REPORT Millinery wire
construction by Denise Innes-Spencer
Thickness or gauge
Wire Number (Gauge)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Diameter in inches
Diameter in mm
0.297” 7.35 mm 0.257” 6.54 mm 0.229” 5.83 mm 0.204” 5.19 mm 0.182” 4.62 mm 0.162” 4.12 mm 0.144” 3.67 mm 0.129” 3.26 mm 0.114” 2.91 mm 0.102” 2.59 mm 0.091” 2.30 mm 0.081” 2.05 mm 0.072” 1.83 mm 0.064” 1.63 mm 0.057” 1.45 mm 0.051” 1.29 mm 0.045” 1.15 mm 0.040” 1.02 mm 0.036” 0.92 mm 0.032” 0.81 mm 0.029” 0.72 mm 0.025” 0.64 mm 0.023” 0.57 mm 0.020” 0.51 mm 0.018” 0.45 mm 0.016” 0.40 mm 0.014” 0.36 mm 0.012” 0.32 mm 0.011” 0.29 mm 0.010” 0.25 mm 0.009” 0.23 mm 0.008” 0.20 mm 0.007” 0.18 mm 0.006” 0.16 mm 0.0055” 0.14 mm 0.005” 0.13 mm 0.0045” 0.11 mm 0.004” 0.10 mm 0.0035” 0.09 mm 0.003” 0.08 mm
In the context of wires, sheet metals or similar materials, ‘gauge’ is often used to indicate the thickness or diameter. For example, sheet metal gauge measures the thickness of sheet metal and wire gauge measures the diameter of wire. In both cases, a lower gauge number typically corresponds to a thicker sheet or larger diameter, while a higher gauge number represents a thinner sheet or smaller diameter. For covered millinery wires, the gauge indicates the diameter of the uncovered metal wire (so excluding the thickness of the covering material). For millinery wire, gauge 18 or 19 (between 1.2 and 1.0 mm) is usually considered the standard thickness. Thinner wires (higher gauge numbers, such as 24) are useful for binding, flower making and finer detail work, while thicker wires (lower gauge numbers, such as 14 or 16) are utilised to give extra sturdiness and more support. However, it is not merely the thickness of the wire that determines its firmness.
Stiffness
The stiffness of a wire, often referred to as its ‘flexural rigidity’ or ‘bending stiffness’, is determined by several factors. Obviously, the diameter or thickness of the wire affects its stiffness. Thicker wires are generally stiffer than thinner wires made of the same material and length. However, choosing a thicker wire does not automatically result in more stiffness. Sometimes when you buy millinery wire from different suppliers, you will notice that one is far easier to bend than the other, even when they have the same thickness. This is caused by a difference in composition. For millinery wire, it is often the case
that an alloy – a mix of materials – is used. Stainless steel alloys are corrosion- resistant and have a good amount of strength, making them a popular choice for millinery wire, especially when longevity and durability are essential. More flexible wires are made by adding a higher amount of other materials such
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such as Burberry, Dsquared2 and, most recently, Hermès. Bendy plastic is made from 100 per cent plastic. Nevertheless, it is possible to bend the malleus wire in all directions after which it will keep its shape until you reshape it, just like a metal wire. The plastic wire is available in thicknesses varying from 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm and widths varying from 2.5 mm to 10.0 mm. The colour range is less extensive – at the moment it is only produced
in white. Tests were done with a black version, but this did not meet the quality criteria as it showed stress marks when bent. “The main problem with other colours is that the polymer we use to create bendy plastic is mainly produced in white,” says John. “Besides that, the machine that is used for the production of the plastic is very big, so to clean it out in order to change the raw material from white to black, for example, is a lot of work. Making a transparent
wire instead might be a solution to solve the colour problem but unfortunately that wouldn’t be possible with the type of material that we are using.” Bendy plastic is made from a
polyolefin called polyethylene, with one per cent titanium added to it. Polyethylene is one of the most widely used plastics in the world and is known for its versatility and lightweight. They are generally considered non-toxic
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november 2023 | 57
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