Chainmail Earrings Tutorial

I found another cool jewelry tutorial, this one by Marilyn Gardiner, called Mobius Flowers.  This is being called a beginning level chainmail project.  I think this tutorial makes a really pretty pair of earrings. And you can make these in silver, gold, copper or some other pretty, colored jump rings to add additional interest.  

To begin, Marilyn is describe the wire used and the jump rings. Here goes...

Wire

"First, the wire used to make the jump rings comes in different "tempers", from dead soft, through half-hard, to hard. I like to use half-hard wire because it gets harder as it is coiled and made into rings, and it gets harder still as the rings are tumbled to clean and polish them. My goal is to have rings that won't pull open."

Wire comes in different thicknesses—or diameter.   The wire for this project measures 1.0 mm in diameter.

Chainmail Weaves

This Japanese 6 in 1 chainmail pattern has its roots in Japanese armour from the middle ages. The Japanese weaves look best with small rings for the vertical connector rings and large rings for the horizontal rings. Both rings can be doubled up, as in this project, for a tight, stable weave.

Step 1 Close one large ring and open 5 large rings. Open 4 small rings. Insert a large ring through the closed large ring and close it. Slide the 2 rings together so the top of ring #2 lies behind ring #1. Keep holding...
Step 2 Put ring #3 through the centre of the first 2 rings, close it, & slide it sideways so the top of ring #3 lies behind ring #2. If you MUST set the cluster down, do it carefully so the order of the rings stays the same. I have been known to drop it on the floor, and I've found that it's faster to start the cluster over from scratch than try to put the rings back in the right order.

Step 3 Put ring #4 through the centre of the first 3 rings, close it, and slide it sideways so the top of ring #4 lies behind ring #3.
Step 4 Follow this pattern to add rings #5 and 6. This completes one mobius ball or flower.

Step 5 Insert a small ring through the centre of the mobius ball. and close it. (Now the cluster is secure & the rings are locked into position!!!) Add a second small ring. Step 6 Insert 2 small rings into the previous small rings. This is the partial segment for one earring. Repeat Steps 1 to 6 to make another segment for the second earring.

Step 7

Now it's time to join the two segments to the earring findings.
Carefully open the loop on an earring finding. (Remember to use 2 pairs of pliers and open it the same way you would open a jump ring.) Slide the open loop around the two top rings and then gently close it.
Finish the second earring the same way.

by Marilyn Gardiner www.MarilynGardiner.com Hope you enjoy!