How to Make Necklaces From Carbon Chain

Carbon chains are easy but time consuming to make.

Carbon chain is a versatile material for jewelry making. The jump rings and wires can be made into a simple chain, or hooked together in more intricate patterns to make chain-mail jewelry. Making a necklace out of jump rings can be somewhat tedious since it requires opening and closing many small metal loops and fitting them together. Depending on the gauge of the jump rings, the resulting necklace can appear either delicate or sturdy. Adding a paperclip to the end of your chain during the construction process will give it weight and help you to check your progress.

Things You'll Need

• Carbon steel jump rings
• Large paperclip
• Flat nose or chain nose pliers
• Clasp
• Carbon steel pendant

Instructions

1. Hook a closed jump ring onto a large paperclip. Jump rings have a habit of bunching up together and it's easy to get confused about which ring you're currently working with. The paperclip will add weight to the end of the chain so that you can easily find the last ring on the chain.

2. Open several jump rings at once rather than working one at a time. To open a jump ring, grip one side of the ring with a pair of flat nose or chain-nose pliers. With your other hand, twist the ring apart so there's a small gap between the ends. Don't pull the ring apart, since that will cause it to loose shape. If you're having trouble twisting the jump rings with your fingers, use a second pair of pliers.

3. Loop one of the open jump rings through the first ring then squeeze it closed. Slide the ends of the ring a little bit past one another so that when the ring springs back into position, both ends join together perfectly.

4. Continue looping the jump rings together. Attach each new jump ring to the last one on the line until you've reached a length you're happy with.

5. Attach a clasp to the ends of the chain. Leave the last ring open then slide 1/2 of the clasp onto the ring before closing it. Remove the paperclip from the other end of the chain and open the jump ring. Just as before, slide the clasp onto the open jump ring, then squeeze it closed.

6. Select a carbon steel pendant for your necklace. It's not necessary to have a carbon steel pendant or any pendant at all.

Tips & Warnings

• Use pliers that have smooth inner edges. Ridged pliers can damage the appearance of the jump rings if they're gripped too tightly.

• Grip the pliers with your non-dominant hand when opening jump rings so you have more finger strength to open the ring.

References

• All Info About Jewelry Making: How to Open & Close Jump Rings