Thursday, February 2, 2017

Hooking on Wire Mesh

In a recent class at Julie Smith's, Julie talked about her experience taking a class with Molly Cosgrove who is well-known for hooking on wire mesh. I've tried to find photos of her work, but didn't have much luck. Julie showed us the project she started and challenged us to try our hand at hooking on wire.

Here is a sample of the wire:


We started with a rectangular-shaped piece of mesh, and with a few cuts, shaped it into a box. Once that was done, we took crimpers and folded the ragged and sharp edges over to make the top edges of the box smoother. Next, using a tapestry needle, we wove in the top edging of the box about a 1/2 inch down the sides. 

Once the top edging was complete, you commenced hooking in the thick yarn chosen for the project. Here was where I had a problem. I had my good hook with me, and after pulling a few loops did not like that my hook was catching on the wire and not easily pulling the yarn through the mesh.

Now for the dilemma: I was supposed to be "hooking" this piece. Eventually, I found that using a tapestry needle and weaving loops in and out of the mesh proved to much easier. So, this basket/box was not really hooked!

Anyway, I did enjoy the process and would like to try using the mesh to sculpt a shape. Here are some photos of the finished box. The flowers are pieces of sari silk.







2 comments:

Gayle said...

Well, that was a fun project for you! Looks like you used hardware cloth? I tried to hook a vessel with a wire form once after reading an article in RHM - wasn't very successful.

Woolly Mammoth Woolens said...

It wasn't that easiest thing I've ever done, and I learned near the end of the project, things I shouldn't be doing! Always the way. I would try it again, though. I'm not sure what the mesh is called. I want to find out from Julie at our next class.