Wooly Wire Pendant Tutorial

Today I am replaying my tutorial for making a simple and stunning Wooly Wire pendant.
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I've been having fun playing with WoolyWire, a wonderful fiber and copper wire product that is handmade by Nellie Thomas of WoolyWire Etc.  Nellie hand dyes fibers and spins them onto solid copper wire.  WoolyWire can be bent and twisted, just as you would do with any 24 gauge wire, and it brings with it so many possibilities for adding color and texture to your jewelry designs.

A couple of weeks ago I got the idea to try braiding three colors of WoolyWire and then wrapping the wire around a large channel bead to create a pendant.  I'm in love with the result!

This pedant is easy to make and the results are stunning.  Here's how.

Materials:
3 packages of WoolyWire in a pleasing color combination (you won't need it all, don't worry)
1 large or medium channel pendant (available at WoolyWire Etc.)
2, 7-8 mm bicones in coordinating colors
1 decorative headpin with a 3 inch long wire, (mine is from Sue Beads)
23 inches of 1.5 mm leather cording in a coordinating color (mine is from Classic Elements)
2, 1.5 mm end caps (all my findings are from Shipwreck Beads)
1 lobster claw clasp
4, 7.25 mm Vintaj jump rings
GS Hypo Cement

Tools:
Flat nose or half round pliers
Round nose pliers
Wire cutters
A clipboard
Binder clip or "bulldog" clip

Large Channel Pendant

Directions:
1.  We are going to work with the full 3 foot lengths of the WoolyWire, so do not cut them yet.  Push the WoolyWire down about 1 inch on one of the wires, exposing the copper wire in the center.

 Bend the exposed copper wire at a right angle.

 

2. Fold a small portion of the other 2 wires down flat, so the wire end is not sticking up. (The picture below shows only one wire partially flattened.  You need to completely fold it over on both wires.)

 3.  Holding the three strands close together, wrap the exposed copper wire around all three strands, binding all 3 of them together.   Press the end of the copper wire down and tuck in, using the flat or half round pliers. I trimmed the extra fuzziness on the end, but that is a matter of personal preference.

 

4.  Place the three wires beneath the clip on the clipboard.  This will secure the wires while you are braiding.

 5.  Braid the wires, just as you would braid a child's hair.

6.  Stop braiding when you think you have enough braid to wrap around the channel pendant.  The length can be adjusted later, if needed.  Secure the loose ends with a binder clip.

 7.  Glue the the top ends of the WoolyWire just beneath the rim of the channel pendant. Set aside until the glue is dry. Unfortunately I don't have pictures for all of the steps, but the rest is really straight forward.

8.  Once the glue has dried, start winding the WoolyWire braid around the channel pendant.  You may like it wrapped loosely, or you may want to push the braid upward a bit so you can add a few extra wraps around the channel pendant. Adjust to your liking.  When you get to the bottom of the pendant, cut the WoolyWires about an inch or so longer than needed to wrap to the bottom of the pendant.  Push back the WoolyWire about one inch on one of the wires.  Fold over the other 2 wires, like you did on the top end of the braid.  Wrap the exposed copper wire around all three wires and glue the end of the braid at the bottom of the channel pendant.

9. Assembling the pendant:  Thread one bicone onto the headpin. Then add the channel pendant, fitting the open end neatly onto the top of the bicone.  Add another bicone on the top and make sure that both are seated firmly into the ends of the channel pendant.  The bicones serve to stabilize the pendant, by filling up the large holes on either side.  Using the wire from the headpin, create a double wrapped loop at the top of the pendant.  If you make a small loop, like I did, you can attach it to the leather cord with a jump ring.  If you make a larger loop, you can thread the pendant directly onto the leather cord.

10. After the pendant is threaded onto the leather cord, add a small drop of glue to one end of the leather and inside one of the end caps.  Place the leather end into the cap and hold in place till the glue sets. Repeat on the other side.

11.  Attach the lobster claw clasp to one end with a jump ring.  Make a short chain with the other 3 jumprings and attach them to the other end cap.  The clasp can be fastened to any of the 3 jumprings, making the length adjustable.

If you have questions about any of the steps, please feel free to ask.  I will be happy to answer your questions in the comments section.

Wear your WoolyWire necklace with pride!

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry 

 

Autumn Girl

I

I am an autumn girl through and through. My birthday is even on the first day of autumn! I love autumn colors best of all, and my hair, eye and skin coloring are such that autumn colors are most flattering on me. What could be better? Designing jewelry with autumn colors, of course!  

 Cinnamon Spice Collection

Clockwise: Classic Bead, Classic Elements, Humble Beads

If you are in the throes of autumn designing, I have some inspiration boards for you. I gathered up some of of my favorite autumn focals and paired them with beads, chains, textiles and leather. Links to the shops are provided in the caption area beneath each picture. 

Branch With A Squirrel Collection

Clockwise:  Suburban Girl Studio, Green Girl Studios, Classic Elements, Glass Addictions

Flaming Leaf Collection

Clockwise: Thea Elements, Shipwreck Beads, Marsha Neal Studio, Shipwreck Beads

  Oak Leaf  Collection

Clockwise:  Humble Beads, Suburban Girl Studio, White Clover Kiln, Kristi Bowman Design

Leaf Impression Collection

Clockwise: Slate Studios, Starry Road Studio, Shipwreck Beads, Stinky Dog Beads

Just putting these collections together has really motivated me to spend some quality time with my autumn beads! I hope they have the same effect on you!  

