PROJECT • COVER STORYINTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED | WIRE

Borrowed from textile arts, techniques like weaving have been used by artists for centuries to transform wire into jewelry. The richness of the textures and the way light plays around the patterns makes

woven jewelry seem alive. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in these techniques, varying from simple pieces with just one or two woven elements to elaborate creations of entwined wires and stones.

This style is called free-form wire weaving, and it’s characterized by its use of frame wires (to outline the shape of the piece) and weaving wires (to follow the outline, stitch all the parts together, and give the design its stability). Free-form designs can take on almost any shape and can be crafted with wire only or incorporate cabochons, beads, or other objects.

Advance Your Wireworking Skills with aBraided Bracelet

Once you’ve learned fundamental weaving techniques, combine them in a complex design.

by Kaska Firor

materials ■ Fine silver wire, round, dead-soft

■ 18-gauge (1.0 mm) for the frame wire, 7 ft. (2.1 m)

■ 26-gauge (0.4 mm) for the weaving wire, 30–35 ft. (9.1–10.7 m)

toolboxes ■ Wirework ■ Soldering

additional tools & supplies ■ Masking tape ■ Bench vise ■ Bail-shaping pliers: 3 ⁄16–1⁄4-in. (5–6.5 mm)-diameter jaw or a dowel of similar diameter

■ Needle tool) ■ Liver of sulfur or other patina solution (optional)

■ Pumice or steel wool #0000 (optional)

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©2012 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

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3 4Measure and weave the section for the clasp eye. Cut three 24-in. (61.0 cm) 18-gauge (1.0 mm) fine silver frame wires. Place them side by side, and tape them together at one end with masking tape. Find the midpoint of the wires, then use a permanent marker to mark 7⁄8 in. (22 mm) on each side of the midpoint on each wire. This will give you a 13 ⁄4-in. (44 mm) section that will become the eye of the clasp. Using 26-gauge (0.4 mm) fine silver wire, weave the double-plus-one pattern within the marked section, starting and ending with a weave across all three wires [1].

NOTE: You can use sterling or base metal wire for this bracelet instead of fine silver, but torch-fired balls made with fine silver are the most uniform and fine silver does

not need to be pickled.

Shape the clasp eye. Clamp a 3 ⁄8-in. (9.5 mm) round mandrel in a bench vise so that 2 in. (51 mm) extends out from the jaws. Place the center of the woven section on its edge so the double-weave side touches the top of the mandrel. Shape the eye by pulling down on both sides [2]. Work slowly, and make sure the woven ribbon remains flat. Continue until the frame wires cross under the mandrel [3].

Straighten the frame wires. Using flat- nose pliers, grab each frame wire at the base of the loop and bend it outward until the frame wires no longer cross but instead run parallel to each other [4].

The exact lengths of the wires needed for this type of weaving depends on how dense the weave is, how tight the twists in the braid are, and on the size of the bracelet. The measurements in this tutorial are generous and should yield a bracelet of at least 71⁄2 in. (19.1 cm). If you are making a small bracelet, subtract 1 in. (25.5 mm) or so from each frame wire; if you are making a large bracelet, add 1 in. (25.5 mm) or so. Also adjust your weaving wire length.

Keep the frame wires evenly spaced. It is important to keep your frame wires uniformly spaced. It isn’t always easy to do, especially when the wire is soft. Make sure that the frame wires remain about 1/16 in. (1.5 mm) apart an inch or so in front of the weave. Past that point, let the wires flare out. As you weave, keep adjusting the spacing between the wires.

Wrap tightly. Pull the weaving wire tightly against each frame wire with every wrap. Make sure the weaving wire lies perfectly flat when it travels across two frame wires.

Push weaves together. If your weaves spread out more than you like and there is bare frame wire showing between the weaves, use your fingertips to push from either end of the woven section to close the gaps. If you are not able to push the weaves together, it’s probably because the spacing between your frame wires is too tight.

Keep your wire kink-free. To reduce breakage, make sure your weaving wire remains kink-free. If you do get a kink, straighten it out right away. If you need to unwrap a portion of the weave due to a mistake, smooth out that section of the wire before you continue weaving.

