market but I thought it too difficult, especially if I was going to to it with knitting needles. That would be a feat and a half!
Maman had a blanket she was crocheting for Candy’s room that she had left off because she was busy with work, and I, wanting to do some more crocheting, offered to finish what I could. And as I was sitting and crocheting my eyes happened to drift to the spool of 24g wire sitting on my desk (Among other beading paraphernalia) and I looked at it, and then the crocheting in my hand and something just clicked. I could crochet the wire!
I realised from the start that I couldn’t do it length wise, that is, make the bottom chain and long as I wanted to go around the wrist and then just add rows to make it wider because it wouldn’t have give in the right direction. So I started at the bottom, making it as wide as I wanted and then went up.
It was super hard on my hands, crocheting all that wire. Especially so, because of how thing it was, it cut into my fingers, but I think the relatively small pain was well worth it to learn a new technique and craft something I could be proud of. Also trying to get the loops the correct size was something to learn as well. Wire doesn’t have the same give wool does, it has a little, but it you tug on the wire you’re likely to tighten the other loops when you loosen the one you’re going through. So my advice, if you are thinking of trying to crochet wire is to leave a loop big enough for your hook to pass through with ease. And speaking of hooks, I used a 4.
Here’s a picture of what my bracelet looked like once I’d finnished crocheting. This is a second one I’ve done, and not yet decided how to decorate it. I know some people crochet the beads right into it, but estimating how long your wire will be, stringing all those beads on, not something I could easily plan or figure out. So what I did was make the blank, like this, and then attach the beads with wire. Doing it that was also helps strengthen your knitting.
And here is the finnished product, decorated with beads. I’ve used opalite, turquoise and sodalite chips, glass beads and cat’s eye beads. I ran chain from the corners of the bracelet to a jump ring, which has a hook and eye clasp, which would be a lot easier to fasten than, say, two hooks and eyes at the top and bottom of the bracelet, and a lot easier to do one-handed if you’re putting it on yourself . I suppose a double closure would be more secure, but with the hooks and eyes I have, it would just be irritating.
I have noticed that the bracelet is a little irritating to the wrist, especially if you’re working. So it looks time something like this would be for special occasion, or perhaps you could secure the crocheting to a strip of fabric beneath. That could get dirty, though, and I don’t think you would want to put that crocheting through a wash cycle! With the wire being silver or silver plated it should take hand washing pretty well, and sun-drying.
Well enough of my musings! I hope I’ve made you think a little more about the purposes of wire, and inspired you to try it yourself. It’s not that hard, honest, experiment a little.
