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Beautiful!! Whst patience you must have. If you want lampwork beads, I have beads!

Hi.. I've been wanting to start the same with my "jump rings"..didn't know they had a "name"..lol.. thanks!.. I like the way the gold & silver colors lift each other.. now I know I have to get busy with my ideas...
You're right.. I've not seen a group here for that .. no matter.. we can surely keep you and your ideas here and help each other.. my mind is always coming up with different designs..
Thanks for the post.. and again...Welcome

Hi there - very nice earrings! I do quite a bit of chain maille also...there's a photo post on page 11 of the group photos of a Helm bracelet that was fun to do. It's amazing how different ring gauges (I ususally use 16 or 18) change the way the bracelet looks and feels. Most often I do Byzantine, Helm, and Double vision, but I have been looking for some clear directions for Half Persian and Jens Pind. Do you have a good place to look?

You are really "tempting" me to hit the "rings".. I bought some just for making jewelry... my husband asked me to just pick "one" of my hobby's .. I told him I just can't.. I love them all...lol

Nice work!

I'm with you GraceAlone. This is so tempting. I would love to learn chainmaille jewelry by starting with a simple pattern/design to see if I enjoy it and if I could be successful in producing a quality piece. Any suggestions on how to start? or can you post a simple pattern for us newbies to try? Movinmel and greatbatch...your pieces are inspirational.

The Byzantine weave is a good beginner weave (although it looks complicated) - it's the first one I ever did...learned it in a jewelry class. I would recommend a class is there's one near you, as it's great when you can ask questions or have the teacher help you, if frustration comes your way. However, everyone learns differently, and here is a youtube video of how it's done if that's more to your liking:

view link

There are also sites with written directions with pics: derakonslibrary and artisanmaille, though I sometimes find these hard to digest.

There are jumprings specifically made for chain maille. They are precision cut and when opened and closed (which you do alot) they form a more perfect fit than a jumpring made for attaching a clasp to a closure.

Ring size is critical for each weave as the rings need to fit together...not too tightly or too loosely to yield a good final result. There are websites which tell you which ring sizes to use for any specific weave. Ring sizes always refer to the inside diameter of a ring, not the outside, which is what is typical if you are ordering rings for a closure.

www.preciousmaille.com and www.kingsmaille.com are the sites where I buy my rings and they are excellent. I'm sure there are others that have good rings for chain maille too.

Copper is a nice material to start with if you don't want to spring for the cost of sterling. They are also beautiful when mixed with sterling - I just posted a recent copper/sterling bracelet pic in the photos section.

There is a way to open and close rings that is "correct" which you probably know...if not, that's easy to pass on. I use tool magic on the tips of my pliers to keep from scratching rings, but that's not a necessity and when I first started I didn't use it....and it might be easier to learn without it.

Chain maille is lots of fun but even now when I decide to learn a new weave, there's alot of stumbling...but with perserverence it gets done (after phone calls or trips to my local bead store). Write to me if you'd like any more info....it's really pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Greatbatch.....has anyone told you lately how awesome you are? I'm sure you hear it all the time. In just a few short paragraphs, you gave us so much great info. Didn't know there were special jumprings for chain maille, although that makes sense. I will defnitely start with copper. Haven't checked out the links yet but I will. I did know there is a "correct" way to open and close rings but I will look for tool magic because scratching the rings is always a problem. I've even tried just putting a small piece of cloth between the ring and the pliers (don't laugh), but it doesn't work. Thanks again.

Thanks for the website GreatBatch, and the tip on the tool magic. I have trouble with closing the jumprings and leaving scratches on the them. I also have trouble at the end of the necklace. It seems that I always have a small space of wire left that is not covered. Any remedy for that would be appreciated.

Hi there-
My guess is that you're not talking about chain maille, just about regular strung necklaces...hopefully, I'm on the right track.

Yeah....getting the right tension on a necklace or bracelet is key to having it look right. I've found that pieces with square beads need to be a little looser so they bend into a curve and don't maintain a rigid feel, which happens when they are finished too tightly.

When I'm ready to close a necklace or bracelet, I string the crimp bead (my personal favorite is a 2mm round seamless sterling bead yielding a folded crimp) and then I string through a 6-8mm soldered jump ring or clasp, depending on which end you're on - always through a wire guardian - and then back down through the crimp bead, plus an additional 1/2" length of strung beads, exiting through my "trick" bead. My trick here is that in every piece, I incorporate a round or bicone bead into the design at the point where I want to exit with the tail, either sterling or some other color that matches what I've made. The reason I do that is because I found many beads don't allow you to get close enough to pull the piece tight and snip the tail, but that round bead always does. Of course for symmetry, that round bead needs to be on the other end too. Before the final crimp, I hold the piece upright, let gravity situate all the beads, while checking the opposite end to make sure it's "tail" has stayed put. When all those stars are aligned, I pull snuggly at the tail that has come out of the "trick" bead. At this point, I drape it around my wrist/neck to see if it all lays right, and then I do the final crimp on that 2mm bead which butts up against the wire guardian. This technique typically yields a closure which doesn't show any wire, but is loose enough to make the piece fall right on your neck or lay gracefully on your wrist.

I certainly have pulled things too tightly, giving me something that's stiff with beads that don't line up well because they're battling for their spot, as well as closed pieces too loosely which lets the beads move around too much and often ends up allowing your tails to escape. There's a happy medium in there for each piece.

Hope this wasn't too long winded and that it's clear. If not, I'm open to more questions:)