I remember doing French or spool knitting with yarn as a youngster. Little did I know I would still be doing it as adult and with wire! Spool knitting is a fun wire technique using a spool knitter (sometimes called a dolly or nancy) which can be home made or bought. Shown here is the necklace part of my Copper Reflections jewelry set.


There are all kinds of  spool knitting tools you can buy. The number of pegs also vary. Which one you choose will be a matter of personal preference. 26 or 28G wire is best.

Prestrung Beads

Kelly of Offthebeadedpath has two excellent videos to show you how it is done with wire with prestrung beads. If you need a non-video tutorial, check out Wigjig`s instructions.

Part 1 explains how to start spool knitting.



Part 2 covers the casting off and finishing the necklace.  She uses bead caps, but you could also use metal or coiled wire cones.



Captured Beads
A very popular way to make jewelry is to drop beads inside the knitted tube as you knit along. Just squeeze the tube together before and after each bead.


No Beads
If you just knit wire, you could then treat it like Viking knitting. Draw the knitted tube through successively smaller holes of a draw plate to make your own wire chain!  There is no need to buy a draw plate. Just get some wood and drill holes with different diameters.


Variations
Check out Wigjig for Diane Trepanier`s wonderful variations using different colored wires, Softflex, multiple chains and mixing in fiber.  Her work was the direct inspiration to the creation of the funky bead and eyelash yarn jewelry  (below) I designed and wrote about. It sold, too!


______________________________
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips