Introduction to Working with Twisted Wire

I've been getting approached alot lately with requests for some instruction on this kind of work so I've been working on some ideas. Here is some introductory comments to help those interested start to get an idea of what it entails. Later I will be writing on some techniques that are used in alot of my work and then I'll add some projects, once the techniques have been explained so I don't have to bore you with alot of repetition later.

The following talks about the building process of this style of wire work.


Working in this style of wire wrap requires that you string your beads first. With a specific design, then, you must count backwards so that the first twist you are going to make will be the last bead strung.


I envision a tree, with branches and stems and a trunk which I will use for my terminology. This will help you recognize where you are in the building process and help you start developing your feel for how to build your own pieces.

You need to know your path as you twist back to your base, and begin to get a feel for how much length to allow for twisting. As an example of a path, to form a tree with two branches, you would start “X measurement -( i.e. 1-1/2") ” distance into the wire and twist a stem of “x - measurement - (1.e. 1/2")” that would meet up with the branch, continuing your path of stems and branches that would eventually twist back to the trunk.

The numbers shown on the diagram below shows the order of twisting to help conceptualize this. The lines with arrows indicating the direction the twist would grow to.











When first working in twisted wire, you’ll want to practice with tin or brass. These metals in 24 gauge will break easily if you twist them too tight. (Also, later if you manipulate them too much - so PLEASE, don't try to sell jewelry made with these metals.) Practicing with these metals will give you a good feel for what the wire can withstand within this realm - though silver, and even more so, gold, will be more forgiving.

But remember that wire hardens the more it is manipulated, so you want to strive to only make one twist.


For designs that require exact measurments, like my ear cuffs, I make my measurements from the point on the ruler to the end so that I can bend the wire over the end to make my mark. I recommend trying to find a ruler that ends at the beginning of the measurement. (See the post entitled "Measuring" in Techniques to get a better idea of this.)

Many rulers have extra space at the end which you will have to compensate for in your measurements, ie, if the instruction calls for a ½” stem, and the ruler extends another ¼” from its numbers, your measurement will need to start from the ¼” on the ruler. Whew! No Thanks!
If you're doing something very repetitious in measurements, you might want to make your own measuring device.



I've been looking around for a good source for the ruler I use and the closest I've found so far are the rulers used to measure hems at your local fabric store. They still have a little extra on the end but they're pretty close.


If anyone knows of a good source for the rulers I've shown in the measuring segment, I'd love to know. I lost my once and wasn't pretty!