wire trefoils

Ok, Etsy e-mail had a challenge to make something every day this year. Can I do it? Stay tuned ...

Anyway, yesterday I made something. Not a finished product, more a test of concept. Celtic knot trefoils of 18-gauge and 20-gauge copper. Alabaster included to show scale ;-)  --actually, because she wouldn't get out of the way! These are very fuzzy tiny photos from the Mac's camera.

I tried twisting and hardening the annealed wire, to get nicer curves, but it didn't work. To get the interlacing, you have to deform it a lot, so you have to try to shape pretty curves afterward.

The trefoil is the simplest knot, though I have also done four and five loops.

For three, start with an overhand knot.

Then bend the ends in so they cross the open space, putting two corners unto the curve. If you're going to make a twisted stem, do that before bothering to refine the shape.



Next? Hammer-textured copper. and fine silver that can be fused into an endless ring. I've been meaning to learn fusing for years! It can't be that scary. Can it?