Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Fabric wrapped wire letters

 Remember this? 

 It's the wire name I made to hang in the nursery.  I'll have to admit that it's one of my favorite creations.  Since then I've made a dozen or so for friend's babies.  It's a great way to use up some scraps, give a personalized gift, and show some creativity!  Look at all the letters you can make! 






Want to try making one?

 How I did it:
Start with 2 lengths of floral wire, (20 gauge) side by side.  Wrap them with stem wrap (the slightly stretchy, sticky tape that florists use on corsages). If you're working with the pre-cut lengths rather than a roll, you will probably want to add a few more lengths to the end, wrapping all the way down. 

Now, cut 1/4" -1/2" strips of fabric and wrap them around the wire.  Use a little hot glue to keep the beginning end from unraveling.  The sticky stem wrap will hold the fabric in place nicely.  When you've gotten enough of one color, add another by tieing the two ends together.  Keep wrapping until the entire wire is covered.

On a large piece of scrap paper, write out the name that you want to create, the actual size you want it to be.  (If you're really free-spirited, feel free to skip this step and just start bending!)  Place the wire over the cursive, and start bending it to match the letters.  Play around with them until they look the way you want them to.  Go ahead and hot glue the wires together where they overlap, to make the name a little more sturdy.  Also, glue the fabric twists down anywhere you cut the wire, to keep it from unraveling. 

Here's the really fun part - start embellishing!  I have used silk flowers, feather butterflies, cork birds, plastic bugs, lace, rhinestones, and buttons.  You can make it masculine for a little boy, or as girly as possible -whatever your heart desires!

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