Spring Steel Wire, Stainless

An unpolished (mill) finish, and a precision tolerance, and meets American Society for Testing and Materials International ASTM A313 specifications. It is corrosion resistance. The material may be slightly magnetic and can be cold worked for increased strength and rigidity. The spring temper is stiff and spring like, resisting bends and kinks until a large amount of force is applied. Wire will not stretch, so care must be taken to measure accurately. There are a couple of ways to join the ends of your wire. My favorite method is wrapping the ends with thread. Allow 2 inches overlap for this method. Using strong millinery thread, begin at one end of the overlapped wires and wrap tightly towards the other end of overlap. Add a dab of clear glue to each open end of wire at the overlaps. The most common stitches for securing wire to the edge of a brim are a buttonhole stitch for hand sewing and a wide zig-zag stitch when using a sewing machine. It is important to sew the wire to the edge, not on top or under the brim edge. The stitch width should be only the depth of the wire. If the stitch is too deep, the wire will slip away from the edge and can cause an uneven looking finish to the brim. See our FAQ section for more in depth instruction.