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Crocheting Pure Silver Wire
Note: Welcome to all of the new subscribers! This is issue #43. Newsletters are sent out every other Thursday; until November, issues will be sent less often due to several teaching engagements.

My twin passions for crochet and for fine silver united like two soul mates eight years ago. I had high hopes of basing a jewelry business on crochet with precious metals and gems. I knew I wanted to start with pure silver, because it’s known for being an easy metal to work with, its cost didn’t scare me off (especially back then), and I simply love the look and feel of it. 

Finding “pure” silver wire was my first challenge. I’d once spent a college semester hammering silver ingots at a forge, yet was treated like a li’l missy when I tried to buy silver wire in New York’s diamond district, based on spot prices. It was difficult finding out the yards or meters per 1-ounce reel of 28 gauge silver wire, or if platinum or 14k gold wire is as ductile (bendable, flexible) as "fine" (as in 99.9% pure as opposed to sterling) silver.

It was a crash course in bringing together the worlds of crochet and metal working. At home, I used plenty of trial and error just to pair a good crochet hook size with each wire gauge (thickness). I didn’t have a chance to build a jewelry business, though. In the short term, I developed muscle problems from crocheting wire. (I had been crocheting lovely silver birthday gifts!) Eight years later, I can now also add that in the long term, some wire crochet hasn't held up. 

I’ve listed a few long-term wire crochet lessons I’ve learned, below. When I taught a 3-hour Creating Crochet Jewelry class in Reno, I mentioned that we could do a bit of wire crochet if time permitted; if not, I would make some of the material available online after the class. (Wire crochet actually needs to be a separate class to do it justice.) See my wire crochet links over in the right hand column for more.  --->
You can also see other jewelry class resources herehttp://designingvashti.com/blog/?p=182

1. Assemble a tool kit just for wire crochet: special scissors/wire cutter, jewelry findings and fasteners, fabric backings, rubber mallet, crochet hooks. Wire can be hard on hooks, so I prefer using old dull steel ones for strength, to which I add cushioned handles. The old hooks might even get polished a bit by the wire :-)  Personally I usually prefer tighter wire crochet, but I'd use a steel hook even if crocheting it loosely.

2. Beads: Nowadays I’d reserve the finicky beads (the bigger beads with the tiniest holes, the irregular holes, or the rough holes that fray fiber) for stringing onto wire. For me, wire makes bead crochet a special pleasure. No beading needle required! No fiber bumps to impede sliding! And, wire crochet displays every bead prominently.

3. Pearls: A special case. Their bead holes tend to fray thread, while wire is impervious. I love pearls as much as I love silver, so I've paired them often. Nowadays I’d only pair them if I can find a silver wire that won't tarnish. Fine silver tarnishes as readily as sterling where I live, and pearls are sensitive to tarnish removers. Unfortunately, my pure silver + pearl jewelry pieces seem to age faster than other pieces.

4. While you're crocheting wire, it may look ugly or messy to you. Don't worry! Just the act of holding onto your work while making the next stitch will crumple it up. Pulling a loop through a loop makes a loop collapse. You just need to “block” it later (nudge some strands into place later with your hook). See pictures above: a purple wire bookmark of love knots. (It will end up being hammered and then probably mounted on a stiffened piece of satin unless I wish to wear it as a bracelet.) The prettier love knots on the left were opened with my hook after crocheting more rows.

5. Thinner wires (28ga and up) create fancy filigree looks with even the simplest crochet stitches. It is exhilarating to create gossamer crochet jewelry quickly and easily -- everyone should experience it at least once! They are also delicate: not only can they look almost invisible against the skin, the fine wire soon becomes brittle and breaks in places. Nowadays I would plan to mount these styles onto a contrasting background (mmm, black velvet!) which also buffer them from stress. A beautiful method is to use an armature of much thicker wire, say 22ga. Since it’s too stiff to crochet, I would also brush up on wire wrapping skills to combine this technique with crochet. (Here's my favorite wire wrapped bracelet. Pink wire!)