Use a pen to straighten your wire. A round-barreled pen or pencil works great for this task. Hold the pen in your fist, place the wire between the pen and your thumb, and then pull the wire through several times.

Use household objects for shaping jewelry. You don’t need expensive tools for every jewelry-making task. Sometimes ordinary household objects do the job just fine. For example: You can use pens and pencils of different thicknesses as bail- and hook-shaping tools, while jars and bottles make great bracelet and necklace mandrels (just don’t hammer on them).

Part 1: The Clasp Eye

some tipsfor a smooth, even weave

Add the last frame wire. Cut a 12-in. (30.5 cm) 18-gauge (1.0 mm) fine silver frame wire. Ball up the end with a torch, quench it in water, and dry it. Place it in the center of the six frame wires so that the balled-up end extends slightly past the outer frame wire of the clasp eye [1]. Secure this frame wire with a piece of masking tape. Weave around all the frame wires to secure the seventh wire [2].

Separate the frame wires. Separate the frame wires into three sets, with one three-wire set in the center and two two-wire sets, one on each side [3].

Weave the ribbons. For the bottom set of frame wires, weave 11⁄4 in. (32 mm) of the double-weave pattern. This short woven section will become the decorative wrap in the next step. Leave the remaining length of this two-wire set bare; I call this set the weave-free ribbon. For the three-wire set in the middle, weave 7 in. (17.8 cm) of the double-plus-one weave pattern. For the two-wire set on the top, weave 7 in.

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(17.8 cm) of the single-plus-one weave pattern [4]. Leave a 12-in. (30.5 cm) or longer tail of weaving wire at the end of each of the 7-in. (17.8 cm) ribbons. You may need this extra wire to add to the weaves when braiding the ribbons.

Make a decorative wrap at the base of the eye. Bend the bottom two-wire ribbon set (with the section of double weave) so that it is perpendicular to and under the two other wire sets [5]. Wrap it all the way around the other ribbon sets twice, then bring it back to the same place it started from and bend it so it again runs parallel to the other wires [6]. Make sure the other ribbon sets inside the wrap remain flat and do not overlap.

Braid the ribbons. For the first twist, bend the double-plus-one ribbon (in pink) and the weave-free ribbon (in blue) toward each other until they cross, with the double-plus-one ribbon in front. The two ribbons should sit flush against each other at the bend [7]. Next, bend the same two

The weaving patterns used in this tutorial are only a small sampler of the many possible weaves that you can make. Here are a few examples of some other weaves you can make with two and three frame wires. You can create your own patterns simply by changing the number of wraps between the weaves or the number of weaves between the wraps.

Part 2: The Body of the Bracelet

a few variations

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ribbons in the opposite directions until they cross again, this time with the weave-free ribbon in front [8]. Shape the single-plus-one ribbon (in green) into a gentle curve, and bring it alongside the weave-free ribbon (in front of the double-plus-one ribbon) [9].

NOTE: The ribbons should never twist sideways; you should always be able to see the entire width of each ribbon when looking at the bracelet from the top.

For the second twist, bend the single-plus-one ribbon and the double-plus-one ribbon toward each other until they cross and the double-plus-one ribbon is in front [10]. Next, bend the same two ribbons in opposite directions until they cross again, ending with the single-plus-one ribbon in front [11]. Shape the weave-free ribbon into a curve alongside

the double-plus-one ribbon (behind the single-plus-one ribbon) [12].

Continue the pattern — two twists with two ribbons; then bring the third ribbon alongside — until you reach the desired length [13]. Depending on the size of your bracelet and the tightness of your braid, you may need to either weave more length or unwrap a bit of the weaving on your ribbons. When you are finished braiding, straighten out the ends of the frame wires to make them parallel to each other [14].

NOTE: To determine how long the braid- ed section of your bracelet should be, measure from the inside edge of the eye to the end of the braid, then add 3 ⁄4 in. (19 mm) for the hook. For example: If you want to make a 71⁄2-in. (19.1 cm) bracelet, the length from the inside edge of the eye to the end of the braided section should be about 63 ⁄4 in. (17.1 cm).

