Chain styles and instructions

Jewelry Discussion
1

Does any one know of a book that shows different chain styles with
instructions on how to weave and construct them?

2

Hello Larry,

There are many books about chains and their construction. I’d
suggest going to the library and reviewing their collection. The best
libraries would probably be found at a university with a fine arts
program that includes metals.

Here are the ones in my library:

Great Wire Jewelry - Peterson, Irene From

Silver Wire Jewelry - Peterson, Irene From

Woven Wire Jewelry - Chandler, LInda L. and Ritchey, Christiane R.

Crocheted Wire Jewelry - Fisch, Arline M.

Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains - Stark, Jean

Sources are the suppliers like Rio Grande, Stuller, and of course,
Amazon.

Judy in Kansas, where strawberries are in bloom, but another freeze
is predicted. goshdarnit!

3

Larry, there are several:

  1. Any of the books by Irene From Petersen (or, Peterson), e. g.,
    Great Wire Jewelry

  2. Terry Taylor and Dylon Whyte, Chain Mail Jewelry

  3. Scott David Plumlee’s books, e. g., Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry

Do on online search for chain or chain mail, and you’ll find many
more references, including informative websites.

Judy Bjorkman

4

One that you might find interesting is “Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains” by Jean Reist Stark & Josephine Reist Smith -
ISBN978-0-8769-9

Regards, Gary Wooding

5

You might try ’ Chain Making Link By Link’ By Jeanne Jerousek
McAninch.

There are about 30 different patterns listed along with
instructions.

It’s available from

Dave

6

Judy very sensibly recommended that Larry go to the library to
locate bookson chains and their construction. She also suggested
that the best libraries might be found at universities with fine
arts programs, which is certainly true. But anyone wishing to locate
books (or DVDs) on various jewelry subjects would not need to travel
to these libraries to take advantage of their collection of jewelry
related books. That’s what inter-library loan is for, folks!

Larry (or anyone else, for that matter), can simply go to Worldcat.
org, plug in the title or author of the book or DVD they wish to
borrow, and see whether it’s available for loan. If it’s on
Worldcat, it GENERALLY will be available thru some number of
libraries. This isn’t failsafe, however. Sometimes a title is too
new, or too rare to be available. But it’s certainly worth a try.

Next step is to go to, or call, your own local library and request a
copy of the book or DVD via inter-library loan. I’ve gotten some
really great titles this way, and it often helps me decide whether a
given book is worth purchasing for future reference.

Linda in central FL

7

Thanks for all the info on the chain construction and the info on the
books. I am ordering a few books and am excited to learn about new,
old styles and how to make them. still a little intimidated about
shaping, drawing and all that has been discussed about this part. I
want to take advantage of the lower gold prices and make it now in
the 22 kt. I am thinking that the absolute smallest aspect ratio that
still leaves the bracelet flexible might satisfy my desire for,
tightness and squareness. Thanks for the suggestion about fusing the
links together instead of solder. Have been soldering for 40 yearsbut
have never fused but don’t think it will be a problem. will practice
with some fine silver and some scrap 22 kt first of course. Clasp
choice is also a big consideration as I want to wear it all the time
and don’t want to pull it open, but so want to be able to take it off
sometimes. Thinking of making some decorative cylindrical ends with
some kind of closure in between. All those functional details to work
out ahead of wearing it. Anticipating all the problems that could
come up and working out the solution before they arise. That’s why we
love being jewelers thinking in the micro functional mode!

Thanks
Larry

8

Very good:

“Making Silver Chains: Simple Techniques, Beautiful Designs” by Glen
F. Waszek - Lark books, ISBN 1-57990-183-2

Have fun