Byzantine
(Chain Maille)
As
you probably know, silver Chain Maille is my favorite jewelry
technique. I haven't made many new pieces lately. The current price of
silver has sky rocketed and makes it hard to make too many new pieces.
I
have a Chain Maille class coming up this Friday. The class will be Half
Persian. See the above picture of Half Persian. Remember the post
awhile ago where I complained about not being able to find things?
Specifically a clip. Since then I remembered they are called "Bulldog"
clips. I still have not found the ones I have and even bought some from
Staples. (They didn't have any the last time I was in the market for
some) They do have them on line and now that I know the official name,
they were easy to find. I figured that would make mine immediately
occur. Wrong. Still MIA.
When
I have a class, I need to practice before hand. Yes, I do. So after I
refreshed my Half Persian skills, I saw some Byzantine segments in my
ring stash. I also found some nice beads that would work up into a
bracelet.
This is made with 5 Byzantine segements and 4 twisted Hematite beads. I really like the combination of black and silver.
One
of the reasons I like the Byzantine weave so much is that it is very
versatile. I have about 10 different Byzantine bracelets in my inventory
and all very different.
I now have 12 Byzantine bracelets.
This is just plain Byzantine with 2 pink Lampworked hearts as an accent.
It
is hard to tell in these pictures but one of the variations you can
make with the Byzantine weave (well, actually any weave) is to change
the size of the wire that makes the rings. The Hematite bracelet is made
with 16 gauge wire and the bracelet with the hearts is made with 18
gauge or thinner wire. (An added piece of information for you is that
the larger the number in gauge, the smaller the wire)
This simple change satisfies people who like dainty bracelets and those who prefer a more chunky or heavy version.
Until next week,
Bev
*LOL* I remember starting Halp Persian without a Bulldog clip. You told me about it and I couldn't figure out the official German name back then, too. Have fun with the class!
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