About our expert
Bronagh Miskelly is a
designer, writer and
technical editor who
teaches a range of knitting
workshops. She is also closely involved
with the UK Hand Knitting Association.Beads bring a pretty touch to knitted wire pieces,
and are straightforward to add to your workKNITTING WITH wire creates an
interesting sculptural material that is great
for jewellery making. It is flexible, with
a little bit of stretch, and can be gently
shaped. You can create strips of wire work
to make bracelets, necklaces and earrings,
or sections that can be wired to frames to
make more structured pieces.
GETTING STARTED WITH WIRE
Although in terms of making stitches
knitting with wire is the same as knitting
with any other material, there are some
additional tools that you will need, and
the way of working is a little different.
As well as wire and needles, it is useful to
have a couple of fine crochet hooks – I like
to have a super-fine vintage metal hook
and double-ended 2mm and 2.5mm hooks
to hand. These are useful when you are
placing beads, as well as occasionally for
opening up a stitch that has been flattened
for any reason or is very tight.
You will need a pair of wire cutters and
at least one pair of snip nose pliers. Having
two pairs of pliers can be useful when you
are adding jewellery findings.
Unlike working with yarn, knitting with
wire is not a craft that is easily rolled up
into a bag and taken anywhere. Wire can
be brittle when overworked, so you need
to treat it reasonably gently.
It is best to work at a table with the reel
of wire on the floor. This stops the wire
kinking or even breaking. Pop the reel of
wire in a yoghurt pot or similar to stop it
rolling away. Working over a beading mat
or felt square is a good idea, too – it helps to
collect any trimmed pieces of wire, and the
fibres help prevent the beads rolling away.WIRE AND NEEDLE CHOICE
There is a lot of craft wire about in shops
and online, and it is important to make
sure you choose something that is both
flexible and strong enough to knit with.
A good choice is 0.315mm (29 gauge)
copper wire. This is available in a wide
range of colour finishes.
You will see other coloured craft wires,
too, so always double-check the thickness
and that it is copper and not another metal.
Wire is obviously a much harsher
material than wool, so do not use your
favourite wooden or expensive needles for
a wire project. An old pair of metal needles
will be just the thing. When working with
0.315mm wire, 3mm or 3.25mm knitting
needles are a good choice to create a
manageable wire mesh.KEEPING IT SIMPLE
The joy of knitted wire comes from how
you can shape the flexible mesh, so there
is not much need for fancy techniques.
Cast on using the knitted technique- knitting into the previous stitch and
placing the loop on the left-hand needle.
For a firmer edging, create your slip knot
with a long tail and use the tail and the
wire from the spool held double to cast on
your stitches. ( 1 )
Once you have your stitches, simply
work in garter stitch, slipping the first
stitch of each row. You can also try
stocking stitch if you want, but it is
probably best to get used to knitting with
the wire before you try purling as well.
Garter stitch will give you an interesting
mesh that works well.
The only other stitches you might want
are increases and decreases, which you
can use to shape your wire pieces to create
curved edges, triangles and diamonds.
When increasing, it is easier to use the
‘make 1’ technique, working into the bar of
wire between stitches, rather than trying
to work two stitches into one.
Whether or not you stick to a straight
piece of garter stitch, or experiment with
shaping or purling, the most important
rule for knitting with wire is to keep it
slow! If you go too fast, you are more likely
to kink or tangle your wire, making it
more likely to break.
Also, be aware that working with wire
can be hard on your hands. Remembering
to create your stitches steadily and
carefully will make it less likely that you
give yourself a blister or stick a sharp end
of wire into a finger.12
Masterclass
The Knitter 72 Issue 142 Subscribe now at TheYarnLoop.com