Knitting
Knitting with Wire and Yarn
Knitting with Wire and Yarn is easy - and brings a whole new dimension to your knitting. Read more about it here.
Give Wire a Wirl!
Knitting with wire is fantastic! Thin wires allow themselves to be twisted and fashioned round knitting needles and when combined with yarns, brings a whole new dimension to knitting.
Combining yarn with a thin wire will give the work a degree of strength and support, meaning that 3d and self supporting items can be made. Different combinations of yarn and wire will give different effects. Thin wire used with a single ply silk for instance, will allow the metal and the color and texture of the silk to combine, with the light catching the shiny metal. Wire with a heavily textured yarn such as an eyelash yarn will disappear into the bulk of the yarn unless a number of wire only rows are knitted to allow the metal to show through. Interesting and highly textured pieces of knitting can be created, unique to the maker.
There is no need to tidy the ends of the yarn if there are many ends of yarn throughout the work, the wire will hold it in place. Instead, the yarn ends can be trimmed and left to soften the edges of the work. Of course, the ends of yarn can be woven back into the work if straight edges are required.
Yarn and wire can be used to make items where the extra support is useful, for instance jewelry, accessories, vessels or simply as a piece of art. Even very thin wires when combined with a fine yarn will be self-supporting and will lend itself to 3d work. (The key thing to remember when designing items incorporating wire is to ensure that the item does not repeatedly bend or flex in the same place - after time the wire will crack).
If working with yarn and wire for the first time, here's some answers to questions which might spring to mind!
What yarn?
Any yarn, and oddments will be fine. A combination of textured and thin yarns will create a wonderful texture. Thin yarn such as a single ply or crochet cotton will work will with thin wires. Keeping some rows of wire only will allow the metal to show through, every row knitted with a textured yarn and wire will hide the wire which will just provide support. A single ply silk with silver wire can look absolutely stunning, as the silk and wire blends together to form a glimmering mesh.
What wire?
Any craft or art wire will be fine to use. Always use wires made from soft metals. Soft metals will easily bend and take shape without bending, a hard metal will be stiff and easily crack. Soft wires will not crack until they become work hardened (consistently bent in and out of shape). Art and Craft wires, copper, silver and gold are all suitable to knit with - however remember that uncoated wires will tarnish and this will rub off on the yarn.
How do I buy wire?
It is best to buy wire by the reel if you are going to knit with it. Reels of wire will contain several hundred feet of wire - plenty to practice with. The main benefit of using a reel of wire is that it is much less likely to tangle than a coil of wire, which is just waiting to spring out of its neat coil and into a tangled mess.
What thickness wire?
Wire is available in many thickness, ranging from the tiniest fraction of a millimeter upwards. Wires are typically measured in metric (decimal of a millimeter), American Wire Gauge (US) and Standard Wire Gauge (UK). With both the AWG and the SWG the higher the number the thinner the wire. However there is no other similarity between these two gauges so do keep this in mind if buying wire internationally. To avoid any confusion I've referred to metric measurements here.
The easiest wires to knit with are the thinner wires. However because these wires are thin, they also get knocked out of shape easily - but as a design feature, the thinner wires also will move with the body and have more drape, making them ideal for jewelry such as delicate and intricate necklaces.
Suitable wires for knitting with range from .2mm (which is easy to knit with) through to .5mm (which some people might find tough unless working with larger needles).
What needles?
Some people say that working with wire doesn't damage their lovely wooden needles. I've not been so lucky and have found that the thin wires can cause the wood to splinter. I have also found that when I am working with small needles and thicker wires, the needles are inclined to bend. Save old needles for working with wire, and it won't matter what happens to them.
How to start?
Any cast on method will be fine. However remember to cast on loosely. The wire has no give and a lovely tight little row of cast on stitches will be a nightmare when it comes to start the next row. If in doubt cast on using a larger set of needles.
How to end?
Binding (casting) off serves the purpose of securing the end stitches. The wire won't run and will hold its shape, so a wire can simply be threaded through the end stitches and the stitches 'squashed' into shape, or a more traditional bind (cast off) can be used.
However, the best way to learn about working with yarn and wire is to have a go. Have fun!!