Wire Crochet Experiment.

 This week I have mostly been crocheting with wire!

Nick has been busy doing something in his man-cave, so when I spotted this coil of 0.25mm coated copper wire going begging I just had to see what I could do with it.

The only thing I knew about wire crochet was what I had read in 'Crochet Masterclass' and the chapter written by Nancie Wiseman. She uses 30 gauge Brass wire and a 2mm hook to make a sweet little purse.

I couldn't really think what to do so I grabbed up my copy of Edie Eckman's 'Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs' and a 2mm hook. The first motif I made was No.17. It looks a lot different when it's worked in wire rather than yarn and presents different problems. The first thing I realised was that it was quite hard to identify the different stitches. The trebles (Dc-USA) look quite strange. When I'd finished I couldn't work out how to block it!

My next experiment was motif No.20 and I used a 1.5mm hook. I was hoping that this smaller hook would create tidier stitches. Those treble stitches are still not quite right and no matter how much I stretched it, it still won't lie flat. This little chap measures 6.5cm and weighs a mighty 4 grams.
 
It occurred to me that a design made of chain stitches and slip stitches or double crochet (Sc-USA) might look better. So still with the smaller hook size I moved onto motif No.25. I'm really happy with the way this has turned out. It was easier to pull it into shape, and with a little tweaking it will lie reasonably flat.

Being a practical person I am of course wondering what I can do with these motifs. With a few beads added the right motif would work well as a pendant. With a textile backing perhaps a brooch.

The fact that one of my motifs wouldn't lie flat made me think I could make a bowl or a bangle.

After a few(!) false starts I got the hang of it. I found that a bigger hook size was better. A large tapestry needle helped to open up any stitches that had got squished. Once the disc was large enough it was easier to work the bowl from the outside. I also found that putting some of those self adhesive thimbles on my non hook hand helped! It's definitely hard on the hands.

 
I worked the bowl in a spiral, increasing 6Dc (Sc-USA) per round for 8 rounds. A total of 60 stitches in the 8th round. At that point I continued without increasing.

I finished the edge of the bowl with a row of Slip Stitches. My finished bowl measures 9cm/31/2" in diameter and weighs 16g. It might look nice with a ribbon woven around but what I'm going to use it for I have no ideas!

I decided to make the 'Edie Eckman' motifs into greetings cards. I chose to sew the copper designs onto the cards, rather than attempt to glue them in any way.