Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry

Shows how to create beautiful, dimensional silver, copper and brass chains using simple tools. Focusing on the main style based upon the Byzantine pattern, this work includes illustrated step-by-step directions that show how to calculate the circumference of the rings, how to wrap wire into coils, how to cut, and lastly, how to assemble the chain.

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"Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry" shows how to create beautiful, dimensional silver, copper, and brass chains using simple tools. The main style is based on the elegant, classical Byzantine pattern, and uses the Golden Ratio to determine the circumference of a chain's interlocking rings based on the thickness of the wire. Illustrated step-by-step directions show how to calculate the circumference of the rings, how to wrap wire into coils, how to cut, and finally, how to assemble the chain. Starting from the basic Byzantine, new chain makers can then progress to increasingly Byzantine variations, including linear, knot, crown, and combination chains. Incorporating beads and charms offers endless possibilities for crafters who will soon, surely, be locked up in chains! It provides essential tools and techniques, linear designs, knot designs, crown designs, combined designs, and finishing. Few, if any, books combine dimensional chain making with beading. Interest in jewellery making and beading is always growing.