How to Make a Viking Knit Bracelet

Viking knit is a form of circular wire weaving that creates a tube that looks almost like chain mail. The art got its name after pieces of woven chain were found in archaeological digs in Scandinavia that date back to the Viking era. You can craft your own Viking knit bracelet at home with a few jewelry-making tools. The basic single knit may be challenging at first, but once you master it you’re on your way to having a bracelet that’s one of a kind.

Things You'll Need

• 13 feet of 24- or 26-gauge wire, silver or copper
• Wire cutters
• Dowel rod or knitting needle
• Soldering pick
• Wooden draw plate
• Pliers
• Beads (optional)
• Jewelry clasps
• Safety glasses with magnification (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut 1 1/2 to 2 feet of 24- or 26-gauge silver or copper wire, using wire cutters. Wrap the end of the wire four times around a dowel rod and release it; the wire should hold the spiral shape. Flatten the spiral into a set of circles on top of each other and pinch one end of the circle so the coil is now keyhole-shaped.

2. Twist the keyhole twice and wrap the loose end of the wires around the twist twice, to secure it.

3. Unfold the four loops of wire below the twist into a four-leaf clover shape.

4. Push the inside of the four-leaf clover around the end of a dowel rod or knitting needle, so the clover’s “leaves” wrap up around the rod. Hold this end with your left hand if you are right-handed, or your right hand if you are left-handed; you’ll need your dominant hand to work the wire. Support the other end of the dowel rod by resting it against your body.

5. Bring the long end of the wire up and over one loop, threading through it from the top and down. Pull that loop tight, ensuring that the wire end travels over the wire that started the loop. Turn the dowel rod or knitting needle and bring the long end of the wire up and over the next clover loop, threading it through from the top and down. Pull that loop tight. Repeat with the other two clover loops.

6. Examine the series of linked loops; you should see four loops that look like a cursive lower-case “e.” Run the long end of wire behind the one closest to you, circling behind the bottom of the “e.” Bring the wire up, rotate the dowel rod or knitting needle and repeat that loop with the next “e.” Repeat with the third and fourth loops on the rod. Notice that the loops you just made, when pulled tight, also each look like a cursive “e.”

7. Continue looping the wire and pulling it tight as in Step 6. Within a few rows, the wire will begin to look like a linked chain. Use a soldering pick to lift the wire slightly up from the dowel rod if it gets too tight to loop new wire through.

8. Cut a new length of wire when the one you’re working with is close to running out. Cut the wire, leaving about a 1/4-inch tail running down the dowel rod. Loop the new wire in exactly the same spot, with the tail parallel to the previous tail. Start looping the new wire as in Step 6.

9. Work the Viking knit until it’s about half the length you want your finished bracelet to be. Then pull the chain off the rod.

10. Run the chain through a wooden draw plate, which is a piece of wood with holes of different sizes drilled through it. Choose the hole size that you’d like the finished bracelet to be. As you pull the chain through the hole, it will double in length and most imperfections will be smoothed out.

11. Wrap new lengths of wire tightly around both ends to seal the bracelet, and squeeze the wraps tight with pliers.

12. Add beads to the end lengths of wire as desired to increase the bracelet’s length or add decorative elements.

13. Finish the bracelet with jewelry clasps of your choice on either end. Run the wire through the loops on the end of each clasp. Pull the clasp to the end of the bracelet and use pliers to twist the wire end around the base wire several times. Cut any excess wire with wire cutters.

Tips & Warnings

• Protect your eyes with reading glasses or eye protectors, as the wire can flip around unpredictably. Safety glasses with magnification will help you see the detailed work more clearly.