3-D Filigree Christmas Star

This 3-D Filigree Christmas Star is 7" across & is made using 20 & 26 ga wire w/ an acrylic gem wired to the center of it. There's a front & a back to make it 3-D....so a bit labor intensive to make.

Supplies:

Round nose pliers

Tweezer nose pliers (suggest Xuron)

Nylon jaw pliers

Wire cutters

Ruler

Marker

Graph paper

Pencil

20 & 26 ga wire

Two round 18 mm acrylic sew on gems or crystal rivolis

Optional: Painter's tape, masking tape, or wire ties

I used graph paper for measuring the frame. The longest side of the frame is 85 mm to give you enough wire to make a curl. The shortest side is 40 mm to give you enough wire to make a curl. The remaining side of the frame is 45 mm. I worked off the spool of 20 ga wire & cut the wire per the template. If you'd like smaller curls, cut 7" of wire & 7.5" of wire for larger curls. *It's very important that you keep the same shape as the template b/c the star is 3-D. You will need to make 28 of these components. The star has a front & back & there will be a total of 14 rays to make it 3-D.

The next step is to make the smaller components. I used 3.5" of wire for the small one & 7.5" of wire for the large one. You will need to make 28 small components & 28 large components.

Now you can start connecting everything together. You will need to cut several pieces of 26 ga wire in 2" pieces to connect the smaller components to the framework component. Wrap the wire around it 7-8 times. Then you'll need to cut several pieces of 2.5" of the 26 ga wire to connect the larger components to the frame in the middle of it, wrapping 7-8 times. See photo. Now you will be connecting the individual points which consist of 4 of the completed frames. The 2 frames wired together will act as a sort of 'hinge'. You'll need to cut 24" of 26 ga wire to to get started...(& will need to cut more long lengths of wire later to connect them all.) Don't cut off any of the wire, as you will need it later to connect the other points together to make full rays. Wire as per the photo & anywhere you feel it's needed to add more support. The star has a front & back & there will be a total of 14 completed rays to make it 3-D.

Now it's time to wire all of the completed points together. Go down the middle in between the rays & wire them together. Do not cut off any of the wire, as you will need it later on to form the mesh for the center of the star.

When you finsh wiring all of the rays together on both sides, then you can start forming the mesh portion @ the very center of your star. See sketch. Keep going w/ the mesh until you have completley covered the center. When your mesh is all finished on both sides of the star, then you can wire on the gem w/ any remaining extra wire that is closest to the gem. Now you can cut off any remaining pieces of wire that are hanging & if needed, adjust any of the rays as needed. I hope you've enjoyed making your 3-D Filagree Christmas star. If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to inquire.