Fixing Design Errors

I had an idea for a necklace that would incorporate several jewelry design techniques: bead weaving, pearl knotting, wire-working, and chain maille. I made the body of this piece using a modified herringbone stitch, with 4 mm cubes, farfaille seed beads, and shocking pink 10 lb test fire line. The mono-chromatic design was to continue with two strands of knotted pearls and crystals, and then terminate with chain maille and a hand-made clasp. For the pendant, I use a simple chain maille weave and handmade14kt gold-filled jump rings to create a short chain. To this I added wire-wrapped crystals and pearls.



Once all the components were completed, I assembled the necklace, put it on, and realized the knotted strands and chain maille sections were much too long. So, what do you do when you have a situation like this?



I removed the knotted pearl and crystal section, reattached the chain maille, and voila! I had the necklace the length I wanted, and it hung perfectly.

Here's a closeup of the first pendant made for the above necklace:

The next decision was what to do with the pearl strands.



I connected those to a store-bought clasp and created another pendant, somewhat similar to the first one, but shorter, with much fewer crystals and gold dangles added to make a different design. I don’t usually make short necklaces, but I was not going to cut apart the knotted strands and start over. The strands were just long enough, and now I have two pieces designed.

This second shorter necklace designed, I call, “To Err Is Human”.

Modified Necklace

I said I was going to redo a piece. I was going to improve on the design by making chain maille that was just a little smaller in diameter than the focal piece of pearls and sapphires. I finished that last week. Below is a picture of the necklace redone with chain maille.

I am still not sure which one I like better. They both are nice. However, I'm going to leave this piece as it is. I used the thin chain I took off the original necklace for a similar piece done with garnets:

I stlil have not bought another strand of sapphires, but eventually I will get back to that so I can design a matching pair of earrings.

Copper Chain Maille Bracelet

March 28, 2009 - Although it took a few weeks, I prepared copper jump rings for my next creation. When the wound spring of copper was cut, I noticed that several burrs were created. I had to spend a lot of time tumbling the rings, using a cup de-burrer, tumbling again, before I couldn't even begin to create the bracelet below. This is the standard Byzantine pattern, with a clasp easily made from the same copper wire.

More rings are on the way. We are trying some new cutting techniques in an effort to avoid burrs. In the next piece, I hope to use some stone druks.