Diana Kirkpatrick-Art You Can Wear | My Thoughts on Jewelry & Design

Diana Kirkpatrick-Art You Can Wear | My Thoughts on Jewelry & Design: Designing Woven Silver Jewelry Posted on March 25, 2012 by Diana Kirkpatrick at www.dianakirkpatrick.com/blog/.

The bracelet on the left is woven from fine silver. The Swarovski rhinestones are set in sterling silver and added one at a time as the weaving progresses. I love designing these pieces, doing the weaving, and constructing pendants and bracelets with woven accents and details. These jewelry pieces sort of evolve from the basic structure I drew out in my design layout and this evolutionary process delights me. I sometimes alter the pattern a bit to include a special element or stone that seems to belong in the piece. Most of my pieces are small pendants wrapped in a woven band so that they often appear to float in their setting. I’m constructing the woven bands from 18-20 gauge fine silver and the weaving is done with 26-30 gauge.

As my hands have become more arthritic I’ve been working with elements under 14 gauge. My most recent designs include woven areas within a design like the cross shown on the right.