A reader recently asked me if there was a tutorial for the knitted wire and bead bracelet I made many years ago (see last photo in this post).  But I do not. The experience knitting wire with 1 mm steel needles just made me grit my teeth!  And I never repeated it. Since then, I discovered Yael Falk's  (Yoola Design) looms and wire crochet method.  Her alternative name for the technique is invisible spool knitting (ISK) because the wire comes off a spool and the result looks like knitting.

So it is time to compare ISK with true wire knitting.  This time I used wooden needles - the smallest I had at 2.25 mm.(The smallest wooden needles you can get are 2 mm).   I used 28 G Parawire and cast on 8 stitches.


I knitted a test strip.  Wire is not like yarn so the results are not as neat.

I then knitted a tube using the middle loom from the starter kit I bought. You can create the tube from a chain. But I found using the loom much more reliable for getting even stitches.  I worked on every other hole in the loom.  The hook size is 0.75 mm.  I recommend beginners start with larger hooks to ensure you can catch the wire. After some practice, you can drop down.




The critical step for making sure the wire loops are even is the poking of the hook shaft through the loop to "set" it.

Watch Yael's video on how to do speed wire crochet. You will be able to see the hook and poke motion I mentioned.



Once I knitted a tube to the bracelet length I wanted, I unpicked the beginning to remove the work from the loom.


I did not use the draw plate. Instead, I rolled the tube to even out the size - the beginning of the tube is wider because the wire is stretched out at this point.


I then flattened the tube.


I used flat oval jasper beads.  Spacing out the beads, I then pinched in the tube before and after each bead.


I wove the wire tails in and out of the pinched end. Make sure to leave a small tunnel for the bracelet wire to go through - see next step. Trim wire, making sure the ends do not poke out. 


I used 20 G parawire to string the beads along.  The wire should be the length you want the bracelet to be + 5 inches. The ends of the wire go through the pinched ends which should have small tunnels.


Cut a 5-6 inch length of 20 G wire and wrap around each pinched area. Trim the ends to about 1 inch.


Scroll the wire and then push it down onto the bracelet.

Make wrapped loops at the ends.  I like to add jump rings and attach to a clasp.  This gives me the option of changing clasps later if I so choose.


You can use knitted wire strips and do exactly as I did above to form a similar style bracelet.

What is the difference?  The true knitted wire is less regular. I prefer the ISK method. It is also doubled up making the wire work stronger.  If you widened the true knitted strip so you can double it up too. But then you will have to weave the open sides together.  I wasn't daft enough to try circular knitting with 4 double pointed needles - very awkward with so few stitches!


The final effect is lacy in look, framing the gemstone beads like a bezel!

I wish I had evil eye beads instead of the jasper as they would have gone very well with the Egyptian Eye of Horus charm which I received from TierraCast some time ago for review!





Photography
I used my iPhone 6S with the Camera+  app with the Orangemonkie studio which comes equipped with LED lights - for artificial light photography in my windowless basement studio. The Foldio2 is particularly affordable. I use the Foldio3 because I need the room for tutorial photography. The modeled photo was taken in natural light using mirror photography. 

My online class Easy Guide to Smartphone Jewelry Photography is now available. Read more about it here.  

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Disclosure This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation.
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
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