Craft Wire + Memory Wire

We stock a huge range of craft wire - Artistic anti-tarnish permanent coloured wire, Beadalon, Beadsmith Tarnish Resistant Wire, & Sterling & Gold Filled Wire. It can be confusing to know what is best to use for different purposes so we have put together a guide to help you choose.  Memory wire is an exception to these rules – it is a super strong stainless steel wire that retains it’s shape and is really hard to bend – used for memory wire bracelets & chokers.  

Wire Gauges

The gauge of a piece of wire is a measurement of its width (diameter). Gauge is often abbreviated as "ga", thus 20 gauge = 20ga.
Gauge numbers work the opposite of how you'd expect. The larger the gauge, the smaller the wire's diameter. This is because the numbers were originally determined from how many times a piece of wire had to pass through a draw plate before it was done being sized. The more times through the plate, the thinner the wire.  In regards to how stiff or strong a wire is, Dead Soft is the easiest to bend, Half-Hard or Medium Temper is a good all purpose wire that is easy to bend & will hold shape more than Dead-Soft, and Full Hard (only in sterling silver) is the stiffest and hardest to bend. The thickness of your wire & use determines the best wire to get – if you are using 20ga or thicker then dead soft might be a good option, thinner wire 22ga or thinner medium temper or half hard is a good choice.

Common Jewelry Uses of Wire by Gauge:

• 32-34 gauge (.15-.20mm) Super Fine Wire – Mostly used for viking knit, crochet or weaving/knitting with wire.
• 28 gauge (.38mm) Extremely Fine Wire –  Extremely fine wire, not much wider than a human hair. Mostly used for wire crocheting and wire knitting. Hard to handle, tendency to get tangled.
• 26 gauge (.46mm) Very Fine Wire.  For beads with small holes like pearls. Half hard is recommended if you need more strength and body to this fine wire.
• 24 gauge (.56mm) Fine Wire. Good for beads with small holes such as pearls.  Half Hard is recommended if you need a bit more body in the wire to give strength.  Good for wire wrapping.
• 22 gauge (.71mm)  Medium-Fine Wire. Very versatile size because it is pretty thick however most beads will fit on it (like crystals, seed beads & stone beads). Dead soft is a good way to go with this wire or half hard if you need piece to be more rigid. Good for making earwires, headpins, & for wrapping.
• 20 gauge (.91mm) Medium Wire.  Size most often recommended for creating wire jewellery using jigs and other wire sculpting.  Good for making heavy duty earwires, lightweight clasps.  Pretty easy to work with but also strong.  Dead soft if wire wrapping or bending into smaller shapes.
• 18 gauge (1.22mm) Medium-Heavy Wire.  Commonly used for chokers, clasps or wire sculpture. Solid (not plated or filled) wire in these gauges is commonly used to make rivets. 18ga makes good ear wires too but can be a bit thick for some wearers.
• 16 gauge (1.63mm) Heavy Wire.  Commonly used for chokers, heavy duty clasps.  Can be more difficult to bend depending on the softness of the wire.
• 14 gauge (2.03mm) is primarily used to create thick, extra-strength components. Good for chokers, stiff bracelets or wire sculpted rings. Solid 14ga wire can be used to make rivets. Depending on the metal this gauge may be difficult to bend.