We started with telephone wire, like what you see below. I remember you took one strand of wire as the base, and then picked another multi-colored wire strand. You then would neatly wrap the multi-color wire around the base. We closed the bracelets with a simple wire "hook" loop. I would actually love to find some colorful telephone wire to try this again. I love beading, especially with vintage trinkets, and this seems like a natural extension of that. Anyone have an idea where to find inexpensive telephone wire like this? Please let me know in the comments, below. I would also love to hear from you if you remember making telephone wire jewelry!
15 comments:
Hmm, that's interesting Trish! I have never heard of telephone wire jewelry. The bracelets in the picture looked very colorful and pretty. You know my son-in-law works for AT&T. I'll ask him about this for you.
Mary, a big thanks! I would be thrilled to find telephone wire again. Please keep me posted!
Yes! I remember making rings. My cousin worked for the phone company back then and I would get the telephone wire from him.
That is neat! I loved doing this so much as a preteen-early teen.
Not sur where he got them but my husband gave me a air of earrings made of telephone wire with a tag that said fair trade from a different country i just about dropped them as the price tag said $85.00 dollars! he works for a phone company where i asked him if could have the old wire that they throw away and now i want to start making my own jewelry for fun
That is so neat! I bet you will enjoy making your own jewelry with the wire.
Where can you find the wire to make the bracelets?
Kerri, if you know someone who works as a lineman or phone repair person they might be able to find wire that has been trimmed off and would otherwise be discarded. Short of that, I would search on eBay or Etsy for phone wire or wire for jewelry. Good luck!
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I remember making rings when I was in high school. It was the mid to late 1950’s. We would wrap the wire around our finger, then continued till there was 3-4 colors. Then cut the wire and made flat saucer like circles where the wires were side by side. Problem was it was not very stiff wire so would get out of shape easily. This faze didn’t last very long. Was fun looking back, I still making jewelry an selling on Etsy. Barbara
Barbara, great story and how neat that you are a jewelry artist today!
Yes! My mom was a teacher. I don't know if this was a short-lived fad, but in the mid-1970s she'd pick up decommissioned telephone wire from Northwestern Bell in Iowa City for my sister, me, and our friends to make rings, bracelets, and other crafts out of.
Phillip, that is neat! That is just about the same time I was making telephone wire jewelry too.
When we were kids we would open apartment building phone junction boxes and get the scrap wire. We would also just rip out the functioning wires, not quite understanding what would happen.
That sounds like such a kid thing to do!
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