How to Make Victorian Tinsel | DIY Metal Tinsel

If you saw my Christmas tree covered in hundreds of pieces of Victorian tin tinsel and felt your heart pitter patter, today I am showing you how to make Victorian tinsel with this DIY metal tinsel tutorial.  While my handmade metal tinsel isn’t exactly the same (it’s made from aluminum wire, so it’s a little less shiny), the end result is similar and – bonus! – it’s super quick, easy, and inexpensive to make.  If you’d prefer to buy this kind of metal tinsel, find some great options below – but keep reading if you’re interested in the DIY (and don’t forget: you need a Christmas spider ornament to go with your tinsel)!

my DIY metal tinsel

SIMILAR TINSEL OPTIONS:

• Handmade tinsel with hooks (pictured below – I have this as well)
• Handmade tinsel with holes
• Matte aluminium twisted tinsel (comes in different colors)
• Shiny aluminium twisted tinsel (also comes in different colors)

Where to buy Victorian tin tinsel

My Handmade Tin Tinsel:

Here’s a look at my longer tin tinsel, which you won’t find online (read about it here).  But with this DIY tinsel tutorial, you can make it in any length and get this long, drippy look I have!

Supplies:

• 18-gauge 4mm x 1mm flat wire (I got a single roll at Michael’s; here’s a 5mm version that should work)
• Drill
• Cup hook (or bend a nail)
• 1/16 drill bit
• Vise grips (pliers will work too!)
• Side cutters (or any kind of wire/metal cutter)
• Measuring tape (honestly optional)
• Metal file or sandpaper (optional)
• Eye protection

Notes on Supplies: The wire I got is aluminium and it’s really soft.  You can choose any wire you like (here are some options – including different colors), just go for something flat and the same gauge for similar results.  For the other supplies, work with what you have available or borrow tools to keep costs on this project low.  What I’ve listed worked well for me because I had it already!

How to Make Victorian Tinsel:

1. Measure and cut the wire to length with side cutters (I cut mine all different lengths)
2. Grab a cup hook or bent nail with the drill (insert just like you would a drill bit)
3. Bend a little loop into the wire (mine was soft enough to bend with my hands)
4. Hook the loop onto the hook in the drill and grab the other end with vice grips (or pliers)
5. Holding the end still with the vice grips, slowly use the drill to twist the wire
6. Once nice and twisty, either use the loop to hang or straighten it and drill a small hole
7. You might need to use a metal file or sandpaper to file the back of the drilled hole smooth
8. Hang on a tree with string or ornament hooks
9. Enjoy the sparkle!

Detailed DIY Metal Tinsel Tutorial:

Measure and cut the wire to length – leaving a little extra for the loop at the top and a little extra at the bottom.  For reference, the longer tin tinsel on my tree is 10″ long and the shorter kind with the hook (available here) is 5″ long.  You can choose any length – or vary them for a truly custom look!  Try to keep the cut straight.

Using pliers – or your hands if you’re using the same soft aluminium wire I used – form a loop at one end of the wire:

Close that loop completely.  Inset a cup hook into your drill and hook on that loop.

Hold the other end of the wire with vice grips or pliers.  Our vice grips left a little pattern on the aluminium, which I kind of like.  But you can always just trim this end again, if you don’t like the mark your tools leave in the metal.

Holding one end still with the vice grips, gently twist the wire with the drill.  Go slowly, it won’t take long to twist this wire at all (a few seconds, truly – it’s fast).  You might find as the wire twists that the loops opens.  Stop and close that again or straighten the wire as needed.  Work slowly and you’ll have a perfectly twisted piece of wire!

Afterwards, you can either reshape the loop and hang it that way, or straighten and trim the loop and drill a small hole with a 1/16 bit – that’s what I did.  I prefer to insert an ornament hook or string to hang these, because then they hang freely and move a little.  You can see the new aluminium wire tinsel in the middle – in front of the turquoise DIY alcohol ink ornament – alongside my tin tinsel.  It has a more matte finish and sparkles a bit less, but I think it’s a pretty good dupe!  I might (and you can too!) experiment with other flat wires, but this one was easy to work with and readily available.

As a side note, you may need to lightly file/sand the back of the hole you drill – you can see below I hadn’t done that when I snapped these photos.  Otherwise, this DIY metal tinsel project needs no sanding and it’s not sharp to touch at all.  Although, I wouldn’t let kids play with this as this Victorian tinsel is still pokey.  It is wire, after all!

See More of my Victorian Tinsel Covered Tree

See more of my Victorian tinsel covered tree – and find the links to all of the DIY ornaments on it – right here  Or check out all of my DIY ornament ideas here.  Happy crafting!