How to Weave Chainmaille Jewelry
Chainmaille has deep roots in human history as one of the earliest forms of body armor. Chainmaille, also referred to as chain mail, was possibly invented by the Celts and various forms of artistic expression using mail were soon born. Today, we still revel in the craftsmanship of chainmaille, not as armor but as creative expressions that adorn our bodies. Chainmaille jewelry-making is a learned craft and will take a lot of patience to perfect, but you can learn some steps for beginners fairly quickly.
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Things You'll Need
- Pliers
- Metal wire (metal type and gauge of preference)
- Mandrel setup
- Wire cutters or aviation snips
Instructions
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1
Place the metal mandrel dowel inside the mandrel setup to hold the dowel steady while you work. Put one end of your metal wire into the hole on the mandrel. Turn the mandrel so that the wire coils tightly onto the mandrel dowel. Continue to coil the wire until you have used up your piece of wire or you run out of space on your mandrel dowel.
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2
Remove the wire coil from the dowel and hold the coil with one hand. Cut the wire coil straight down the middle with wire cutters or aviation snips. This will give you many individual rings to make your chainmaille jewelry.
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3
Choose a chainmaille style of jewelry and select a pattern. There are many types of chain mail jewelry including alien maille, box mail, Byzantine and many more.
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4
Open a ring with a pair of pliers and insert a second ring through the opening. Close the opened ring with the pliers and apply solid pressure to make sure you have a good closure. Continue to do this step until you have finished your chainmaille jewelry pattern.
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Tips & Warnings
Try using chainmaille for other projects too, such as creating a purse or brazier.
References
- Photo Credit pliers image by Jakub Cejpek from Fotolia.com
