Make a Chain Mail Bracelet

How to Make a Chain Mail Bracelet...


Hello there and welcome to my first blog on how to.  Today i'm going to teach you how to make this awesome chain mail bracelet.

Firstly you will need the following tools and equipment:

• Thin nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• 0.6 mm silver plated wire or artistic wire
• Beads 
• Approx 100 jump rings (I have used 10 mm but anything from 5 mm upwards is ok)

Just to give you a heads up, I have sourced most of these items off ebay for very reasonable prices.

The next stage is to open up your jump rings.  Remember to twist them open instead of pulling them apart as this will distort the ring.

Once opened you then want to pick up 2 jump rings and close them up.  Attach 4 more jump rings onto the original 2 and close them up.  Then attach a following 2 more onto the bottom of the 4 you have just attached.  Confused yet?!?! please use the pictures as reference to what i'm on about! 

This process maybe a little tricky so sometimes it may help to attach your original 2 jump rings onto a paper clip to give you something to hold onto.




Here is the really tricky part... Holding the top 2 jump rings in your fingers, gently separate the 4 rings into sets of 2.  To do this start by pushing your fingers in between the 4 rings from behind while pulling the 2 sets of 2 outwards.  Remember to keep a tight hold as you are doing this as it will fall undone very easily.  (again I hope the images will help you understand this better!)

Once you rings look like the picture above, push the bottom 2 rings up towards the top 2 rings, flip them over then pull them down into position again.  This should then create a criss cross effect.  This too is very unstable so try and keep hold of the rings as best you can! (if you are finding this a little tricky to understand, the picture below is how it should look in the centre. I suggest a bit of trial and error until you get it looking as it should!  Thats the best way to learn :0)  

Once you have your shape, attach 4 more jump rings onto the bottom 2 rings of your criss crossed shape.  You then add another 2 rings onto the 4 you have just attached!

Repeat the same process as before another time so you have a line of 4 central rings. (my image only shows 3 central rings because i'm lazy and didn't finish it!)

And you should get something that looks a bit like this!?!




The next step is adding the bead detail.  For this you will need about 1 inch of your 0.6 mm wire and your bead.

Start by making a small loop at one end of your wire using your pliers.  Don't fully close this yet as you will need it slightly open to thread it onto your jump rings.

Thread on your bead.

Now loop the other end like before, this time trying to get the loop as close to the bead as possible.  Do not fully close this end either for the same reasons as above.  You will probably need about 4 of these bead bits depending on the size of your wrists.

Now you can attach the bead bit onto one of the ends of the jump rings and close up the loop to fasten it tightly to the jump rings.

Make between 3 and 4 chain mail sections (all depending on the size of your wrists) using the bead bits to join them together.  Once all attached you will have a lovely bracelet that will look a little like this! 

I hope you have enjoyed my blog today and keep your eyes open for some future posts.


Please feel free to visit my Folksy and Mudpool shops to see what other exciting things i have been making to sell.


http://mudpool.co.uk/shops/zfarley1


http://folksy.com/shops/Zfarley1



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