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Wire wrapping is not all that hard to do...but quite confusing to know where to start if you're new.  Need help?  The following article should point you in the right direction.  You're encouraged to browse around after reading the article.  I promise it'll be worth your time.  Click here to open the DOC:

What's the best wire to use for wire wrapping jewelry?

It is my hope this short guide will help you choose an appropriate wire to get you started and save you from the pain and disappointment of costly and time consuming mistakes.

So what "is" the best wire to use for wire wrapping?  This is a common question for most new and aspiring wire wrap artists.  There are many different types of wire, so the best choice then becomes subjective.  This article expresses my personal preferences, which should help guide your own choices.

Ideally the "best" wire to use is wire that's appropriate for the design or project you want to create, but not always.  You'll understand this better shortly, and with experience.  Most artists will experiment with different size and shapes of wire in an effort to capture their vision or ideas or to create that new and / or unusual design, then they end up choosing their favorite, which dominates most of their work.  That is until something else piques their interest.  But...

...until you get to that point you should know there are many types of wire from Stainless Steel craft wire to Gold Filled and Solid Gold wire.  The most popular for costume wire jewelry is single strand craft wire, available in a rainbow of colors.  Then there are multi-strand varieties used primarily for beading, usually coated with colored or clear vinyl.  Multi-strand varieties, depending on brand and price, are quite durable and flexible, which is most desirable for beading.  There is also solid or thick single strand stainless steel spring wire used for a lot of popular bracelet and necklace designs.

On occasion I use gold filled and solid gold wire for some of my work.  But my favorite, which happens to be the most popular for a variety of reasons, is sterling silver.  Copper wire is the second most popular wire used for making wire wrap jewelry.

Wire, including Sterling Silver, is available in many shapes like oval, triangle, square, and round profiles.  Each profile lends itself well for the most common design styles.  Sterling wire comes in other shapes or profiles, but those listed above are the most commonly used.

Like different shapes, wire also comes in different thicknesses or gage, and hardness levels, also known as Temper; malleability or flexibility, each with varying stiffness or bending characteristics.  Wire gages range from 2 gage to 32 gage with 32 being the thinnest; which is about the thickness of human hair.  The range for most wire wrap projects fall between 16 and 26 gage.

Hardness levels range from Dead-Soft to Soft, Half-Hard to Hard (DS = Dead-Soft, S = Soft, HH = Half-Hard, H = Hard).  Soft and Half-Hard are used more often because they're easiest to work with.  Dead-Soft wire dents and/or scratches very easily and does not hold its shape well when used for wide looping or elaborate designs, so I stay away from it for this reason.  Although you can stiffen Dead-Soft wire by pulling it through the nylon coated jaws of flat pliers or your fingers several times.  There are other methods of hardening wire including heat treatment, but for me doing so adds steps or a process that I can skip by using Half-Hard wire.

Depending on design, Half-Hard wire in thicker gages can be difficult to use.  But Hard wire is very stiff, like a coat-hanger, which makes it extremely difficult to work regardless of gage or thickness and is in fact "very hard" to bend.  This is seriously tough stuff, if you have a robotic grip and industrial tools, then "never mind!"

Note: Hard wire is brittle and cannot tolerate repeated bending in the same spot.  Hard and HH wire can also become nicked, scratched, or gouged since strong pressure is required to form it correctly.  Damage occurs when the tool slips or "snaps!" off of the wire or too much pressure is applied with tools.  And with hard wire that's easy to do.  However, I still prefer HH and Hard wire because once it's bent, it's done, and will usually not get damaged through wear and tear.  Durable is the word I'd use.  These pieces should last for generations and even become heirlooms.

Important Note: Make no mistake, Half-Hard is difficult to use and can seem uncooperative, especially in thicker gages.  That's why I feel it's incredibly important for new wire wrap artists to seriously consider user friendly SOFT wire for first attempts; frustration, even failure, is quite possible if you use Half-Hard wire to start with.  You can also use Dead-Soft, but like lead, it can bend under it's own weight.  Designs made entirely with Dead-Soft can easily pull apart or become mashed or deformed through normal wear.  The bail (wide loop) made for hanging your pendant on a chain or other necklace material can elongate and even wear right through and break.

I use Half-Hard Sterling Silver or Argentium Silver Round wire for most of my work with the majority falling between 18 and 24 gage.  Round wire also happens to be the easiest to obtain and is sometimes less expensive than other profiles.  I simply prefer round wire because of the smooth flowing lines that meld artistically with the stones and beads I use to create the designs I like most - while square or triangular wire has its benefits for particular designs, I feel that the sharp lines and additional light dispersion properties of angular wire are a distraction.  My goal, or personal preference, is to create a unified piece not dominated by just the wire or just the color infused by stones and other elements.  However, square or angular wire seems to hug the surface of stones better than round wire and is the perfect product for certain designs.  But to keep a flat side straight against the girdle of a faceted gem stone, coin, or arrowhead, for instance, requires that you pay extra special attention while working with it, and for me it's just way too difficult.  If square or triangular wire is twisted to create a spiral length, then working it is about the same as round wire, but the edges of angular wire can become mashed or flattened without much effort though.  I can be impatient at times and have the need to see results rather quickly, so for me, a well thought-out and crafted round-wire design is not only essential to the stability of the piece, but also to produce quality pieces in a shorter time.  The main thing to consider is to "follow your bliss," or work with material that gives "you" the most pleasure.  If you're attracted to square or angular wire, then by-all-means use it.  Stunning, incredibly beautiful jewelry can be created with angular wire.  And since it requires a special hand and eye to make such pieces I really admire artists who can work with it.

