Photo Tutorial Roundmaille Earrings & Necklace

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

Roundmaille Earrings​

​

Materials​

You will need:

• 102 silver anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• 70 ice blue anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• 50 royal blue anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• silver plated earwires

Tools:

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

Instructions​

1. The weaving ring added in the following steps are shown in red for clarity.
   
   Close twenty and open nine silver rings.
   
   Using one of the open silver rings, link four closed silver rings. 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 silver ring through the lower left hand ring and through the lower right hand ring. Add two closed silver rings before closing the jump ring (centre picture).
   
   Repeat until you have nine rings down the centre of your strip and ten rings along each edge (right hand picture below and left hand picture of step 2) .
   
   
   
   
   
2. Close fourteen and open seven ice blue rings. Continue adding to the silver strip in the same way until you have seven rings down the centre of your strip and seven rings along each edge (centre picture).
   
   Close ten and open five royal blue rings. Continue adding to the silver and ice blue strip in the same way until you have five rings down the centre of your strip and five rings along each edge (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
3. You will now widen the strip. Close ten and open nine silver rings.
   
   Weave one open ring through the second and then first silver edge rings of your strip, link two closed silver rings and close (left hand picture).
   
   Weave one silver ring through the third, then second edge ring of the strip, and through the last closed ring added. Add one closed silver ring (centre picture).
   
   Continue working in this way, adding one open and one closed ring each time until you have added nine open and ten closed rings (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
4. Close seven and open seven ice blue rings.
   
   Weave one open ice blue ring through the first ice blue and the last silver ring and then the last closed silver ring added (left hand picture). Add one closed ice blue ring and close the ring. Continue adding one open and one closed ice blue ring each time until all seven open and closed rings are added.
   
   Close five and open five royal blue rings.
   
   Continue adding the royal blue rings in the same way.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Open three silver rings. These rings will be used to taper the end of the tube.
   
   At the silver end of your strip, weave one silver ring through the first and second rings as shown. Repeat, weaving through the second and third rings (left hand picture).
   
   Weave one silver ring through the two rings just added (right hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
6. Open nine silver, seven ice blue and five royal blue rings. These rings will be used to join the strip into a tube.
   
   Lay your strip out and check that the rings are orientated in 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 silver 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 added nine silver joining rings (third and fourth pictures).
   
   
   
   
   
7. When you join the strip at the point where the colour changes to ice blue, weave one ice blue ring (shown in red) through the interesections of the first ice blue and last silver rings on each edge (left hand picture). Continue joining with ice blue rings until you have joined seven.
   
   Repeat in the same way when you change to royal blue rings until you have linked five royal blue rings (right-hand picture).
   
   
   
   
   
8. Using one silver ring, join the earwire to the last silver ring of the tube.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Repeat steps 1-8 to make a second earwire.

Roundmaille Necklace​

Materials​

For a 49.5cm necklace, you will need:

• 624 silver anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• 384 ice blue anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• 156 royal blue anodised aluminium saw cut jump rings, ID 3mm, WD 0.81mm
• silver plated lobster clasp, 12mm and split ring

Instructions​

1. To make the necklace, repeat steps 1-7, finishing each end as in step 5. For the necklace shown, the number of rows for each colour is as follows:
   
   52 rows silver, 32 rows ice blue, 26 rows royal blue, 32 rows ice blue, 52 rows silver.
   
   
2. Use two silver rings to attach the split ring, and one silver ring to attach the lobster clasp to the last silver ring at each end of the necklace.

Variations​

• Try other graduated colour combinations with silver - black & black ice, lavender & purple, ice green & lime green, ice pink & rose pink or with gold - red & black.
• The earrings are 21 rows long - make graduated rainbow earrings or autumn coloured earrings - working out the number of rows for each colour before you start.

If you found this tutorial helpful: Please let other users know, leave a rating.

©2021 Sarah Austin. All rights reserved.