6. Over time I’ve noticed that recipients of these gifts have no idea how delicate wire actually is, and how would they? I didn’t know until I crocheted it. Traditionally, jewelry is strong enough to show off precious materials through several wearings, then get handed down as an heirloom. Crocheting the metal has already stressed it a bit. To stay looking new, it would be ideal if some wire crochet jewelry styles were handled like spun glass rather than flexed, tugged, bowed, banged, crushed, or twisted as if it’s Jelly Yarn® (the most durable material I’ve every crocheted!). Nowadays I'd consider reinforcing even substantial wire crochet pieces as described in #5.


That's it for #43! If you know someone who would enjoy this kind of newsletter, please forward this to them so that they can subscribe. (Click here to subscribe: http://eepurl.com/XwQk ) If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me. Thanks!      --Vashti

Remembering Silvery Days
Most of my crocheted silver dates from just before I had a good camera to photograph all the jewelry gifts I gave away. 
Pure silver wire crochet earrings designed by Vashti Braha
One of my earliest silver designs has held up well -- I wear these often. The pattern was published in a 2006 crochet pattern calendar
 http://bit.ly/UOtH69. I didn't know how to photograph earrings. I figured, how about on mango leaves in the full sun? (Pattern is being updated for DesigningVashti.com)


Another very early silver piece, which I gave to Doris in 2005. The blue bead edging represents Fun Fur yarn LOL. (It commemorates a shawl she designed -- kind of a long story!) http://ravel.me/vashtirama/rwah

Wire Crochet Resources
I created three new annotated Flickr galleries (note that each has an 18-photo limit and none can be from my own photostream): 
- Technique & Design Choices http://bit.ly/SiUdlX 
- Jewelry Styles http://bit.ly/Ssv1e3
- The Art of It http://bit.ly/Ssve0S

My new Wire Crochet Pinterest Board has 78 pins so far. Help me find more! 
http://bit.ly/UOJzFE

The Flickr Wire Crochet Group has 200 members: http://bit.ly/PkqwO6
Ravelry's 
Hook, Wire, Needles has 450 members: http://bit.ly/PkqHc0


Links I Enjoyed This Week
New issue! Duplet Russian crochet magazine http://bit.ly/UOLHNz

The Crochet Concupiscence blog has lots of great posts; see the wow! crochet exhibit at Versailles, then scroll down for more art crochet links: http://bit.ly/MlrBUK 

"Better Hydrangea Flowers": I enjoyed Olga Poltava's crochet blog post after she received feedback from Crochet Partners members (a large Yahoo group). My father planted a hydrangea bush for me when I was young. http://bit.ly/PSLdl4

Carol Ventura's blog post about a man she met in Morocco who crochets hats for tourists: http://bit.ly/Mlwuxk


DesigningVashti News
Blogged: Chain Link Conference in Reno, 9/12-9/16 http://bit.ly/PSEwiW

Doris Chan's Cat's Cradle pattern: We've got photos!
Doris is wearing a cropped size 3 above, and a red size 1 in the next photo. See Linda Dean wearing a longer Size 3 below but especially see: http://on.fb.me/xh2ll2 
See my photos of the gold silk one I'm wearing below: http://bit.ly/UOR5R2

Can you believe ALL SIZES on the fashion show runway AT ONCE? When does that EVER happen? Doris crocheted them all! Pattern diagrams are almost ready.

Posted: "
From Crochet Design Idea to Professional Proposal" Class Resources, which accompany my Professional Development Day presentation in Reno. http://bit.ly/PSHh3O Click on each of the 10 photos for more on the photography challenge they represent.

TWO NEW books to watch for! 
Dora Ohrenstein's The New Tunisian Crochet: Contemporary Designs for Time-Honored Traditions is due out in February 2013 
http://amzn.to/SiSUDu
Sneak peek at left of my Rivuline design from the book. It features some principles of Tunisian Lace making that I teach in my classes.

DORIS CHAN'S NEW BOOK is tentatively titled Convertible Crochet: Customizable Designs for Stylish Garments and is due out in May 2013! 
http://amzn.to/SiSHjG

Crochet Kits?
Would you like to see a design by Doris or me in the form of a KIT? If so, please let me know. I think it's a fun idea!

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Subscribe to this newsletter. Vashti Braha is a professional crochet designer & teacher who resides in Florida (USA). She writes 100% of each issue and emails it to subscribers
every other Thursday (except when she's designing classes!).


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