50 Art Jewelry ■ March 2016
BASICS & VIDEOS
Learn fundamental techniques
in these bonus tutorials:
Opening and closing
a jump ring ••
Basics, page 75
Videos, http://www.artjewelrymag.com/videosmaterials
for a 7^1 ⁄ 4 -in. (18.4 cm) long bracelet■ (^) Color-coated (“Enameled”) copper
jump rings:
■ (^) 16-gauge (1.3 mm), 5 mm
(0.188 in.) inside diameter (ID),
rose gold, 65
■ (^) 16-gauge (1.3 mm), 4 mm
(0.156 in.) ID, antique cop-
per, 165
■ (^) Twisted, XL, 8 mm ID, rose gold/
antique copper, 20
■ (^) Color-coated (“Enameled”) copper
S-hooks, rose gold, 2
■ (^) 24-gauge (0.5 mm) copper
wire (optional)
toolbox, page 77
■ (^) Chain mail
Find out where to buy supplies, page 79
See Safety Basics, page 76
PROJECT
BEGINNER | CHAIN MAIL
Color-coated copper jump rings are a wonderful
and inexpensive way to add color to chain mail, while twisted
jump rings are an easy way to add texture. But when you com-
bine both of those attributes — wow, now you’ve got something!
The twisted jump rings are made of two thin strands of color-
coated wire twisted together into one substantial ring. The only
drawback was that these rings were too easy to open: I didn’t even
use my pliers! That’s great when you need to open a ton of them,
but not so great when you need strength and stability in a weave.
To compensate for this, I incorporated the twisted rings into a
Japanese-style pattern, where the jump rings are all used in pairs.
Commercially available jump rings
give chain mail artists a feast of color choices —
now, add a shift in texture to your expanded palette!
by Theresa D. Abelew
Change up Your
CHAIN MAIL
with TWISTED RINGS