Knitting with Wire - Really

Ever since I saw the Nancie Weissman , on Knitty Gritty, knitting with wire. I've wanted to give this a try.

So this weekend, I pulled out my wire, beading supplies and some needles that I didn't care if they got scratched up and made this lovely bracelet.





Here's the scoop if you would want to give this a try yourself. These are pretty basic as these we my first wire bracelets so keep that in mind as you follow them.

Materials Used:
#4 needles
a crochet hook of the right size
#26 gauge wire (I'm not sure how much I used, it was a left over spool from a wire kit I got)
some beads
basic clasp

General Notes:
Materials are up to you. The higher gauge wire the easier it is to work with. Often patterns suggest a smaller needle size than I used.

I did a backwards loop cast on and cast on 5 sts. You can see a great tutorial here on Stitch Diva and more info on knitting with wire here. Leave a good 6-8in tail so you have it ready to attach the clasp closure later.

I knit about 5 rows in garter stitch.

Then I began adding beads. The beads are added to the back of the work but really are the front of the bracelet makes sense? I hope so!

So it works like this:

R1: K2, (bring up bead, push it gently close to the previous stitch and K1), K2
R2: K across
R3: K3, (bring up bead, push it gently close to the previous stitch and K1), K1
R4: K across

Repeat R1-R4 to length desired. Do take into account some length for the clasp and decreasing. I did mine for 8.5 repeats.

Decreasing:
R1: K1, K2tog, K2
R2: K1, K2tog, K1

Now trim off the wire leaving enough to make the loop that is part of the closure. Leave a good 8in but maybe less.

Now with 3 loops still on the needle remove the needle and bring the wire around to close up the loops and pull fairly snuggly. Now you want to use a knitting needle again. I used the #4 needles I made the bracelet with.

Wrap the wire around the needle and through the 3 loops 3 times to make a loop which will be part of the closure. Then wrap the wire at the bottom of the loop under the needle, removed the needle and then weave in the wire tail where it makes sense to you. Snip off as close as you can. Hopefully the photo above will help make this more clear.

Now with a crochet hook pull up 3 loops across the beginning cast on. I just fudged this make it look good.

Then pull the wire through the loops and thread the clasp onto the wire.

Do make sure you have the clasp on in a direction that works. Don't fret if you mess up, wire is fairly forgiving and you can twist it so it works.

Keep threading it through the three loops and through the clasp a few times, then weave in the tail and snipped it off.

If you have any questions about the pattern don't hesitate to ask. Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.

Now put on your lovely bracelet and enjoy!

Here's another one I made on Saturday.

The Specs:
#28 or smaller gauge wire (I'm not sure what size it was as it no longer labeled in my stash)
lots and lots of seed beads
#1 needles
a clasp and jump ring



All I did for this one is cast on 7 sts and knit back and forth pushing up a bead every time.



I'm not very happy with the closure on this bracelet but I ran out of wire at the end. Because the wire is so thin I worry over time this will break. I would much rather this be closer to the knitted part of the bracelet I think it would be stronger.

Over all I am not much of a jewelry person. So I wasn't sure if I liked the looks of these bracelets but they are growing on me. I do think these might make a great gift for my teenage nieces. I just might make a few more a few for myself to get in touch with my inner diva.