When I was recently at the Bead & Button Show, I snagged this recently-released book my Melissa Cable. As the title indicates, the book shows how to twist, fold, hammer, weave, and wrap metal and wire. The cover project immediately caught my eye, and a quick flip through the book showed a number of other projects that were beyond beginner level. Don't get me wrong -- a beginner will both learn and be able to accomplish many projects in this book, but there are plenty of projects for more advanced wire-lovers.
The chapters are broken down into styles of wire:
1: Woven Wire
2: Textured Strip Wire
3: Corrugated Wire
4: Heavy Wire
5: Chain and Wire
The tips and techniques pages explain how to do interesting things with wire and strip metal -- texturing, using a "poor man's rolling mill" (something I found really cool), and patinating. There are plenty of step-by-step photos, too.
If you aren't used to working with wire, dealing with the many different gauges and lengths of wire in each project might be a little confusing at first -- lots of numbers to deal with in some projects. However, if you're new to wire, start with the simpler projects first and you'll get the hang of it quickly. The font is also a little small, but the projects are worth it.
I'm looking forward to trying out some of the projects in this book in a challenge with my friend soon. Stay tuned for that!
Lori Anderson writes the blog Pretty Things and creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs. She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.
