The disclosed method produces a stator or rotor having a distributed wave winding, in which the wires are associated in pairs lying with straight segments in the same slots. Head portions of two successive straight segments of each wire of a pair protrude from opposite ends of slots. For forming two wire groups, a plurality of coil windings are simultaneously created by winding up n parallel wires with intermediate spacing onto a striplike former that is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. From each of the parallel wires one straight segment and one end turn are doubled by being bent over with the wire length of a head portion, and then head portions are formed and the wires interlaced. Finally, the two wire groups are wound onto one another and thereby intertwined with one another, and then introduced as an entire intertwined wave winding strand into the stator or rotor slots.