A wire can easily be made with an empty plastic soda bottle. This wire can be used to make stems for fake flowers, as well as bracelets and other jewelry.

Steps

  1. 1
    Cut a soda bottle into a spiral. The width of the strip in the picture is about 4 mm (0.1575 in). [1]
  2. 2
    Sit and hold a hair dryer (or a heat gun) between both knees. Heat the plastic strip and wind it around while pulling it with both hands. Note, polyethylene terephthalate [PET] plastic becomes soft by 70ºC (158ºF).
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  3. 3
    Remove the strip from the hot air occasionally to allow it to cool down and fix the shape.
  4. 4
    Continue until as much of the plastic strip as you want has been twisted.
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Examples of use

Make this flower   Add a Clasp to a Cord Choker

Warnings

  • If too high a temperature is used, or the plastic is left in the hot airflow too long, it may melt and break (see Warning below for toxic issues).
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  • The hair dryer/heat gun will get hot. It is recommended that you wear pants while doing this, to avoid being burned. This is not a craft for children to attempt.
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  • Toxic gases may be emitted as the plastic melts. Please control the temperature, so that the plastic strips receive only enough heat to soften. Don't melt them. PET: 68.81Tg/℃, 260Tm/℃. Consider doing this outside or in well-ventilated conditions.
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Things You'll Need

  • Plastic bottle (soda)
  • Scissors
  • Hair dryer or heat gun

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 24 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 669,953 times.
260 votes - 91%
Co-authors: 24
Updated: February 19, 2022
Views: 669,953
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