In My Studio - Byzantine Bracelet, A Photo Tutorial

Greetings,

Welcome to the Byzantine Bracelet Photo Tutorial.  I won't go into a lot of detail, as the photos have done that for me.  There are seven in total and I will give a brief description of each picture in the compiled sets.  Photos descriptions will read top to bottom, left to right, counterclockwise.

Sterling Silver Plated Copper wire is spun on a mandrel.  Here a US size 2 knitting needle serves as a mandrel.

The coil is removed from the mandrel.

Individual jump rings are cut from the coil

Pile of jump rings.  This project requires 231 of them.

Jump rings are then opened, here they are shown next to a dime for size.  These things are tiny!

108 of the 231 jump rings are laid out with my trusty pliers!

One by one the open jump rings are added to the chain.

They are also closed one at a time.

54 jump rings makes about 1-1/2" of chain.

54 more jump rings to go!

108 Jump rings later we have a 3" length of chain in the Byzantine Chain Maille pattern. 

116 additional jump rings will be added to create a 7.5" length of chain. 

Now the fun part.  Nine (9) 4mm natural Aquamarine beads are lined up for placement along the chain.

A piece of scrap metal is used to mark the center of the chain.

Bead placement is adjusted for even spacing.

Each bead is placed on a headpin.

A loop is formed using the end of Round Nose pliers as close to the top of the bead as possible.

The excess wire from the headpin is then wrapped around the bead, another element of design.  

All nine beads are wrapped.

Wrapped beads are then added to a single jump ring.

Each bead is then attached to the chain at the appropriate interval along the chain.

All Nine (9) beads are attached.

A clasp and 2 more jump rings are then added to the chain.

The total length of the bracelet is now 8".

In the next set of photos we see the competed bracelet, formed and closed as one would wear it.  This is my own variation of the "crown" pattern, I have added the beads as one would on a charm bracelet.  A true crown pattern would have 54 additional jump rings attached the chain where the beads are placed, creating a crown or star-like pattern.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this brief peak into the creation of a chain maille bracelet. Please feel free to leave questions or comments or order one for yourself.  Commission and custom work are welcome!