Wig Wag Twisties?
 

Anyone ever do the wig wag twisties and willing to share what you know? Would love to learn!

Here is a thread about them. I have been making them for the past 2 days, but still haven't figured out how to make them smooth and even. They are fun to make though!

Thanks, Gelly! I got lots of info that should be a great help! Can't wait to try.

I don't use them as twisted canes or anything, but these are all made by taking a multi-color cane (some bought, some made) and doing the whole wig-wag thing, then condensing it down and making it into a pendant:

http://soleiletlune.com/gallery/reversal-pendants.jpg

Those are way cool Cosmo!

Very cool, Cosmo!

I did make a couple of wigwag stringers today. They turned out great. Didn't get pictures of them though cause I used them right away. Will post some pics later.

So . . .. are they basically a twisted cane that you work in small sections . . . . heating and twisting in alternating directions back & forth??

That's pretty much how I did it when I gave it a try. I made a stamen type cane - in other words untwisted - and then worked small sections in the flame twisting one way, moving on, and then twisting the other way. It's kinda fun!

Cool, thanks Laurie, I'll give it a whirl tomorrow :)

here is my first and only one. I'll do more, they were fun but I haven't had time to do any more yet! They are a little hard to do at first, they want to run away with you! Lol!

Very pretty! I can't get the hang of it yet, but it's fun trying!

Great job Donna . .. . for your first try that's really good!!!!

thanks you guys! Anyone else tried this?????

I haven't taken photos yet of my wig wags but here's how I do mine.

1. I make a large gather of my base color and then using my large graphite mashers, squeeze it to a barrel shape and blunt up the end.

2. Then I lay my stripes of color along the length of the barrel, sometimes layering two colors on top of one another.

3. After I have the desired amount of colors, I then tip the barrel down into the flame (my hand end raised up). As the end begins to melt to the point where the stripes are melted into the base, I punty up to the end (metal mandrel for me). I then to slowly pull and twist. It's a slow section by section deal. I also like to add more oxy to my flame to make it smaller. That way I'm controlling more precisely where the heat is.

4. Twist away from yourself (and pull), allow the stringer section to cool. Heat the glass with the flame directed to the barrel end, but not at the stringer already made. Bring out of the flame. Pull and twist in the opposite direction (towards yourself). The whole time I keep the rod of glass at an angle with my hand end up. Repeat this step until you've reached the end of the barrel.

I have found that if I keep the angle and the flame directed at the barrel end with quick flashes, I don't lose control. With more practice, the smoother your stringer becomes. Hope this helps.

I've made 2 now and they seem really shocky. They keep breaking as I am making them............and when I've used them on beads they look terrible. Bummer, I was so excited about this and now it's like, I don't really care anymore. Maybe I need to do more?????? But, your tut Heidi is great! I'll try it your way and see what happens!

THX!

I have tried the wig wag...... It is fun fun fun!

I don't have any problem with them being shocky. REmember the chemistry of the colors you are using...you will get bad results if you mix the wrong ones together.

I made one and it turned out TERRIBLE :lol: It's about the most crooked, most pitiful twistie-lookin' thing I've ever made.

Here, have a chuckle along with me:




I obviously had high hopes since I used my favorite colors :)

Actually most of mine turned out like that too. It may not look great but it works great!!!

Actually, the varying width on this could make for some really interesting beads . . . Love the color combo.

Alrighty then, I'll make a bead or two with my twistie today . ... I'll post 'em up tomorrow!!!

I made some last week and used them in this set. They are a blast to make and I'll be making some more today! :grin: The green striped cane is not one of the wig wag twistes, just a vine cane! :lol:

I think that looks very cool. I love those colors together!

Lovely colors and great job, Ginny! I have yet to take pictures of mine. I use them as fast as I make them.

OK, the center larger bead was made with my wig wag twistie . . . . I like it, but I could tell immediately how to improve my next twistie. I think I twisted too many times each way . . . maybe only two rotations each way would look better instead of several. I'd probably get more wigs and wags if my cane didn't have so many twists in the same direction :)

Ginny, your beads came out great! Mine looked a lot loke yours too but I liked them on the beads. A bit random and freeform.

I used raku and black and this way works much better than other ways I have tried! Thanks Heidi!!!

Donna, that's a beautiful wig wag!\\:D/ \\:D/ \\:D/

Ginny, I'm really liking the results you got!

I finally took pictures of some of mine before I used them. I get the bumpier texture whenever I stripe one color over another. These stringers both came out about 18" long. And here is one bead.

Thanks so much for this thread, I've been coming back every few days to see the newest posts. I've made a few too, but they were so "bumpy" I got a lot of cold shock/fracturing.

How did you get the dark line around the blues/purples? Did you layer black in between? I'm using Bullseye, and I know it reacts differently, but I don't get the dark line around my colors. Any help? Thanks!

If you are referring to my bead above, Lisa, that particular wig wag I used black as the base. Sometimes I do make a stripe of one color and put another color right on top. Also, with certain colors, you do get a devit line between them, which can look black in color.