Non-Jewellery Chainmaille

A collection by 28SidesDesigns

Athena's Armoury

UnkamenGifts

Chained To The Strange

Question of the Week - Do You Make Your Own Rings?

This week's Chainmaille Question of the Week is Do you make your own rings? Why or Why not?

Here are the answers provided by some of our members.

Yes I do. Now that I sell chainmaille kits and teach chainmaille classes, it is more economical that I make my own rings. But I do prefer to buy them because I would rather pay someone else for the process so that I could just sit and weave silver! - The Chainmaille Lady

I don't for a few reasons. First, it's not really feasible for me to set up to do it. I'm a student who moves every year, and currently don't even have a kitchen table, let alone a workshop. Another reason is time, or lack thereof. I'd rather pay extra for someone else to do it.
If this were to become my full time job, then I'd probably start making my own rings. But right now it's just not worth it for the amounts I use :) - Chained To The Strange

I don't currently make my own rings, but I've been looking into it. I can get a pretty good price for rings from other suppliers, and I think it equals out when you consider the extra time it would take to make my own rings. Sometimes when I need a ring just a little bit bigger or smaller, I wish I could just sit down and make the ring exactly how I want it instead of having to order them and wait for them to come in the mail! - Lanza Creations

I buy mine for a few reasons. I work a full time job and I can be a bit impatient so I'd rather conserve my patience for diving right into making jewelry rather than to first sit and start cutting rings. Also I have to take into consideration that the main rings I use are stainless steel and cutting those myself just ain't gonna happen..hehe. - Little Metal Merchant

If you have any questions you would like our members to answer, please leave us the question in the comments area and we will answer it for you.

Mailler Question of the Week

Welcome to a new series on the ArtFire Chainmaille Guild Blog. Each week we will pose a question to the members of the Chainmaille Guild, and get their answers.
This week's question was - "Why did you start doing Chainmaille?"

'Chainmaille appealled to me because I have an eye for detail. The weaves were so beautiful and intricate and I knew right away it was something I would love to create. Also, there is so much versatility! I have bold and colorful pieces, designs that appeal to men, and my favorite, the feminine and elegant sterling silver pieces. It's a great craft for someone with attention to detail, and a lot of patience!' - Lanza Creations

'It all started after my husband needed surgery and had to be hospitalized. That summer, I was looking for something to do as a distraction for my daughter who was understandably upset. We took a class in wire working at a local bead shop, where we learned how to make spirals, and do a little wire wrapping. My daughter soon gave up and moved on, but I became intrigued by all of the things I could accomplish with a little wire. I bought a book with chainmaille patterns, and taught myself the various weaves. My first piece was a Byzantine chain - it wasn't very well done, but I sure was proud of it! This may be the most expensive hobby/craft I've ever taken up, but it has kept me sane in the midst of some recent personal upheavals. I now not only create chainmaille, I teach it to others at, you guessed it, my local bead shop! By the way, my husband made a complete recovery, and is healthy and strong again, for which I am very thankful!' Savoir Faire Creations

'For me it was something unique and crafty. I've been a crafter since I could first use glue, but have also always marched to the beat of my own drummer. Chainmaille allows me to express myself artistically despite the fact I can't draw my way out of a paper bag!
There's also the added bonus of having a hobby that pays for itself!' - Chained To The Strange


Do you have a question for the ArtFire Chainmaille Guild members? Because we would love to answer any questions you might have about Chainmaille. Leave us your question in the comments and we will do our best to answer it.

The Seventh Day of Spring

The last day of the first week of spring sends a last burst of fresh green Chainmaille.

Chained To The Strange

Cheli

Eternal Knights

Little Metal Merchant

Mirricat

Presenting Chained To The Strange!

We have recently gained some new members in the ArtFire Chainmaille Guild, and so this week we are featuring another of our new members. The person I would like to introduce you to is Jennifer from Chained To The Strange. We gave her our usual list of questions, and what follows are her answers.

1) How long have you been a Chainmailler?
Not very long at all! It was only about a year and a half ago that I
had even considered trying chainmaille. A friend of mine received an
inlay for his birthday and I was fascinated. He told me where his
friend got his supplies, and in August of 2008 I ordered a sampler
from The Ring Lord. I looked at them, hemmed and hawed, and almost
exactly 1 year ago I ordered a set of pliers and the 1814 AA jewelry
kit. February 19th, 2009 it arrived, and I took to it like a duck to
water!

2) Why do you like Chainmaille?
It's unusual and creative, two of my favorite things. I can't draw my
way out of a paper bag, which severely limits my creative out lets. It
requires a lot of creative problem solving for some items, which works
both sides of my brain. It also allows me to match my jewelry to any
outfit, on the fly! I like that when I finish, I have something
concrete to look at and say "I made that."

3) What is your favourite type of ring?
My most used would be Etched Aluminum, 18g, 1/4" ID. I think part of
the reason for that is because that is what I started with, and what
I'm most used to. I'm starting to experiment with different sizes, but
I'm still fond of the aluminums because of their low cost and range of
colors.

Favorite I've used so far though has to be either the silver or the
niobium I've worked with. Probably niobium, the colors can't be beat!

4) What kind of items do you prefer to make?
Mostly jewelry. I don't have the patience to make clothing, though
I've got some pre-made chainmaille cloth coming to play with so I
might cheat. Just realized I forgot to order rings to go with it
though... that would make 3 orders in one week... oops!

I like anything involving glow rings, just because I love glow!
Juggling balls are also fun to play with as I'm making them.

5) Which weave would you like to learn that you dont currently know?
There's a bunch! JPL for sure, dragonscale, HP3, and Full Persian are
on my current to do list. Some are just a case of not having the right
AR on hand, HP3 is a case of getting annoyed and going back to byz
LOL.

6) Which piece are you most proud of?
Hard to say. None of mine so far have been particularly hard. If I
have to go with anything it'd probably be the tie.. which I
unfortunately have no pictures of. The "knot" I did for it keeps
getting mistaken for an actual half-windsor knot, it looks very close
to the real thing! I'll try to get a picture of it in the next week.

7) What advice would you give to someone who was considering doing Chainmaille?
Just jump in! Nothing gives you a better idea of what it's like than
actually trying. The kits at TRL are a great place to start, the
chainmailling community is super helpful (as long as you are polite!)
and can give you any assistance you might need.

Thank you Jennifer, and welcome to the Chainmaille Guild. You can see more of her wonderful creations at Chained To The Strange on ArtFire.

Love is in the Air!

As a bit of a fun challenge for our guild we created some pieces with 'Love' in mind.
There have been great pieces made - and here they all are.

There are lovely pieces from NightMaiden, ChainedToTheStrange, BarbsDesigns and HaffinaCreations.

We are asking visitors to vote for our next theme - there is a poll to the left of the blog.

Something for Everyone

Chainmaille is amazingly diverse and adaptable to different uses. Jewellery is a common creation using Chainmaille, and pieces can be made for anyone with any tastes. Pieces can be brightly coloured and funky, or sleekly elegant and refined. They can be delicate and feminine or chunky and masculine. Here are just a few pieces that show some of the diversity possible.



You can see and even wider range of ideas by visiting our member studios to the left of the blog.