This month I decided to dust off a jewelry project I’ve been meaning to tackle for about six months now (better late than never right?!). A couple of years ago I got interested in making jewelry, in my opinion one of the only crafts that you can get pretty pieces no matter how much you spend…and you can spend a lot. My favorite pieces are chainmaille, lots of different patterns, relatively easy to learn, not too expensive and fairly quick to make.
Complexity?
I’d say the trick to making this an easy project is to use more than one color, it helps to keep you on track and makes it super simple to spot a mistake. If you want to do one color, well, it’s probably a 5-7 on a 1 to 10 scale.
Time?
A couple of hours for a 6 inch bracelet.
Cost?
About $30 for 1 ounce of 18g enameled copper rings (Size 5) with an S clasp (my preference).
Materials? Mat, pliers, 200 rings, a clasp and a couple of pieces of thin wire.
The process is pretty straight forward. You start by setting your base and wiring it so that it not only stays together but that it’s also easy to handle. I like to open a bunch of the rings ahead of time to make it faster and easier to build the weave and I also use two pairs of pliers; one to hold the ring and the other to hold the base and close the loops. Much like sewing, crochet or knitting, once you get going you do get into a rhythm and the time can go by very quickly.
Naturally, I decided to do this one in a single color, upping the complexity and time but once I got the rhythm going I made decent time getting about half way through in one night and completing it the next. I have to admit that the single color does make the bracelet more uniform or symmetrical. I don’t think I’ll be signing up to do another one anytime soon.
If you’re interested in giving this a shot, I recommend ordering a starter kit from Weave Got Maille, they have a wide variety of kits in different colors as well as all the tools you could ever need. They also have great customer service and tips.
Vibrant Thing 