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Daily Wire Tip Dec. 30: Ordering Longer Wire

By on December 30, 2009
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip
December 30, 2009

Question:

Why would a pattern (I’ve seen a few of them on Wire-Sculpture.com) call for an 8 inch piece of silver patterned wire, but you can only order it in 6 inch pieces…outside of bulk?

Answer:

Although most companies only sell pattern wire by the foot, the previous owner of Wire-Sculpture.com had cut a LOT of pattern wire into 6-inch pieces for some project he had been promoting, therefore when the new owners purchased the business (including the warehouse stock) they also got all of this shorter pattern wire. I agree that a 6-inch piece is not great for regular to larger sized bracelets, but it can be cut into shorter pieces to make earrings and in its 6-inch length it can be added to a frame bundle to make a cabochon pendant.

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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8 Comments

  1. avatar

    Gailavira Jewelry

    December 30, 2009 at 8:05 am

    The shorter pieces of patterned wire are also great to use as ring shanks. If you solder, you can use them as they are for the ring. If not, you can bind them together with other wires for a wider, wire wrapped ring.

  2. avatar

    Harriet Warkel

    December 30, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    I don\’t think this answers her question. She wanted to know what to do with a pattern that calls for 8 inches of patterned wire if she can only buy 6 inches. Does she piece the wire together? Telling her what to do with 6 inches of patterned wire seems beside the point of her problem.

  3. avatar

    Jessie Adams

    December 30, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    If it were me, with short stock I’d form it into loops for earrings or cut and drill smaller pieces and make them into links for a jointed bracelet or necklace
    Have Fun
    Jessie

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 30, 2009 at 5:22 pm

      Thanks Jessie – you always have some great ideas!
      Dale/Cgr

  4. avatar

    Debbie

    December 30, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    I just checked your site and all it has is 3 inch and 6 inch patterned wire. When will Wire Sculpture start selling wire in 8 inch or 12 inch lengths as patterns call for?

    • avatar

      dalecgr

      December 30, 2009 at 5:21 pm

      As Brandon mentioned in his recent newsletter (announcing the year end liquidation sale) WS has an entire new stock of pattern wire that will be available in 3 foot lengths, sometime in January 2010.
      Dale/Cgr

  5. avatar

    mary

    January 4, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Dale clearly stated that this was “previous stock” from the old owner and had been precut and the new owners were discontinuing it and trying to get it out of stock.
    So, if a pattern calls for 8″ of pattern wire then common sense would tell you will have to order a foot of pattern wire to do the bracelet, or as Dale stated, a 3 foot length with plenty left over for “different” sizes of bracelets from the new stock the new owners are going to offer.

    Jessie has a great idea for using that shorter lengths that are available if your can’t afford to buy a 3 foot section and simply want to try your hand at working with pattern wire, maybe using it as a center section of a bracelet or two sections in the sides of a bracelet.

    No, you don’t piece together pattern wire to reach the length you need.