FABRIC-WRAPPED CRAFT WIRE AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING SAME

Abstract

A decorative wire is formed by providing a length of thin, bendable wire that serves as the foundation of the decorative wire. A fabric having a straight grain is selected and the fabric is cut biased to the straight grain. The fabric is spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire. The fabric adheres to the wire as the fabric is wrapped around the bendable wire. One example of a decorative wire formed by the above process includes a length of thin, bendable wire where a plurality of elongated strips of fabric are spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire and adhesively connected thereto. Each strip of fabric includes an abraded edge formed while the strip is wrapped around the bendable wire.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a printed fabric (including several illustrative fabric color selections) of a type used in the process of making an embodiment of the present invention where a bias line is shown across the fabric;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the printed fabric of FIG. 1 in a folded configuration with a bias line;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a partially completed decorative wire embodying the present invention and illustrating the process of spiral winding the fabric over a bendable wire;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing the fabric spiral wound over the bendable wire; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process for creating the decorative wire.

Claims

1. A process for creating decorative wire, comprising the steps of: providing a length of thin, bendable wire;selecting a fabric having a straight grain;cutting the fabric biased to the straight grain;spiral winding the fabric along the length of the bendable wire; andadhering the fabric to the bendable wire.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the providing step includes the step of utilizing twenty two, twenty four, or twenty six gauge wire.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the selecting step includes the steps of choosing a type of fabric material and a fabric pattern.

4. The process of claim 3, wherein the selecting step includes the step of selecting a fabric color or color intensity.

5. The process of claim 3, wherein the fabric pattern choosing step includes the step of selecting a fabric pattern including at least four colors and a plurality of shaped objects having perimeters formed by a combination of curved and angular lines wherein a number of the shaped objects overlap and the remaining shaped objects are non-overlapping with other shaped objects.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the cutting step includes the step of cutting the fabric into elongated strips.

7. The process of claim 6, including the step of abrading an edge of the strip as the fabric is spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire, to create a frayed edge.

8. The process of claim 1, including the step of abrading an edge of the fabric as the fabric is spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire, to create a frayed edge.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the adhering step includes the step of adhesively attaching only non-frayed portions of the fabric to the bendable wire.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein the spiral winding step includes the step of winding about two inches of the cut fabric over about one inch of the bendable wire.

11. A process for creating decorative wire, comprising the steps of: providing a length of thin, bendable wire;selecting a fabric having a straight grain;cutting the fabric into elongated strips biased to the straight grain;abrading an edge of each strip as the fabric is spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire, to create a frayed edge;spiral winding the fabric along the length of the bendable wire; andadhering the fabric to the wire by adhesively attaching only non-frayed portions of the fabric to the wire.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein the spiral winding step includes the step of winding about two inches of the cut fabric over about one inch of the bendable wire.

13. The process of claim 11, wherein the providing step includes the step of utilizing twenty two, twenty four, or twenty six gauge wire.

14. The process of claim 11, wherein the selecting step includes the steps of choosing a type of fabric material and a fabric pattern, and selecting a fabric color or color intensity.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein the fabric pattern choosing step includes the step of selecting a fabric pattern including at least four colors and a plurality of shaped objects having perimeters formed by a combination of curved and angular lines wherein a number of the shaped objects overlap and the remaining shaped objects are non-overlapping with other shaped objects.

16. A decorative wire, comprising: a length of thin, bendable wire; anda plurality of elongated strips of fabric spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire and adhesively connected thereto;wherein the strips of fabric include an abraded edge.

17. The wire of claim 16, wherein the bendable wire comprises 22, 24 or 26 gauge wire.

18. The wire of claim 16, wherein the fabric comprises a printed fabric.

19. The wire of claim 18, wherein the printed fabric includes a pattern permitting appearance of the decorative wire to be varied by adjusting colors and intensity of colors in the printed fabric.

20. The wire of claim 18, wherein the printed fabric includes a pattern having at least four colors and a plurality of shaped objects having perimeters formed by a combination of curved and angular lines wherein a number of the shaped objects overlap and the remaining shaped objects are non-overlapping with other shaped objects.

21. The wire of claim 16, wherein only non-frayed portions of the strips are adhesively connected to the bendable wire.

22. The wire of claim 16, wherein about two inches length of one of the elongated strips of fabric covers an inch of length of the decorative wire.

23. A decorative wire, comprising: a length of thin, bendable wire; anda plurality of elongated strips of a printed fabric spiral wound along the length of the bendable wire and adhesively connected thereto;wherein the strips of fabric include an abraded edge, the printed fabric includes a pattern permitting appearance of the decorative wire to be varied by adjusting colors and intensity of colors in the printed fabric, and only non-frayed portions of the strips are adhesively connected to the wire.

24. The wire of claim 23, wherein the bendable wire comprises twenty two, twenty four, or twenty six gauge wire.

25. The wire of claim 23, wherein about two inches length of one of the elongated strips of fabric covers an inch of length of the decorative wire.

26. The wire of claim 23, wherein the pattern of the printed fabric includes at least four colors and a plurality of shaped objects having perimeters formed by a combination of curved and angular lines wherein a number of the shaped objects overlap and the remaining shaped objects are non-overlapping with other shaped objects.