What Gauge of Wire Is for a Viking Knit Chain?
Viking knit chain is a jewelry making technique that uses a thin-gauge wire to form a chain of loops in the shape of a tube. The loops resemble the stitches made with knitting needles, and the resulting tube resembles a knitted I-cord, which is often used for handles on a bag or as an edge of a garment.
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Technique
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Although the technique has "knit" in its name, you do not use needles to make the stitches. Instead you manually weave the end of the wire around a tube, made by a dowel rod or Allen wrench, inserting the wire in and out of the previous row of stitches.
Wire
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To manipulate the wire in such tight spaces as these stitches require, it must be malleable. Fine wire in the range of 24 to 28 gauge is commonly used. A higher number indicates a thinner wire.
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Tools
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Viking knit chain requires basic jewelry making tools, such as round nose pliers, chain nose pliers and wire cutters. You will also need a small Allen wrench to act as the center form around which you weave, a vise to hold the wrench in an upright position and free your hands, and a wooden drawplate to mold the finished chain to a uniform width.
Uses
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Viking knit forms a sturdy tube of linked loops that resembles woven cord. Jewelry artists commonly use fine silver, gold or copper wire to form bracelets and necklaces with this technique.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit night viking image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
