All Wired Up by Mark Lareau is an excellent wire-working paperback first published in 2000 and still going strong. It is a paperback at 127 pages that is generously illustrated with step-by-step, easy-to-follow line drawings of wire-working techniques that often incorporate bead-work.

(COPYRIGHT: I'm so sorry to have to put this here, but I've had trouble with online content theft. Readers are welcome to print my articles for their personal use, but I do not allow my text or photos to be copied to anyone's online site. No one may use my content without written permission from me.)

The author states that he wrote the book to meet a need for beginning wire-work books. Back then, there were only a few wire-work books on the market and they were all advanced-level, hopelessly complex, and focused upon square wire rather than round wire, which is cheaper and easier to locate. Now, the crafts book market has blown wide open and there are numerous beginner books and easy-to-find supplies for the hobbyist. The fact that Lareau's book is still so well-known speaks very well for it.

On page 7, the author states, "I will show you how to make shapes both simple and elegant using only your hands, pliers, and flush cutters." He also emphasizes the importance of learning basic techniques before proceeding impatiently on to the projects when he writes on page 6, "Just remember – you have to learn how to play the scales before you can ever perform in the symphony."

This is the unpretentious and highly practical approach of a born teacher. Here is a summary of the table of contents.

Introduction (a paragraph)
Chapter One – Materials and Tools. Six pages on wire finished, hardness, and size; essential tools such as pliers; and other handy tools.

Chapter Two – Getting Started. Two pages on posture, clean hands, how to hold the pliers, and how to straighten wire.

Chapter Three – Basic Wirework Techniques. Twelve pages detailing how to do simple loops, how to open and close loops, how to do wrapped loops, and how to do scrolls (a flat spiral form).

Chapter Four – Basic Wirework Projects. Eleven pages showing you two different ways to enhance a plain doughnut pendant with wire, and how to make a futuristic-looking, spiral-shaped pair of "Jetsons" earrings.

Chapter Five – Findings. In these ten pages, he sets you to work making wrapped wire bails and three types of fancy headpins.

Chapter Six – Ear Wires. Eight pages detail different types of earring wires (variations on French hooks) to do.

Chapter Seven – Clasps. Fourteen pages on four types of clasps including "the strongest wire hook and eye clasp in the universe"!

Chapter Eight – Cages. Here, the author clarifies on page 83, "The word cage may convey the idea of a small pendant built out of wire bars that resembles a bird cage, with a stone dropped in that moves around inside. Get that notion out of your mind! Each cage presented here is a close-fitting wirework finding that will firmly hold your treasure and allow you to wear it as a pendant." The next 21 pages offer full details on three unusual and beautiful ways to wrap pieces of stone.

Chapter Nine – Gallery of Contemporary Wirework. Here we have 20 pages of gorgeous full-color photography of contemporary art projects involving wire-work. I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite from these lovely pieces. Lynne Merchant's tassels made from wire are outrageously creative. Mark Lareau's necklace on page 106 is beautiful, too.

The book concludes with a one-page list of resources such as URLs for online suppliers (many of which have unfortunately vanished in the past several years), and a one-page three-column index. It can be found on Amazon.com through this link:
All Wired Up: Wire Techniques for the Beadworker and Jewelry Maker (Beadwork How-To series)