Jewelry making tip

While brainstorming new regular content for my blog between shop updates, I figured I'd provide a few tips about the crafts I'm most familiar with. The majority will relate to beaded jewelry making.

-Jewelry making tip: Remembering wire gauge-


via emckinstry on flickr

If you're new at working with wire, or have been doing it for years, it can be difficult to remember if the number associated with a wire's gauge means it's thinner or thicker than another.

The larger the number, the thinner the wire.

To remember this, think of it this way: Wire starts as a thick, small piece of malleable metal. If it's pulled to be 20 feet long, it gets thinner. If it's pulled to 25 feet, it gets even thinner!

Picture that in your mind the next time you wonder, "Is this 24 gauge headpin thinner or thicker than that 22 gauge headpin?"