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Making Wire Jewelry - Book Review
printer friendly versionMaking Wire Jewelry
60 Easy Projects in Silver, Copper and Brass
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| Making Wire Jewelry takes bent wire jewelry to a new dimension and at the same time keeps the projects elegant and easy. New wire-wrappers will find a great way to get started. Intermediate wire-wrappers will find a fresh way to look at their work and advanced wire-wrappers will find a new spectrum of designs and their variations.
With an eye toward simplicity and freehand work, the authors use unique photographs and detailed instructions to promote bent wire as jewelry design. When wire jigs (a jig is a device to bend your wire around and then reuse, thereby creating a pattern) are needed, the authors encourage you to make your own. When a jig is used, they even include instructions and nail placement patterns for making your own jig. The book is written as a tutorial and the authors want you to start with the first project and work through all of the projects. The first chapter is the longest and has the most detail. When the same techniques are used in a design later in the book, those instructions are not repeated, leaving more room in the book for new ideas. Creativity is the emphasis of this book. Rather than asking you to buy expensive metal mandrels to wrap your wire on, they suggest you use items found in your home: #2 pencils work well and help avoid scratches on your work. The authors' favorite mandrel is a knitting needle. They even give the size of knitting needle to use. The one caution with this book is that wire-wrapping can be habit-forming! To avoid wear and tear on your hands, be sure to invest in a good set of pliers. A lot of wrapping is done freehand, but a good set of pliers can help you shape your wire with fewer, unnecessary kinks. To avoid plier marks on your work, try wrapping electrical tape on the smooth plier jaws to slightly pad them. Also, you will learn how you can change the look of your finished piece. A matte finish can be obtained with steel wool. Darken your finished piece and then polish off the high points with steel wool or rouge polish for a more antiqued appearance. Each finish creates a different look which can also help hide what you don't like. When you complete Making Wire Jewelry, you will also need a good tote bag. I suspect you will want to take your wire projects with you wherever you go! Happy Wrapping! |