For Earrings I use 22 and 24 gage HH Sterling Silver or Argentium wire.  Although I sometimes use thinner 26 gage to incorporate small beads and other materials as part of a larger overall design project.  (26 gage is comparable to sewing thread.)

The wire I use for Pendants spans the gamut and depends on the size and shape of stone or other material that I am wrapping.  However, almost all of the Pendants I create these days are made with 18 and 20 gage sterling silver or *14/20 gold fill wire.  But I have used heavier 12, 14, and 16, gage wire when my design objective does not include beads or stones.

And depending on the piece, I use 18 gage for bails, hook & loop closures, split-rings, or figure-eight links.

If you can maintain a sharp picture of your design clearly in mind, or draw out a rough sketch on a piece of paper, plan your steps in advance, and start out slow and deliberate, then you will achieve wonderful results.  Don't be discouraged with failed attempts though, that's how you learn.  To get better faster you must be consistent, persevere, and pay close attention to what you are doing.  It can take some time to learn the bending characteristics of the different types of wire and how to work with each kind.  Also, learning how to estimate the amount of wire you will need for each piece can be a challenge.  Becoming proficient with this art form is no accident.  Since I am self taught, many hours have been invested into experimenting with wire.  I have also trashed some incredibly expensive material during real production runs as well.

Please note; no matter how advanced you become, mistakes "will" happen.  But you can reduce mistakes, minimize waste, learn new methods and techniques, improve designs, work quality, productivity, and possibly discover hidden talents and creativity, simply...

...practice with copper wire!  This could save you from costly errors in the beginning stages of your learning process, and even later as your designs become more complicated.  I am not referring to the multi-strand copper wire used for lamp cords, but electrical wire like the type used for light load household wiring applications such as a new light fixture for your garage or out-door speaker installation.  These wires can be purchased at major hardware or building supply stores.  A 18 to 24 gage **ROMEX works well and is a common brand of 3-conductor (3-wire) solid copper wire.  The profile is a flat oval due to the 3 round wires inside the outer white or black plastic sheath.  Typically, in a three conductor configuration, two of the inner wires will be insulated with either black, white, yellow, and / or green plastic and one will be bare or not insulted at all.  Using the non insulated bare ground wire will save you time.  All that's needed it to strip away the outer insulation enough to get a firm grip on the bare wire which will act as a zipper of sorts and cut the outer insulation as you pull on it.  Zip out several feet and coil it up for use.  I use copper wire for some jewelry, but mainly when I want to work out a new design I'll make it with copper wire first.  That way I can work through design challenges and reduce possible mistakes before I take to the silver or gold.  Romex wire can be difficult to use.  But it's worth the effort.  I use single conductor 20 gage speaker wire to experience how a design will come together, work out details, and see how a design will end up looking; I also use this type for actual jewelry.  Again, this is stiff wire and not at all easy to work.  However, if you can get comfortable using it, then working with silver will become a breeze.

*Gold Fill (14/20/GF) wire is made with specific percentages of silver, nickel, copper, and gold, and should not be confused with Vermeil; explained in a minute.  The numbers 14/20 denotes that 20%, or 1/5th, of the wire is 14 karat gold.  You can also obtain 18/20 and even 20/20 GF wire, but the price goes up exponentially.  The metals for Gold Fill wire are melted together and poured into ingots and then pulled or drawn through a series of successively smaller holes in steel blocks, called a drawing block, while the metal is still soft.  The drawing or pulling process is the same used to create all wire and begins with the largest diameter hole and progresses through smaller and smaller holes until the desired gage or wire thickness is attained for a given length of wire.

*Vermeil is simply gold plated silver.  The technique of making thin sheets of gold and rolling it over silver is no longer used.  This dated "rolled-gold" process requires high heat to bond the metals together.  Aside from the time consuming expense, rolled plating creates enormous waste.  Today, Vermeil is made by either running wire through, or submerging a silver piece in, a mild acid bath infused with gold.  A very low voltage electrical probe is inserted into the liquid gold-acid solution creating a negative charge, while the silver is positively charged, or visa-versa.  Gold molecules are attracted to the silver which creates a molecular bond between the metals that is far superior to any plating process previously used.  It only takes a few seconds of exposure to achieve beautiful results.  Longer exposure in the bath creates thicker plating.

