Beaded Chainmaille Jewelry Tutorial — Video 1
Beaded chainmaille jewelry tutorials are less common than standard chainmaille jewelry patterns, and I thought it was time that I did a video showing some patterns with beads. This is a project video, where we’ll make a bracelet. I also will show some other design options.
Oh, and why do I say “Video 1”? Naturally, I plan for more beaded chainmaille jewelry patterns!
Why Beaded Chainmaille?
Now I have a lot of different chainmaille bracelets — right now I’m wearing a roundmaille, a Turkish roundmaille and a Jens Pind. But up to this point I hadn’t done anything with beads, except as a dangle off an earring. Beaded chainmaille is a change of pace — and I am looking forward to making a bracelet incorporating sterling and pearls.
Supplies You’ll Need
All of the ring gauges list below are AWG. When I say 18 gauge, I mean a 1mm wire diameter.
- 18 gauge 6mm inside diameter rings (AR = 6)
- 6mm bicone beads — I am using Swarovski, in the color Scarlet.
- 18 gauge 3.5mm or 4mm inside diameter (AR = 3.5 or 4)
- Clasp of your choice
You will need approximately 3 beads and 12 of the 6mm ID jump rings per inch of finished chain. As for the small jump rings, you will only need two or so, depending on what kind of clasp you plan to use. (In my case, I elected to make an “S” clasp that used one of the Swarovski bicones.)
If you want to make the green and gold bracelet, you’ll need more of the smaller jump rings and fewer of the large jump rings and bicone beads. And if you want to add a dangle or charm, you’ll need to include those.
Beaded Chainmaille Video Tutorial
Ready…set…let’s get maille-ing with this beaded chainmaille bracelet!
Chain Maille Tutorial – HP 3in1, HP 4in1, DragonBack
The chain maille HP (Half Persian) weaves are intriguing and DragonBack is exciting! Well, at least that’s my opinion. How a person can take the small rings and make such a densely-woven piece of jewelry was amazing to me. Welcome to the HP world!
I know that HP has the reputation of being difficult, but it really isn’t — at least not without a little help in the very beginning (which of course I provide). Then like most weaves, once you have the rhythm, it’s not all that hard at all! There are lots of very detailed photos to show you what ring goes where.
(Note to anyone reading this post on Google Translate — this ebook is written in English.)
What’s in the Tutorial?
We’ll start out with the easiest of the weaves — the HP3in1. With a couple of tips in the very beginning on how to start the weave, it becomes a whole lot easier!
Once you have the hang of that weave, time to move onto the HP 4in1. This is a beautiful, very dense weave. Once again I provide two different ways to start out the weave to make things that much easier!
Do you want to double your fun? How about a doubled HP 4in1! It’s actually pretty easy, and it’s reversible in a way that can give you two different looks.
We’ll finish up with DragonBack, which is a weave that is rather unusual and not often seen. It, too, is a dense weave, and it makes a very substantial piece of jewelry. Not to mention an absolutely gorgeous one! But please note — DragonBack and the more commonly-seen DragonScale are not the same weave. In this ebook I teach you DragonBack.
With these weaves, I demonstrate each weave in at least two different color rings, so you can more easily see how the weave is put together. I also show some common mistakes, how to recognize them quickly and how to fix them.
There’s lots in the ebook. It’s 37 pages and has 79 photos, so you have a lot of instructions and plenty of close-ups. The photo at the top of the page shows all the weaves you’ll find in this ebook tutorial. This ebook is in PDF form, and is just a little over 1.6 MB in size.
Purchase the Tutorial
The ebook is just $6, which is a small amount for everything you get, especially with the super-close-up photos — which many times I show multiple angles so you are sure where to put that next ring!
You can buy the ebook securely through the link below. All major credit cards are accepted. Just as an FYI, it does go through the PayPal interface. You will get a link for an immediate download — and then you’re on your way!
Thanks so much for reading this far, and happy maille-ing!
Shaggy Loops Chain Maille Video Tutorial
This Shaggy Loops chain maille video tutorial is for a pair of earrings in this fun chainmaille jewelry pattern. It’s simple but fun, and it can be dressed up or down in so many ways.
This particular weave is best used in earrings. Not that you can’t use it to make bracelets or necklaces, but the pattern shows itself best when hanging vertically.
This video tutorial is for the basic pattern, which is the gold and black version. I also show two additional variations and talk about how I made them.
The Weave Overview
The base of this chain maille jewelry pattern is a simple one-in-one (sometimes called 2-in-2) chain. It’s as basic as you can get — putting one through through another.
The “shag” is the extra loops you place on the base chain. These loops only go through one jump ring.
The base pattern uses the same size jump rings for everything — chain and loops. I show the earrings done in 18 gauge rings with a 6mm inside diameter (ID). In actuality, you can pretty much use any gauge, any ID you’d like. So if you don’t have the 18 gauge 6mm IDs laying around, feel free to use whatever rings you have on hand. It’s that forgiving a weave. 🙂
Supplies for the Shaggy Loops Video Tutorial
The supplies for the base pattern (the black and gold photo) are as follows.
- 18 black jump rings, 18 gauge with a 6mm ID
- 32 gold jump rings, 18 gauge with a 6mm ID
- Pair of earring findings
- Two pairs of pliers.
That’s it. As an FYI, you’ll notice that my pliers have a white coating on their tips — it’s the Tool Magic dip. It’s totally optional; I just like using it because it gives me a better grip on the jump rings, and prevents them from marring. (For more info, see the post on chain maille pliers.)
If you want the supply info on the two variations I show, the list for these is below the video. So start by watching the video and then take a look at the supplies for the others if you like.
Supplies for the Shaggy Loops Variations
If you enjoyed learning how to make the basic pattern, maybe you’d like to try one or both of the variations. Here is the info on the jump rings and beads. (It’s a given that you will need earring findings and pliers.)
Magenta Earrings:
- 14 magenta jump rings, 18 gauge 6mm ID
- 24 bronze jump rings, 18 gauge 5mm ID
- 24 amethyst jump rings, 18 gauge 4.5mm ID
Beaded Earrings:
- 50 silver jump rings, 18 gauge 6mm ID
- 96 iris seed beads, size 8