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Keeping the Kinks Out of Your Wire

By on October 21, 2015
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by Judy Ellis, Wirejewelry.com

Wire Jewelry Tip for October 21st, 2015

Keeping the Kinks Out of Your Wire

by Sarah Thompson

Do you ever get kinks and tangles in your wire when you are working with it? Today we have a great quick tip from Sarah Thompson on how to keep the kinks out.

Enjoy!

Sarah says: ” When working with 28g wire you will find that it has a horrible tendency to kink and tangle. This can make it so  you spend more time managing your wire instead of actually weaving.”

Here are a few ways to help Solve this problem:

  • Wind your wire onto the smaller sized Kumihimo bobbins.
    Tip1
  • Once the wire is wound around the bobbins snap them shut.
    Tip1-b
  • The closed bobbin will then have enough tension to keep the wire under control but still allow you to pull out a foot of wire out at a time to weave with, without opening the bobbin back up.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tip from Sarah! Check back for more great tips or articles from our new contributors!

Happy Wrapping!

12 Comments

  1. avatar

    diane

    October 21, 2015 at 6:05 am

    does anyone else remember these as hair curlers called spoolies???

    • avatar

      Cindy

      October 21, 2015 at 1:50 pm

      That’s the first thing I thought, too! Wish I had a few of them now!

    • avatar

      Geri

      October 23, 2015 at 9:29 pm

      I remember still finding one in my hair after a grammar school class pix

  2. avatar

    DeLane

    October 21, 2015 at 6:07 am

    Might be a good idea…IF you are working with small wire, or have those “bobbins” on hand. Just does not seem like a good idea working with 18 to 20 gauge wire.

    • avatar

      Connie Jones

      October 21, 2015 at 11:15 am

      I find these spools to be a godsend. I use the larger ones to wind larger gauge wire, up to 16AWG works for me and smaller ones for 20AWG down. It only takes a few minutes to wind them and they save so much time and frustration. The biggest boon for me is that I can take a ziplock bag of spools with me along with a clipper, wire straightener and small pliers. I can work anywhere. If you are doing viking weave, you still have to cut your lengths. For kinks, just make yourself STOP and unbend the kinks before they get tight. For tight spaces, using a T-pin to prepare the opening and to pull through against really helps. Just hold the pin in loop when it gets near the end. Remove it while you are pulling that last bit through. If you are working viking knit with small wire, especially silver wire, this pin is golden. I do a lot of double and tripple as well as double wire single knit. The pin opens your path and lets you keep your weave even as you work.

    • avatar

      Brenda Caudill

      October 21, 2015 at 1:33 pm

      If you go back and re-read her tip, you will see that she is referring to the 28g wire (the smaller ones that you would ordinarily be using to weave.) 24g is probably the largest I would consider using to actually weave. Regards, Brenda

    • avatar

      Tonita

      October 25, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      I agree! My husband does a lot of DVD recording and I perloin the containers that they come in for just that purpose! I end up with a 4″ coil that is easy to work with and prevents the wire from bending or becoming damaged!

  3. avatar

    Brandi

    October 21, 2015 at 9:21 am

    am just getting into wire work and really enjoy your tips.

  4. avatar

    Judy Larson

    October 21, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    I have used a technique similar this for years. When doing a project like Viking Knit, this would not work because you are continually weaving your fine wire under and through loops. However, if you do not need your weaving wire (finer gauge wire that goes over a heavier gauge wire) to go over, under, around and THROUGH a framework or core wire (heavier gauge wire), this technique will work great! If you save the spools with the clear plastic wire clip that the silver plated craft wire comes on, they will work as well. In fact, I transfer my silver and gold filled wire to them before some of my weaving projects. Using this technique has saved me from countless wire breaks because of kinked wire.

  5. avatar

    Georgia

    October 21, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    I’ve had good luck with using the plastic bobbins for cross stitch floss for wrapping fine wire on. They are sturdy and have that little slot on the edge to clip the wire into. Just don’t wrap the wire too tight on the narrow edges or you’ll have small bends to straighten out.

  6. avatar

    Halina

    October 21, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    Thank You for this FANTASTIC tip when using 28g wire.
    This will make my wire weaving look very even.
    Love LOve LOVE this idea.

  7. avatar

    Carol Praissman

    October 22, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    And my husband says I never throw anything out! I had spoolies too, but didn’t remember they were called that. I haven’t had them for many years. I do however, have Kumihimo bobbins & will try them for weaving! Thanks for the great tip!