Photo Tutorial Beaded Round Maille Bracelet

Author's Note
Our projects were very popular during the lifetime of our business and we wanted to ensure they continued to provide inspiration for chain maillers whatever their experience. It's a pleasure to see they will live on with Chainmaillers.com
-Sarah Austin

Beaded Round Maille Bracelet​

Add seed beads to your jump rings to make this chunky cuff.

Make a simpler version European 4 in 1 bracelet. For instructions, click here.

Make a matching beaded round maille necklace. For instructions, click here.

Materials​

For an 19cm bracelet, you will need:

• 264 black ice anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 5mm, WD 1.2mm
• 2 black ice anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 4mm, WD 1.2mm - clasp rings
• 11g (129 beads) silver lined aqua size 6 Miyuki seed beads
• black finish medium wrapped Tierracast toggle - 12x16mm

Tools:

• two pairs of smooth jawed chain nose, flat nose, or bent nose pliers

Instructions​

1. All the steps in this project use the id 5mm, 1.2mm jump rings unless otherwise stated.
   
   Open one jump ring, add one seed bead and close. Make 129 seed beaded rings. Open 86 rings. (You do not need to make all the beaded rings or open all the rings but it is handy to have a small pile from which to work).
   
   Link four seed beaded rings with one jump ring. Position the rings as shown in the left hand picture, making sure that you orientate the rings in exactly the same way.
   
   Weave one open ring through the lower left hand ring and through the lower right hand ring. Add two beaded rings before closing the jump ring (centre picture). Make sure to push the seed beads on the rings to the side so that they do not get caught underneath your work.
   
   Repeat until you have made a strip a little longer than the required length, allowing for the addition of the clasp (right hand picture). When you turn the strip into round maille, it will shorten.
   
   
   
   
   
2. You will now widen the strip.
   
   Weave one open ring through the second and then first beaded edge rings of your strip, making sure that the seed beads are pushed to the front of your work. Link two beaded rings and close (left hand picture).
   
   Weave one ring through the third, then second beaded edge ring of the strip, and through the last closed beaded ring added. Again, make sure that the seed beads are pushed to the front of your work or to the side as appropriate so that the beads do not get caught underneath your work. Add one beaded ring (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
3. Continue adding a single beaded ring each time to the edge of your strip until you have reached the end of the strip.
   
   
   
   
   
4. At the end of the doubled strip, weave one ring between each pair of beaded rings (left hand picture).
   
   Weave one ring through the two rings just added (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
5. You will now repeat step 4 at the other end of the doubled strip. The rings are orientated slightly differently.
   
   Weave one ring between each pair of beaded rings (left hand picture).
   
   Weave one ring through the the left hand ring just added, add a seed bead, and weave through the right hand ring just added, making sure that the seed bead is uppermost (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
6. Open the remaining 43 rings. Lay out your beaded strip with the reverse side facing you and the rings orientated the same way as the first picture below.
   
   Curl your strip between your thumb and forefinger of your non-dominant hand so that the two sides meet. Weave one ring through the intersection of the first and second edge rings on the right hand side. Continue weaving the ring through the intersection of the second and first edge rings on the left hand side. Close the jump ring (second picture).
   
   Continue joining the sides of the strip by weaving through the corresponding intersections of the edge rings until you have reached the end.
   
   
   
   
   
7. At one end of the bracelet, open the single ring at the end and attach the toggle ring.
   
   At the other one end of the bracelet and using two clasp rings, link the toggle bar to the single ring at the end.
   
   

Variations​

• Use matt silver (white) rings with a pastel coloured seed bead, finishing off with a silver plated clasp.
• Use mixed shades of a single colour seed bead with a neutral coloured jump ring, either as a random mix or graduating the colour.
• Use a different colour non-beaded ring to the seed beaded jump rings, perhaps matching or contrasting the non-beaded ring to the colour of the seed beads.

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©2021 Sarah Austin. All rights reserved.