How to Make Wire Ring Jewelry
Wire ring jewelry, also known as chain mail, is a series of jump rings joined together to form a pattern. Wire ring jewelry designs can appear intricate, but they are among the simplest types of jewelry to make, as long as you have the right tools. Jump rings are available in a variety of metal finishes, sizes, and colors, offering infinite creative possibilities for your wire ring jewelry. Add beads or charms to the wire rings for added color and design interest.
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Things You'll Need
- Chain nose pliers
- Bent chain nose pliers
- 6 mm, 20-gauge round jump rings
Instructions
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1
Hold the edge of one 6 mm, 20-gauge round jump ring firmly with bent chain nose pliers. Make sure that the split section of the jump ring is not covered by the pliers’ grip. All the jump rings used in this design are the same size.
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2
Grasp the section of the jump ring behind the split with the chain-nose pliers. Twist the ring up to separate the split. Separate the ring wide enough to fit another jump ring through the opening.
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3
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to open another jump ring. Hold the two open rings side by side.
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4
Slide six jump rings through the openings on the two jump rings. Close the jump rings with chain nose pliers. Separate the six jump rings so that three are extending to the left and three are extending to the right of the center jump ring. This is the basic set for this wire ring jewelry design.
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5
Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to make 19 additional sets of jump rings. The overall length of the necklace using 20 total sets is approximately 25 inches long, excluding the clasp. Adjust the amount of wire ring sets needed based on the desired length of your jewelry.
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6
Position one set of wire rings vertically on a work surface. Position one set of wire rings horizontally, just above one end of the vertical set.
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7
Open four new jump rings. Hook two rings around all three rings on the vertical set that are closest to the horizontal set. Hook the three rings on the left of the horizontal set to the two open jump rings. Close the rings.
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8
Hook the remaining two rings around the same three rings on the vertical set as you did in Step 7. Hook the two open jump rings through all three rings on the right side of the horizontal set. Close the jump rings.
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9
Repeat Steps 7 and 8 to connect all the sets together. Connect each section of clasp to each end of the wire ring jewelry with one jump ring.
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