I've been reading a lot on chainmaille; never thought I'd be so addicted to this ancient technique. It's a science all on its own.So here's my 2nd chainmaille project. I learned this weave is called King's maille. Out of so many weave patterns, this caught my eye again and again for those big double rings. Yesterday, I set out to test it, tried several gauges, finally settled on 16 ga (all 8.5 feet of it!) with 10 mm ID. The toggle and the rosette counter-weight are both 14 ga, and the various connector rings are from 18 ga to 14 ga, all handmade. Final length is 7 1/4" and 1" wide.
It fits on my right wrist perfectly, lays flat when I rest my hand on a desk, and doesn't flop around too much.
I'm very pleased. Also tried threading in the toggle bar from the front and the back; definitely treading from the back produces a smoother look, although the counter-weight is not always effective, maybe it can be a bigger rosette. But all in all, it came out pretty much like what I expected.Then I took out my first chainmaille bracelet to compare to this new bracelet, just to see if I have improved, or not. That's when I noticed something:
Duh! They're the same weave! Do you see that? The main difference between the two are the sizes and shapes of rings. What a revelation for me! I've read that the Aspect Ratio is the most critical part of chainmaille, but this time, it's really sinking in. It's a lot like bead weaving where the same stitch when used with different sizes and shapes of beads, can mutate into a whole new look! Boy, I learned something new (kind of) today!Check out more images here.
I can see your addiction about the chainmaille projects and they fit nicely on your wrist.
ReplyDeleteI've heard to learn the hand craft will prevent the alzheimer disease but don't get too crazy about it; otherwise your hands will be hurt before the disease gets you.
Thank you! I wore it on my wrist to sleep last night (LOL)!
ReplyDeleteAlzheimer or physical pain? Which one is the lesser evil? Humm...