MAKING FELT CRAFT WIRES

You can use craft wires to make fabulous felt bracelets or other jewelry. All you have to do is turn the wire into felt using wet felting techniques. It's very simple and quick to do.

To make felt wires, you will need:

Craft wire - 20 gauge works well
Raw alpaca fiber or other raw wool
Jewelry or other pliers
Warm water
Dish detergent

Cut the lengths and amounts of wire needed for your project. Have your wool and pliers ready.

Use your pliers to roughen up the wire. This helps the fleece stick to the wire so that you can wind it onto the wire. To do this, simply grab the wire with the pliers and clamp the wire.

craft wire

Move the pliers around on the wire to roughen it up. Now move the pliers a short distance down the wire and do the same thing. Continue doing this down the length of the wire. You can even use a wire stripping motion. Just clamp onto the wire with the pliers and then pull the wire through the pliers while keeping them closed but not clamped hard.

Get your clean carded fleece and draft out some of the fibers. To do this, grab the end of your fiber and pull in the opposite direction to thin out the fibers. Our pre-drafting page has a video to show you how to do the drafting technque.

Once you have the fibers drafted, you can begin winding them onto your craft wires. It may take a moment of trying to get the fibers to wind on, but once they do, start winding at a downward angle to cover the wire. It is easier to turn the wire to wrap the fibers than to wrap the fibers around the wire. Try it both ways and see what works best for you.

wrapping a wire with fiber

Completely cover the wires with your tightly wound fiber. It should hold in place without you doing anything else for the moment.

Next you will need to felt the fiber. You can stand at your kitchen sink and run hot water or you can use a bowl of hot water. Either way, you need to wet the fibers with hot water. For such a small project, standing at the sink and wetting your hands works great.

Add liquid dish detergent to your hand.

soapy hand

Work your soapy hand down the wire pressing the fiber and getting the soap on the fiber.

wet felting fiber on wire

wet felting wire with alpaca fiber

Then go back, get your hands wet with hot water again and begin gently rolling one end of the wire in the palms of your hands.

rolling felted wire

Continue this gentle rolling and hot water until You get to the other end of the wire. Next, go back to the end you started with, get hot water and roll the fiber covered wire more firmly between the palms of your hands. Roll all of the wire until the felt is very firm. You will be able to feel it getting firm.

You are done with your felt covered craft wires. Now you can make bracelets that you can form into shapes. If you used fine alpaca fiber, it will be soft against your skin and comfortable to wear. Make a celtic knot bracelet to use your felted wires.

Return from craft wires to alpaca jewelry

Return from craft wires to owning alpaca home page