Sterling Silver and Copper wire can become tarnished over time; to keep its luster longer just store it in plastic bags.  This is a nice way to keep your wire shiny or to preserve the luster for a longer period.  Just coil up your wire and stick it into a plastic bag, the kind with a tight seal, or zipper style works well; just press out as much air as possible before you seal it.  Air causes oxidation, so removing the air will keep you and your wire happy for a longer time!

I sincerely hope this tid-bit of info helps you.

Blessings,

and always,

Happy Wrapping!

Raymond Ihrig

P.S.  If you are an Author, Blogger, Publisher, and/or Wire Wrap Enthusiast, you have my permission to post or publish this wire guide article as long as I am credited and a link to my website home page and either my spiral logo or brand icon appear prominently along with the article.  But before anything is posted you must send me an email stating your full name, your non-webmail email address, the name and date of the publication, and/or website URL, where the article will appear.  Thank You.

www.JewelryWireWrap.com

Raymond@JewelryWireWrap.com

The Atlantean DataStar®, a unique quartz crystal shaped USB flash drive pendant with FREE eBook, from $39.99!

DOWNLOAD FREE WIRE WRAP INSTRUCTIONS:  How to "capture" or "coil" wrap a crystal point.  There's also an image of some basic tools you'll need. The file is in PDF format.  Pass it around, share this file with your friends, it's FREE!

Click the image to get your free wire wrap instructions. →

Leather?  People have asked me how to create a Hook & Loop closure for leather.  Here's a photo (click for larger view) of a closure for a necklace made with 3mm round leather cord; a design I use most often because it's durable, attractive, and easy to use.  Instruction on how to create this closure coming soon.  Until then you should know...

Several basic design elements, when incorporated into each piece, will set your jewelry apart from the rest.  This hook & loop closure is a great example:

  Designs should be durable without sacrificing style and/or beauty.

  Durability requires intelligent well crafted work and high quality materials - good stuff in, good stuff out.

  Pieces must be comfortable to wear; no pinching, binding, or sharp edges.

  Ease of use.  An example is the closure featured here; it has to be easy to hook and unhook.

  Transition elements, like closures, links, jump rings, spacers, etc., should be attractive or add to the overall design.

For wire wrap jewelry to be functional you must learn how to make a basic wire wrap loop.  Here's how...

On the Mohs hardness scale of 1 to 10 (1-talc or chalk, 10-diamonds), gem grade turquoise measures between 5 and 6, and is quite porous.  Even though turquoise is fairly hard, it can scratch easily, especially if you store or wear your turquoise jewelry with other gemstones - to avoid pitting and scratches just don't rub or bump them together with other jewelry.  Pits are caused by bumping against other gemstones.  You can place your turquoise jewelry in a silk, natural leather, or felt pouch, before storing in your jewelry box.  Some people wrap turquoise necklaces in a silk scarf, or soft cloth, before hanging.  This is a perfect way to keep your turquoise.  Just be sure the cloth is white to avoid color dyes from staining or leaching into the turquoise.

Additional Precautions: Turquoise can be damaged by household chemicals, cleaners, oils, perfumes, and even toothpaste - avoid these at all costs.  If you use perfume, just apply it and allow to dry for a few seconds before putting on your turquoise jewelry.  Do not apply hand moisturizers or oils to your skin and then handle or wear turquoise as these can soak right in to your turquoise jewelry causing damage and/or unnatural discoloration.  Also keep turquoise away from high heat.  If you use a local jeweler to clean your jewelry, be sure to ask how they will clean it.  Make sure they will not use high pressure steam or an Ultrasonic cleaner.  Many commercial vibrating baths also use heated cleaning solution, avoid these too.

Cleaning Your Turquoise: Here's a safe and simple way to clean your own turquoise jewelry.  Take a small, clean, cotton cloth, or towel with a short nap, and soak it in warm water, then fold it several times, press out a little of the water but keep it soaked, and lay it on a flat surface; your kitchen counter is fine, but the cloth will leak water.  You might want to use a tray with a slight lip to avoid leaking water all over the place.  If you're cleaning a necklace, open the clasp and lay it lengthwise on the towel or cloth.  Now take a soft bristle toothbrush, run a little water over it and put a few drops of "clear" plain dish soap on the brush.  Either press one end of the necklace down with your fingers or hold about 1/3rd of the necklace in your hand.  Then rub or brush the necklace in the opposite direction, or away from you, using a scraping motion - kind of like peeling a potato.  Apply some pressure and make smooth strokes down the entire length of the piece, past the end.  You can add a few more drop of dish soap to the brush after a few strokes if you want to.  Suds will form the more you brush since the cloth is wet, this is a good thing, and lather it right up.  Roll, rotate, or turn, the piece over and do the same on the other side.  After several seconds or minutes of brushing, your choice, flip the piece around and hold the other end and do the same thing.  Rinse the necklace in warm running water and take a look.  Don't dangle the necklace over the sink lest you drop it down the drain - yikes!  Coil it up in your cupped open hand and run warm water over it until all the soap is washed off.  If you feel more cleaning is needed, have fun.  When you're finished, immediately lay the necklace on a clean dry cloth and pat it completely dry.  Leave your necklace out for several hours to be sure all the water has dried before storage.