Weave the hook section. Bend the shorter outside frame wires out of the way, leaving one longer two-wire set in the middle. Mark the wires 11⁄4 in. (32 mm) and 21⁄2 in. (64 mm) from the end of the braid. Using the single-plus-one pattern (positioning the tight wraps on the bottom wire), weave from the end of the braid up to the first mark [1]. Using the tip of your roundnose pliers, grasp the wrapped bottom wire at the first mark and fold it in half, forming a U [2]. Use flatnose pliers to tighten the U-bend [3]. Shape the other frame wire to fit around the curve of the one you just folded [4]. Continue the same weave pattern around the tip and all the way to the second mark [5].

Make a binding wrap. Group two of the remaining frame wires, and weave a 3 ⁄4-in. (19 mm) section of double-weave ribbon. Wrap this new ribbon a couple of times toward you around the base of the hook section to bind all the end wires together.

Next, if you wish, you can wrap another frame wire without weave around the base of the hook in the opposite direction to help visually match this wrap to the one at the base of the eye, but this is optional [6].

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7 8Shape the hook. Using flatnose pliers, grasp the hook across its tip and bend it slightly up toward the outside of the bracelet [7]. Shape the hook by placing the bail-making pliers just below the bend. Bend the hook around the jaw of the pliers in the opposite direction of the bend you made at the tip [8].

NOTE: The “top side” or “outside” of the bracelet is the same side as the balled-up wire by the eye of the clasp. The “bottom side” or “underside” of the bracelet is the opposite side.

Part 3: The Hook

ASK THE ARTIST: KASKA FIROR

Cut and tuck away the bottom frame wires. Trim the remaining frame wires on the underside of the bracelet to 1⁄4-in. (6.5 mm) lengths. Use chainnose pliers to shape them into small loops, and push these loops tightly against the body of the bracelet, underneath the binding wrap [1].

Shape and ball up the top frame wires. Using chainnose pliers and your fingers, shape one of the remaining frame wires into a graceful squiggle. Mark where you want it to end, measure 3 ⁄8 in. (9.5 mm) longer than that mark (the length needed for the balled-up end), and trim the wire at that point [2]. Repeat for the other wires.

Hold the bracelet with a third hand and shape the marked wires out and away from the body of the bracelet. Carefully heat the end of each wire until it forms a ball. Be careful to direct the heat only at the tip of the wire. Quench the bracelet, then rinse and dry it.

Reshape the wires so they are once again flat to the body of the bracelet [3]. Shape the balled-up wire at the other end of the bracelet (by the clasp eye) to curve around the rim of the clasp eye [4].

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4 5 6Secure the loose wires. You need to secure any loose wire ends so that they do not catch on clothing when the bracelet is being worn. Using small sections of weaving wire, stitch the curlicues to the body of the bracelet [5]. Use a needle tool to create spaces in the woven ribbons where the stitches need to pass between the weaves.

Shape the bracelet. Gently bend your bracelet around a bracelet mandrel (or some other round object) to shape it [6]. You may need to use your fingers to make some final adjustments, especially around the clasp.

Tumble-polish the bracelet. Whenever you’re working with soft wire, it’s always a good idea to tumble-polish your finished piece for a few hours to harden the metal. I use a rotary tumbler with a mix of stainless steel shot, water, and a few drops of dishwashing soap.

Patinate your bracelet (optional). You can dip your bracelet in liver of sulfur or an alternative darkening agent. Use pumice, a polishing cloth, or steel wool to bring out the highlights. If you use steel wool, make sure to rinse the bracelet well to remove any small bits of steel wool trapped in the wires.

What is the most effective way for you to learn a new technique?“I learn best in a classroom, with an experienced instructor right there to answer questions and to correct my technique before bad habits set in. The energy of a busy class inspires me to work harder, especially knowing how much one can learn from interacting with fellow students and from seeing many unique approaches to the same project.”Contact: kaska@designsbykaska.com

Part 4: Finishing

Process photos by Kaska Firor.