Chain Maille How-To: Make a Chunky Chain Necklace
Enjoy this stylish and elegant chain maille necklace project, created exclusively for you from our friends at Blue Buddha Boutique! I love the addition of glass rings, they're so festive.
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Photos by Blue Buddha Boutique. | |
Chunky Chain Necklace by Blue Buddha Boutique
Level: Intermediate
This project puts an elegant spin on a classic Half Persian 3-in-1 chain that fits in perfectly with the chunky chain trend. For our project, we used two different base metals, but you can use colorful anodized aluminum rings or even a single metal to suite your taste.
The instructions below allow you to create an 18" necklace. To create a longer or shorter necklace, simply adjust the length of your chain sections by adding or subtracting rings, or create additional sections to add to the piece. This project is truly customizable, so have fun with it!
Materials
89 color A medium jump rings = L16 (16ga SWG 1/4" / 6.4mm)
72 color B medium jump rings = L16 (16ga SWG 1/4" / 6.4mm)
4 glass rings (9.5 mm x 3.5 mm)
3 small clasp rings = H18 (18ga SWG 3/16" / 4.8mm)
1 large lobster claw
* In this case, color A is aluminum and color B is jewelry brass.
Phase 1: Create Sections of Half Persian 3-in-1 Chain
Prep: Pre-close all color B rings. Pre-open 72 color A rings, and set the others aside for phase 2.
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The right way… | …and the wrong way. |
Phase 2: Connecting Your Chains
Prep: Pre-close 8 of the remaining color A rings. Pre-open the rest.
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6. Align the ends of one of the small chain sections with one of the medium chain sections. Make sure for both that color A rings are along the top and color B rings are along the bottom. |
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7. With an open color A ring, scoop 1 closed color A ring, 1 glass ring, and 1 more closed color A ring, sandwiching the glass ring between two jump rings. |
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8. Weave the open ring through one side of the aligned chain sections and close the ring. |
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9. Weave another open color A ring through the closed rings and glass ring. |
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Before closing, slide the other end of the aligned chain sections onto the open ring, again making sure the chain sections still match up as in step 7. Close the ring. | |
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10. Repeat steps 7-9 to connect the other sections of chain. The long section should be in the center with the two medium sections on either side and finally the short sections on the ends. |
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11. Finish your necklace by weaving one small clasp ring through one end of the necklace and sliding on a large lobster claw before closing. |
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12. On the opposite end, weave two small jump rings through the end and then weave one color A ring through the 2 small rings. |
Want more chain maille? Easy Wire and Step-by-Step Wire magazines often feature chain maille jewelry projects. And lucky you! You can get some issues of Easy Wire for only $3.99 and some Step-by-Step Wire issues for only $2.99, along with dozens of other great titles, through midnight MT on December 17, 2013, in our Season of Savings event!
Resources
You can see all of the products needed for this project in one convenient spot on Blue Buddha Boutique.