kerravonsen: Fiction/Poetry/Art: it's cheaper than therapy (cheaper-than-therapy)
Kathryn A. ([personal profile] kerravonsen) wrote2012-08-11 02:52 pm

More Craft

I've finished the wire-mesh necklace and earrings I was working on.

It's the first time I've worked with wire mesh; the idea is to be able to put beads inside the mesh tube and close it off. I thought I'd vary that by putting beads inside and also threading large-holed beads outside. The inside-beads are transparent, and the outside-beads are pink. So the whole thing ended up being pink-and-clear-and-white.

Necklace and earrings, with coinage to show scale: necklace

I was originally hoping to be able to put some clear transparent marbles inside the wire-mesh, but the mesh wasn't wide enough, so I had to use smaller beads. That was disappointing, because part of the reason I'd bought the wire mesh in the first place was as a way of using the pretty marbles to make a necklace. So scrap that idea, unless one can get wire-mesh tubes that have a wider diameter, but I've only seen one (online) craft shop that had wire-mesh tubes at all, and they only had one width.(*)

The necklace itself is in multiple sections because I made the first section with large-holed pink beads, and I ran out of those (putting aside a few for the earrings), so it wasn't that long. Then I made the earrings, and that was when I found that the large pink pony-beads that I had also had wide enough holes to thread the wire mesh through, so I used the last of the wire mesh and the last of the pink pony beads to make the extra sections of the necklace, to make it nice and long. So, yes, it would have been better if I'd been able to plan that from the start, but oh well, sometimes these things happen.

I'm not sure if I'll do much more with wire-mesh tubing or not. I have a few more lengths, and I'll use them, but I haven't decided whether I will get more or not. I found it was a bit annoying to work with when I was threading beads over the outside of it, because the ends would fray, and weren't that easy to push inside even a large-hole bead, because they'd go all over the place instead of staying together. Which is perhaps why most people don't thread beads on the outside of them?

(*) At some point I should probably ramble on about my favourite online craft shops... if anyone is interested?

(edited to point to different offsite album)
vilakins: Vila with stars superimposed (wonderful)

[personal profile] vilakins 2012-08-11 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
How inventive! I've never thought of putting beads in mesh.
evilawyer: young black-tailed prairie dog at SF Zoo (Default)

[personal profile] evilawyer 2012-08-12 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
Love that hand-blown glass look the mesh inside the beads creates!

[identity profile] sallymn.livejournal.com 2012-08-11 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
That's gorgeous! I love beads...
dreamflower: gandalf at bag end (Default)

[personal profile] dreamflower 2012-08-11 11:15 am (UTC)(link)
Pretty!

[identity profile] dozmuffinxc.livejournal.com 2012-08-11 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, very pretty!

[identity profile] izhilzha.livejournal.com 2012-08-11 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I've never seen beading with wire mesh before. I really like the effect of some beads being inside and some outside...very textured and pleasing to the eye.

[identity profile] jaxomsride.livejournal.com 2012-08-11 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
What search string did you use?

I got more than one with just "wire mesh tube". Admittedly a lot were of small diameter, the biggest was :

http://www.blumchen.com/craft_shop_leonian_knit_wire.html

Don't know if they are too big for your purpose.

Try an image search with "Using marbles as jewellery". There are some lovely ideas, including crochet!

[identity profile] lynnylou.livejournal.com 2012-08-13 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
Just a beautiful set! You are really talented!
Edited 2012-08-13 01:34 (UTC)