Full hearted life

Saying yes to new experiences and opportunites!

Archive for the ‘Jewellery’ Category

Friday Fecundity – Chain maille jewellery

Chainmaille2

 

Last year, I was invited to a wedding in Thailand, which was an amazing experience. I was schooled quite vigorously on the various etiquette and customs, with my mother-in-law repeatedly telling me to wear lots of gold jewellery. I didn’t really have any gold jewellery so, for reasons that made perfect sense at the time, I decided to make some.

Armed with about £25 worth of materials, this YouTube video, and the back cover of this book, I set about making the above earrings, bracelet and necklace. The chain on the necklace and bracelet is not what I originally envisioned – I was looking for something a little more delicate and I went through a lot of patterns before finding one that actually worked with the sizes of jump rings that I had. Lesson learned from this experience: find out what size rings are needed *before* you buy them.

Despite it being my first attempt at making chain maille, I was pretty pleased with how it worked out. All the pieces survived the wedding and have been worn on numerous occasions since without falling apart.

Once I got started making the chains, it was pretty repetitive and actually quite therapeutic. I really enjoyed making these and definitely envision making more chain maille in my future. Now all I need are more invitations to fancy events…

Close up of earrings

Close up of earrings

Close up of necklace. I am loving the Venetian glass beads!

Close up of necklace. I am loving the Venetian glass beads!

Close up of bracelet. The same chain was used for both the necklace and the bracelet.

Close up of bracelet. The same chain was used for both the necklace and the bracelet.