Viking Wire Knitting:

Transcription

1 Viking Wire Knitting: Supplies: 1. Wire: soft (easy to bend) normally a small gauge (24+) but the size is up to you. You do want a softer wire as it will harden while you work it. If you are going to do your own finishing, you will normally also need some wire of the same type as the main wire, but of a larger gauge (next lowest number). You will also need some cheap and strong wire for making the Daisy and to pull the knitting. Do not get the plastic coated wire for the main wire as the plastic will shred as you pull it. 2. Draw plate: made of a hard wood or stiff material. Used to shape and stretch the knitting. One end of the holes should be tapered to protect fragile wires. 3. Pliers: sometimes you need a good grip when using the draw plate. Needle or ring nose work well for dealing with pokies (more later). 4. Round nose pliers: If you are going to do your own finishing these make the loops at the ends. 5. Wire cutters 6. Ruler: (or credit card, fingers, etc) used to wrap the wire to make the Daisy 7. Dowel: used to form the knitting around. Hex wrenches work well too. Directions: 1. Using the cheap wire wrap it around the ruler 5 or more times (depending on how many loops you want). 2. Pull the wire off and wrap one end together (tightly) to hold the loops. Spread the other end of the loops into the Daisy shape.

2 3. Place the Daisy at the end of the dowel and then wrap the petals around the dowel. 4. Cut a piece of your main wire. I find that the length of my arm is about as long as I can easily use. Keep in mind the wire will harden as you work it and having a lot of loose wire flying around can be hazardous to you or those around you. 5. Hold one end of the wire below one of the petals. Take the loose end and run it through the petal (from the outside towards the dowel) and around the piece you are holding. It should look like this: 6. Take the loose end to the next petal and go through the petal just as before. Start on the outside then towards the dowel and around the fixed end. Continue this for the remaining petals. 7. Once you get back to the first petal repeat the pattern for that petal (doubling that loop) 8. Take the loose end of the wire and go to the next loop. You should be able to see where the wires cross under the petal. Run the loose wire behind the cross (starting on the far side and towards the fixed side) and cross over the fixed wire. Continue this pattern until you are out of wire. When you get to the petal with 2 loops (first petal) make sure you get BOTH the crosses in one loop to lock them.

3 9. After each crossing the loose wire should be on top. 10. This is a very forgiving craft so if the spaces are not even or the loops are different sizes, that is ok. It will get fixed when you use the draw plate. That said the more consistent you are the easier it is to work with. 11. There are two ways to add wire. Both look the same in the end. a. Just like when you first started: hold one end of the wire near where the other wire ended. Take the loose wire and run it around last cross the previous wire completed. b. Take one end of the wire and run it backwards through the last crossing of the previous wire. In the end you should have a mirror image of the last loop created by the previous wire. 12. Continue knitting as before and when you reach the double cross make sure you get BOTH wires in one loop. 13. Continue this pattern until you reach the desired length. Keep in mind that depending on how far you reduce it with the draw plate it will lengthen. Sometimes up to twice as long. While you can always cut some away you can t add after you draw. 14. Cut away the Daisy and this will leave you with loose loops on one end.

4 15. Using the pliers (Needle or ring work well) arrange the loops into a rough line and run a piece of the strong wire through it. This will help you pull the knitting through the draw plate. 16. Find the largest hole on your draw plate that the wire still hits the sides. Pull the wire through 2-3 times. Then move to the next smallest hole. 17. Every few holes check the wire for pokies. Run your fingers along the wire backwards CAREFULLY looking for loose ends of the wire. This happens where you joined two pieces of wire. Use the needle or ring nose pliers to push the loose wire into the center of the knitting. This will trap the wire as the knitting is drawn so it will not poke the wearer. 18. Once the knitting looks the way you want it, stop pulling. Many projects have been ruined by over pulling (and at least one draw plate, don t use soft wood!)

5 Finishing: You can buy caps or coils that can go around the end of your knitting to finish the ends or you can make your own. 1. Take the larger gauge wire and thread it through the pulled knitting near but not at the end. 2. Bend the end of the wire back towards the knitting. 3. Pull the wire, pushing the hooked end into the knitting. This will lock your finishing in place. 4. Bend the long end of the wire towards the end of the knitting. 5. Using round nose pliers make a loop in the end of the wire. If you are attaching a clasp this is where you would attach it. 6. Holding the loop in the round nose pliers wrap the wire around the bottom of the loop locking it in place.

6 7. Tightly wrap the wire around the bottom of the loop and continue down the knitting until you run out of wire or get as far as you want. Take the end of the wire and bend it into the knitting to prevent pokies. 8. Repeat on the other end. Congrats you have finished your knitting. Now experiment with different wires, gauges, lengths, etc. and see what you come up with. The pattern outlined here is for single knitting. There is also double and triple knitting, but that is a different class.