A reminder that this is something that should NEVER be done in the presence of children!!!! If they try any adult uses for power drills in combination with wires, there could be serious injuries, especially from spinning wire that may become detached. It may be a good idea to tie back long hair, wear safety glasses/long sleeves/lightweight gloves. In classes, I taught use of a Kreinik Cording Drill that could be used with a variety of threads or yarn. Kreinik is a manufacturer of metallic threads. Metallic threads are not wire. Metallics are synthetics. They can be difficult to manage in stitching and when spinning together because of their tendency to snag together, but I found a lovely result can come from combining with embroidery floss to match something in the making. (Search Kreinik Cording Drill.) This is a product that does not use electricity and is safer for children to use and observe in action. You hand-turn a reel that is somewhat like the reel on a fishing rod. May require some practice using left-over or cheaper materials before using to make a custom trim. I sometimes use one blade in a portable electric mixer to make fiber cords, but do not recommend because there is danger from pulling too hard on the blade under tension. A weight needs to be used. If you've done it, you know the procedure that works for you. Not for children to observe because they could tangle fingers into the spinning blade or the blade may become detached and fly in any direction. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center -------------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 8/7/2015 9:42:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, hottl...@neo.rr.com writes:
Hello All! At the 2014 IOLI convention in Sacramento, I attended Lauran Sundin's wire lace class. One of the techniques she demonstrated in class involved twisting wires together to make heavier cable. She used a cordless drill at low speed. Today I wanted to combine two strands of 28 & two strands of 30 gauge wire to create a cable/gimp. The last time I used a power drill, the torque caused a spiral fracture to my ring finger. To avoid another trip to the emergency room, my husband suggested a Dremel drill because it has variable speed control. Unfortunately none of the Dremel attachments allowed me to connect my wire to the drill. That's when I remembered my Spinster! This is a low-tech tool that many embroiderers use to make twisted cording for a finished edge. Using a doubled length of each wire, I attached the wire loop ends to the Spinster hook. My husband twisted together the four free ends & held them with a pair of flat blade jewelry pliers while I reeled! under tension. The resulting cable is quite lovely for my first effort & I will use this method again. The Spinster was easy to use/control & adequate for my 28/30 gauge wire but does require an extra pair of hands. Hope this is helpful to others who are working with wire. If someone else posted this info, sorry for the rerun. Sincerely, Susan Hottle, Erie, PA USA Sent from my iPad - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/ - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
