We are accustomed to see chain weaving on people who are passionate about historical reconstructions, on fantasy lovers and role-players. However, it happens that such jewelry becomes fashionable, and now all models wear bracelets woven in chain mail. In this article you will learn what chain mail weaving is, its varieties and whether it is difficult for beginners to master this technique.
Chainmail weaving: versatile and unusual technique
Chain weaving is certainly loved by representatives of various subcultures. So, half-wrist bracelets are a dream accessory for bikers and metalworkers. Reconstructors prefer some souvenirs or give their girls knitted jewelry using this technique. Openwork metal will appeal to the representatives of the Gothic. Steampunk lovers will not go past brass and copper jewelry, as they will be a great addition to their costumes. Roleica chain mail is associated with the worlds of the Middle Ages and Middle-earth.
However, something else is important.
Chain weaving bracelets and other jewelry will be a great addition to the image in the style of "casual" - and the worker, and everyday, and universal. An interesting chain on the hand, openwork metal earrings, a ring with an unusual pattern looks original, but not defiant. Chain weaving of bracelets and other jewelry is something that is suitable both for office work and in order to surprise friends and colleagues, but at the same time stay within the dress code.
A similar alternative to expensive jewelry is something more varied, large, interesting and varied in terms of weaving.
Difference from the usual types of gold chains - Bismarck, anchor, shell
The technique of chain weaving is to weave individual rings in one product.
For the manufacture of chains in classic jewelry, auxiliary parts are often used. For example, overlapping rings, rose spirals and other elements. In addition, soldering is often used, and the chain that has turned out is subjected to additional final processing - face modification, broaching, or rolling.
"Chain mail" is done only with the help of single rings. Wire for chain weaving can be used along with the purchased material. All structures, patterns and shapes create exclusively metal rings from various materials.
There is another characteristic feature that chain weaving possesses. Instructions and schemes do not always reflect it. This type of jewelry weaving goes “both in depth and in breadth”. Decoration can be not only one-dimensional, like a line or chain, but also make up a full-fledged canvas or sculptural composition.
Types of chain weaving are even more diverse than ordinary jewelry. In the classification, there are more than one thousand species, which is a problem for those who buy the product: from unenlightened buyers, it is initially ruffled in the eyes, and this prevents us from making a choice.
When was chain weaving used to make jewelry, and not just for protective uniforms?
When this species began to move into the decorative sphere, it is very difficult to say. There are many different theories about the “interweaving of these genres,” however, information about most of them, as well as examples of works, have not been preserved in the era of the absence of the Internet.
The use of chain weaving to create decorative jewelry, in fact, has to be reinvented from scratch. Of course, the genetic relationship between this technique and the basic methods of manufacturing protective armor is the basis for formulating various theories, but none of them can be called unconditionally true today.
How to choose materials? What metals are bracelets and necklaces usually made of?
The whole process of making jewelry is done manually. For such products, various metals can be used, having calculated the strength characteristics of the future product. It is necessary to take into account the rigidity of the metal, the characteristics of the weaving itself, as well as the dimension of the rings.
The most popular materials are steel, copper, silver and brass. In addition, you can use niobium, bronze, titanium, sometimes gold.
What products can be made using this technique?
Chain weaving is universal: from “chain mail” it is possible to do whatever your heart desires - from small rings to the gates of the house. This genre has the broadest possibilities: on the network you can find candlesticks made in this technique, chess, sculptures, horse blankets and much more.
What is the process like? What can it be compared with for a layman?
The rings are closed, being threaded into each other in a certain way.
For clarity, this process can be explained by example. Imagine that you simultaneously have a fabric that can become motionless and strong, and a rope. In almost all chain mail weaves, the base is a chain, a line. Most of them can be expanded: in this way a canvas or a plane is obtained. By modifying the thickness parameter, you can give the product hardness and bendability.
How difficult is it for a beginner to master this type of weaving?
It all depends on the goal of a particular person. To understand in what sequence it is necessary to close the rings in order to get one or another pattern, perhaps in a day or more. And then there’s the question of ambitiousness: how many weaves the beginner wants to master and how well he wants to hone the technique. And since their number cannot be counted, the training period can last indefinitely.
What weaving is the most popular?
Basically, "hearing" people have no more than a dozen species. They are either basic, or migrated to the jewelry craft. This is Persian, European, Byzantine, Japanese, box.
Is it possible that people in such jewelry are not looking for the craftsmanship of the manufacturer and the beautiful weaving technique, but for the solution to some of their problems?
Often chain mail weaving is positioned as a solution to the problem of stealth and security. As the practice of reading customer reviews and flash mobs like “describe this jewelry” shows, people see the same thing about them.
Products made in the technique of chain weaving, among other basic qualities, at associative and emotional levels are considered as a means of protection, a piece of armor. To the touch, they just resemble flexible and fluid armor on the arm, especially if the jewelry is wide enough, for example, massive necklaces or bracelets in the form of paintings.
These are such elements of armor disguised as decorations. The one who puts it on is endowed with symbolic security, while those around him see only an elegant decoration.
In addition, products using the technique of chain weaving are very tactile. Each species behaves in its own way: one can be flexible, the other dense, the third with rotating elements, the fourth with leaking, the fifth with gathering in the spring ... With flexible weaves you can play and crush in your hands just endlessly.
Even chain mail often becomes a symbol. When creating a product of a certain design, you need to know the piece of history associated with it, find associations to weave in order to recognize yourself in things, significant symbols and needs.