Braided Chains

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I like a thicker chain bracelet: something substantial but also super simple. Chain maille is great for that, with a wide variety of potential patterns. However it takes a while to master & put together, and also involves a lot of fiddly dropping-of-links, swearing, and crawling around on the floor to pick up tiny bits of metal. 

I’ve seen some examples of braiding chain with chord or beads, but I wondered about braiding chain-with-chain . . .

I took three 9-inch lengths of chain and slipped them onto a jump ring, with the silver chain in the middle:

Now: if you have a hook to put the jump ring on, that would be good. Personally, I held the jump ring between my teeth and braided the chains down & away from me. It was sort of hard to see what I was doing, but it’s pretty easy to braid-by-feel.

Once I got to the end, I slipped another jump ring through the three ends & added a fastening:

I liked the little hint of silver amongst the gold, though I also just liked the simplicity of all one color . . .

In terms of sizing, if you have 9-inch strands of chain, you will end up with a roughly 8-inch finished braid.

I’m thinking of making links of 2-inch braids strung together with single links. . . I’ll let you know if it works out.

Love, Em.

Orange Hoop Earrings

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Although I once again used leather (yes I know, seriously), you could do the same thing really with any fabric . . .

I took a pin with a hoop pre-made in the end (is this a “head pin“?) and made a hoop in the other end:

Then I secured it with glue:

Then I just bent it in a U shape & popped a ring through the two top hoops . . . Voila!

Love, Em.

Getting Fancy With My Leather Punch

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I was so pleased with my little simple green link bracelet last week that I got all over excited and decided to expand upon the concept.

I was also able to do this because I finally worked out how to work my leather punch. Ok, so here is the thing: the instructions just say put it in the “chompers” & press down (yes, chompers is my word). I did that and was rewarded with a little dent in my leather in a perfect circle. Great, I thought, must have a duff pair & I couldn’t bring myself to shell out another whopping $20 in case I got another duff pair.

However, whilst perusing some other far more competent blogger, I read “Remember to put some fabric underneath what your punching or the hole won’t go all the way through”. I’m so very very sorry if it was you who wrote that, because I was gobsmacked with “Doh!” and forgot to make a note. Low and behold it totally works and so does my previously “duff” leather punch, thank you.

So, first off I made the decorative brad to go in the middle:

I had these doomed stickers, and some flat metal brads . . . And low & behold one fit on the other. I had to scrape the helpful adhesive pad off the back, but that was easy enough; Then glued it down . . . Then came the fiddly bits:

I cut two rectangles, 4cm x 3 cm.  I cut a slit in one and popped the brad through & folded it back. Then I took the hole punch and added rivets, then flattened them in place. I’d originally planned on rectangles but as you can see they lacked something, and trimming around the shape made it look far more jaunty & a bit nautical, I thought.

Here it is in situ:

I’m excited by all the jewelery options this presents . . .

Love, Em.

Leather Bracelet

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I do like to incorporate leather into most of my jewelry: I just like the touch of softness alongside the metal.

It occurred to me that I could make links out of leather. I cut two circles for each link, & glued them back to back:

I felt like one layer might be too flimsy & light. Then I took my awl — which is a totally awesome new addition to my tool kit, by the way — and made little holes on either side.

I found using the same-sized rings for all three lacked something . . .

However, putting a bigger ring in the middle gave it more texture and space —-

Try it out . . . and if you do, let me know how you like.

Love, Em

Leather Bricks Ring

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I little while ago I made a “painting” out of paint sticks . . .

I really liked the look of the brick pattern I created and wanted to see if I could create something similar on a smaller scale. I’m not super good a fiddly small work so I went with a pretty hefty ring base.

The first thing I did was carefully measure the space in the ring and then start cutting little bits of leather cord to fit. Then I realized that was a completely unnecessary waste of time.

Instead I cut a piece of card to fit the ring:

Then I just laid the cord in the pattern I like and glued it down. . .

Then once the glue was dry, I just trimmed it the right size. Then I put a layer of resin over the top to keep it from getting dirty or wet and fitted it in the ring.

I like the ring but mostly I’m just glad I didn’t spend hours trying to fit little pieces into the ring rather than allowing myself to be messy then trimming to fit.

Love, Em.