Photo Tutorial European 4-1 Woven Micro Maille Cuff

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

European 4-1 Woven Micro Maille Cuff​

Make a band in European 4-1 and weave a strip of matt silver in and out to create this cuff.

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Materials​

For a 20.5cm (8") cuff, you will need:

• 848 black anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 2.7mm, WD 0.81mm
• 296 matt silver anodised aluminium jump rings, ID 2.7mm, WD 0.81mm
• 2 silver plated 5-1 Tierracast end spacer bars, 26mm
• silver plated keepsake Tierracast toggle, 9x13mm

FANCY MAKING THIS WEAVE BUT WANT TO USE A LARGER SIZE RING?
Try ID 4.2mm, WD 1.2mm rings - these rings will make a larger cuff with a slightly more open weave. It will be easier to make for a beginner and you won't need as many rings.

Tools:

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

Instructions​

NOTE: You will not be able to speed weave using micromaille as the weave is very close. Instead, you will have to add one ring at a time.

1. Link four black rings to one closed black ring and lay out the rings exactly as shown with the rings laying in the same orientation.
   
   Link one black ring up through the lower left-hand ring, down through the lower right-hand ring and close. Link two black rings to the ring just added. Continue adding rings in this way until you have twelve rings in each of the three columns.
   
   
   
   
   
2. The cuff is made up of two outside edges four rings wide. Each square hole is four by four rings with the central band separating them being four rings wide.
   
   To widen the weave to make a four ring wide column, link one black ring up through the first two rings at the top (left hand picture).
   
   Link one black ring up through the third and second rings, making sure that the linking ring does not link the ring previously added. The new ring lays on top of the last ring added (left hand picture).
   
   Continue adding rings in this way until you have added twelve rings. The twelfth ring links through only one ring (the last ring).
   
   
   
   
   
3. You will now extend the weave sideways to leave a square hole in the centre.
   
   IMPORTANT: Referring to the picture, on each column, you usually link one ring through two rings. However, at the top and bottom of each column, you alternatively link one ring through only one ring rather than two.
   
   Repeat step 2 along the top, linking four rings down, four times.
   
   Starting at the bottom, repeat step 2, linking four rings up, eight times.
   
   
   
   
   
4. You now need to grow the weave upwards four rings wide and for three rows.
   
   Do this in the same way that you made the first column in step 1 and extend it by one row as in step 2.
   
   
   
   
   
5. The rings added in the next three steps are in red for clarity.
   
   Add the next row of four black rings, closing the square hole with the last ring.
   
   
   
   
   
6. To finish the central column, work upwards and link four black rings.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Working from the bottom corner, continue adding rings by working up each column. The first ring added in this step will need to weave through three rings before closing. This is probably the trickiest ring to close as you will not be able to grip much of the ring to close it.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Repeat steps 3-7 until the cuff is nearly the desired length, finishing with step 3 to make both arms four rings wide.
   
   
9. Go back to the first square hole of the cuff. Link four matt silver rings through the black rings on the left-hand side of the square holes as shown.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Make a long strip of European 4-1 four rings wide, adding rings as in step 2. As before, alternating at the top and bottom of each column of four rings added, you link one ring through only one ring rather than two. You will weave this strip in and out of the holes.
    
    
    
    
    
11. Make the strip so that it weaves in and out of the holes to finish level with the two four column-wide arms. The woven strip needs to be the right length so that the finished result is not too loose or too tight. Finish the strip with a row of rings which match the weave orientation of the last two columns of four black rings.
    
    To join the strip and arms together, link twelve black rings as in step 2 (these rings are shown in red for clarity).
    
    
    
    
    
12. Finish the final four-ring column block by adding another three columns of black rings.
    
    Using black rings, attach a spacer bar to each end of the cuff as shown.
    
    Attach the toggle to one spacer bar with one matt silver ring.
    
    Link two rings to the other spacer bar end loop and one ring through the toggle bar. Connect with two matt silver rings.
    
    

Variations​

• Use shades of the same colour - ice and royal blue, lavender and purple, ice and rose pink.
• Try gold with main colour brown, red or royal blue.
• Change the colour of the inner strip that weaves through - this is easily done by changing colour when the strip weaves underneath.

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©2021 Sarah Austin. All rights reserved.