  
-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry 

Making WoolyWire

I often get asked what goes into the creation of WoolyWire. What may on the surface seem like a simple product actually entails many steps, from processing the raw fiber to the final application on wire. I'm going to let my daughter Nellie Thomas - the creator of WoolyWire - describe the process for you in her own words. I think you will find it as fascinating as I do. ~ Karen

Obtaining and Preparing Fiber

The first steps involve cleaning and preparing fiber. Most of the fiber comes from wool, from sheep like the one in the photo below.  I obtain fleeces from fiber shows, and I also reserve fleeces every year from sheep that I know produce good wool. The ones I like to reserve are at Nistock Farms in Northern NY. My two reserved sheep are Pearl, a full-breed Cottswold, and Ash, cross-breed Cottswold / Border Leicester (I don't have pictures of Pearl and Ash, but below is a picture of Duke from the same farm). When sheering time comes, I am guaranteed fleeces from my reserved sheep. I also use other fibers, like angelina, bamboo, and silk.

Fleeces ready to be processed.

Once I have cleaned the fiber, I sort it and prepare it for dyeing. In addition to wool, I dye other fibers as well, such as bamboo and silk.

Next, I sort all my dyed work start assembling color and texture palettes. This is preparation for making an Art Batt...

Making a Art Batt

Here's a picture of my drum carder; the fiber is placed either in the tray in which the smaller drum will pull the fiber onto the larger drum or the fiber can be placed directly onto the larger drum. Typically finer fibers such as angelina, bamboo, or silk will be placed directly on the larger drum:




This is the fiber gathered in preparation for making the batt; it is helpful to plan a color scheme ahead and have all of your fiber ready next to the carder:

Here is what the fiber looks like once I have it all on the drum carder; it is a lot like painting!




Here is what the batt looks like having just been taken off the carder:




Here is the batt being prepared to be rolled for neatness:




Finally, here is the batt in its final stage, ready for spinning:

Spinning WoolyWire

I don't have a picture of the above batt made up into WoolyWire... but here is a different one I made and the Woolywire I spun from it:

My trusty spinning wheel... and my mom's pup Casey. =)

Next I felt the WoolyWire so that the fiber stays put on the wire. Then finally, comes cutting and packaging.  Lots of steps from sheep to final product, but so much fun to see the end result.  I especially love working with color. I hope you enjoyed this little behind-the-scenes glimpse of WoolyWire!

3 Steps For Teaching A Successful Jewelry Class

At Bead Fest, this year, I had the opportunity to assist both Staci Smith in her class, "Painted Polymer Fossil Talisman" and Genea Crivello-Knable in her class, "Wooly Wire One-Oh-Fun".  I also took a class from AJE team member, Jenny Davis-Reazor, called "Mixed Media Amulets".   

Genea's Wooly Wire Class!

I spent the last dozen or so years of my public school teaching career mentoring teachers and college students as we worked together to improve instructional practices.  What I learned from assisting in these two jewelry classes and being a student in Jenny's class, is that teaching is teaching, no matter what the topic. The same qualities of good instruction apply whether you are teaching a 4th grader to divide 3 digit numbers or whether your are showing how to create a bail using Wooly Wire.  The content changes, but most of the same instructional techniques apply.

Staci provided a variety of examples to help guide her students to their "destination".

 Here are my observations from these classes, which will help any teacher:

• Follow this instructional sequence: "I do it.  We do it. You do it."  So what this means is that if I was teaching how to make an ear wire, I would gather the class around me, and do the first step or 2 of making an ear wire, while talking them through the process, as they observe, (I do it).  Next I'd send them back to their tables and once again talk them through it, while I demonstrated and they did each step with me (We do it.).  Later, if I sensed that they were ready, I'd let them make the other ear wire on their own, as I circulated and assisted those who were in need of extra help, (You-the student-do it.).  Whenever I saw this sequence at work in the 3 jewelry classes, I saw successful students.
• Have plenty of examples available for students to use as guide posts.  If there is only one desired outcome, then all the examples should be the same, but place the examples on various student tables, so they can refer to them.  If there are a variety of possible outcomes, as in Staci's or Jenny's pendants, then offer a variety of examples for students to refer to.  Being able to see examples helps guide the process.  It's like having a destination on a map. If you don't have a clear, readily assessable destination, you'll be lost.
• Break the process down into small steps. Remember your students have no, or limited experience, in this new technique. I can make an ear wire in about 1 minute, without giving it much thought.  But if I were to teach my neighbor how to make one, do you think she could do it if I explained the whole thing at once and then said, "OK, go for it!".  It takes practice, but you've got to learn to think like a beginner.  First my neighbor would have to learn to cut the wire, with flush cuts on each side.  Heck, she probably doesn't even know the term "flush cut".  So I'd have to back up and explain how each side of the cutter works and what a flush cut is and why it is important.  See what I mean about breaking down the steps?  So explain a little bit (how and why to make a flush cut), ask if anyone has any questions, have the students do it with guidance and then move on to the next step.  After a while you'll get a sense for how much info your class can take in at one time.

Jenny explains some of the basic properties of working with polymer clay, as the first step in our pendant making.

Jenny is a former public school teacher so she has lots of experience and training in teaching.   But Staci and Genea also had very successful, happy students, who were proud of their new creations! So you can be a jewelry, or jewelry component, teacher too!  If you have ever considered sharing your jewelry skills, you might find that these guidelines are helpful.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry