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
You will need a bauble with a diameter of 58mm or 2.5" - there is some flexibility in the size . We used a cheap standard bauble found in most stores.
©2021 Sarah Austin. All rights reserved.
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
European 4-1 Christmas Bauble
Decorate a plain bauble with European 4-1.You will need a bauble with a diameter of 58mm or 2.5" - there is some flexibility in the size . We used a cheap standard bauble found in most stores.
Materials
For a 58mm (2.5") diameter bauble, you will need:- 240 gold anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 5mm, WD 1.2mm
- 164 red anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 5mm, WD 1.2mm
- 148 small gold anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 3.6mm, WD 0.81mm
- 1 large gold anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 20.6mm, WD 2.4mm
- 56 (approx 5g) silver-lined red Miyuki magatamas
- 4 red fire polished Czech glass beads, 8mm
- 4 gold plated headpins, 2.5cm or 5cm
- two pairs of smooth jawed chain nose, flat nose, or bent nose pliers
Instructions
NOTE: Steps 1-13 use the id 5mm, 1.2mm rings.- Link twenty closed red rings to the large gold ring. The large gold ring can be opened and closed with your fingers.
- Close forty gold rings and open twenty gold rings. You will be increasing the number of rings in a round in steps 2-3.
Weave one gold ring through two red rings and add two closed rings before closing (left hand picture).
Working anti-clockwise, weave one gold ring through one red ring linked previously and the next red ring. Add two closed rings before closing. The single gold ring lays on top of the previously added single ring (centre picture).
Repeat, weaving one gold ring through one red ring linked previously and the next red ring. Add two closed rings before closing (right hand picture).
- Continue linking gold and red rings, as in step 2, until you have linked all twenty open rings and forty closed rings.
Lay out the forty rings so that they overlay each other. Keep this layout in mind as you add a round of rings in step 4.
- Open thirty six gold and four red rings. This will help make sure that you add the correct number of rings. Steps 4-5 are perhaps the trickiest steps as the rings are a bit of a jumble. The rings lay better after this round.
Weave one red ring through two gold rings (left hand picture).
Weave one gold ring through the next gold ring and the adjacent gold ring joined by the previous ring. The gold ring will lay on top of the red ring (centre picture).
Weave one gold ring through the next gold ring and the adjacent gold ring joined by the previous ring. The gold ring will lay on top of the previous gold ring (right hand picture).
- Link a further seven gold rings and one red ring in the same way as in step 4. You will have linked nine gold and two red rings.
Continue linking nine gold rings followed by one red ring until you have completed the round. Check the counts between the red rings and correct any errors (it is easy to miss a ring in these rows).
- Open eight red rings.
Weave one red ring through one gold ring and the red ring on the right hand side of it. Weave one red ring through the red ring and the gold ring on the right hand side of it - this ring will sit on top of the previously added ring.
Continue adding two red rings to the single red ring on the previous round until you have linked four pairs of red rings.
Open thirty two gold rings. Link eight gold rings in between each set of two red rings to complete the round.
- Open twelve red rings. Weave three red rings to each set of two red rings. One red ring will link two red rings whilst two of the red rings will link one red and one gold ring.
Open twenty eight gold rings. Link seven gold rings in between each set of three red rings to complete the round.
- Open sixteen red rings. Weave four red rings to each set of three red rings.
Open twenty four gold rings. Link six gold rings in between each set of four red rings to complete the round.
- Open twenty red rings. Weave five red rings to each set of four red rings.
Open twenty gold rings. Link five gold rings in between each set of five red rings to complete the round.
- Open twenty four red rings. Weave six red rings to each set of five red rings.
Open sixteen gold rings. Link four gold rings in between each set of six red rings to complete the round.
- In this step you will be decreasing each set of gold rings. Open twenty four gold rings.
Weave one gold ring through the first two right hand rings. Weave one gold ring through the second and third rings. Weave one ring through the third and fourth rings (left hand picture).
Weave one ring through the first two right hand rings. Weave one gold ring through the second and third rings (centre picture).
Weave one ring through the last two rings (right hand picture).
- Repeat for the remaining three gold sections.
- In this step you will be decreasing each set of red rings. Open thirty red rings.
As in step 11 and referring to the picture below, weave five, then four, then three, then two rings and finally one ring.
Repeat for the remaining three red sections.
- Steps 14-18 use the id 3.6mm, 0.81mm rings.
Link one magatama bead with one small gold jump ring. Make four beaded rings. Link two beaded rings with one gold ring. Using one gold ring, link one beaded ring to one end of the chain. Repeat with the last beaded ring so that you now have a chain seven rings long.
Make eight chains seven rings long.
- You will now add the seven-ring chains to the bauble. This is easier to do if the finished cover is draped over the bauble. Stand your bauble on a small cup, pot or glass to stop it rolling about.
Using one open gold ring, link one end of the chain to the single gold ring at the end of one gold diamond. Using one open gold ring, link the other end of the same chain to the single red ring at the end of the adjacent red diamond.
Repeat, joining each seven-link chain to the ends of the diamond points.
- Repeat step 14 to make four fifteen-ring beaded chains.
Using one gold ring each time, link the ends of each chain to the single red ring at the end of each diamond.
- Thread one bead onto one headpin and make a wrapped loop. Make four in total.
Make a five-ring chain with the bead at one end.
- Using one gold ring, link one gold chain made in step 17 to the single red ring at the end of each diamond, making sure it is positioned in the middle of the four rings already attached. Repeat with the remaining three chains.
©2021 Sarah Austin. All rights reserved.