February 17, 2012

Moorish Rose Cuff

Five days and five nights, that's how long it took me to finish this cuff, my first Moorish Rose, with beads!

Moorish Rose is a chainmaille weave that directly connects 6-ring mobius in sheet form, as first recorded by djgm on MailleArtisans.org.

A relatively straight forward idea, linking mobi to mobi, what's so difficult about it?  Not much, that's if you have a full understanding of mobius weave, which I don't...

But it's so pretty, and there's the detail, step-by-step, fantastic tutorial by Xander; I got to give it a try.  And that's over 5 days ago...

Here's what I ended up with, my first Moorish Rose cuff, with a red drop bead set in the center of every mobius.  Four-row, 1" wide, 7 1/2" long, closes with a 4-ring tube slider.


Not many other chainmaille bracelets took me this long to do.  Granted, a large part of the 5 days was about reading the tutorial, testing rings of various AR's and materials, taking rings apart, fixing mistakes, scouting the net for tips and tricks; but the tough part was the fact that there isn't many Moorish Roses out there; I literally had to piece clues together.

Ahh, but the result is worth it! I like the red beads, they always remind me of pomegranate seeds:-)  

Under bright lights, doesn't it look just like a work of stained glass?!


Specs:

Main body: TRL BA rings, 19 swg, 1/4" ID, actual AR is close to 6.9; a tad too big on their own, but perfect with inset beads; total of 20 columns, over 450 rings.

Clasp point: TRL BA, 19 swg, 3/16" ID, to even out the ends before attaching to the tube slider.

Beads: Glass beads, drop shape, top drilled hole, red with light AB coating, strung on SoftFlex wire.

OK, now that the prototype is done; next will be in stainless steel or niobium.  To be honest, BA is just too weak at this AR, but for testing purpose, works out just fine.

More pictures of the cuff?  Check them here.

12 comments :

  1. Very pretty:-)

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  2. The interlaced beads elevates this already gorgeous weave to a whole level! Fabulous work!!

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  3. That looks fab! Hadn't seen that particular weave before and now I've fallen in love with it, especially beaded like you've done it.

    I found your cuff on Pinterest and while there's so much eye candy and beautiful jewellery that I admire there I rarely take the time to click through to the source and tell the jewellery maker how much I love what I spotted. This time I just had make sure to leave a comment to say how much I love your cuff.

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  4. Thank you, 925, Inner Muse, and Maneki, for coming by my cyber home! So glad you like my beaded Moorish Rose cuff. Your words of encouragement really made my days!!

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  5. I've been chainmailling for 5-6 yrs and tired of all the standard weaves. When i saw this piece i fell in love. it rekindled my love of maille. currently working on it in 21g argentium....i love love t red beads in it. i hope ill be able to find them. thx for sharing all t deets... i know how long it can take to figure t perfevts ARs.

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    1. Thank you:-) 21g argentium! I'll bet looks delicate and marvelous at the same time!

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  6. Hello,
    It's a beautiful bracelet....I saw this weave and tutorial on M.A.I.L's site. It is a really good tutorial however I am having so much trouble with this weave. I have tried 18 gauge in 6.5 mm , 7mm , and 9.5mm it doesn't seem to be the size of the ring that is causing me trouble. It is the fact that each set of rings lays on top of the last set. Maybe if I could find a You Tube tutorial and watch someone actually weave it. Do you have any suggestions? Thx, Cheryl

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    1. Thank you, wandering in the desert! Yeah, I looked for a video on the net, too, but no luck:-( Actually I've made a few more pieces in Moorish Rose since this cuff bracelet; for all the subsequent ones, I relied on this pictorial on MWW: http://corvuschainmaille.ning.com/group/Tutorials/forum/topics/moorish-rose-alternate-method
      It doesn't have words, just pictures, I find these very helpful for me to understand the fundamentals of this weave. I don't remember the part about rings lays on top of the previous, but do pay attention to how each mobius unit always connects to its neighboring units in reverse lean than its own. So if I make the starting mobius unit counterclockwise, it should connect to it neighboring units clockwise. Hope this helps.
      As to AR, I have used from 6.5 up to 7.8, they all worked fine, but it really doesn't like thin gauge or "weak" rings, the closures don't stay closed for me...
      Good luck and have fun!

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    2. Update: the link above does not work any more since that website went offline.
      For those looking for more info on Moorish Rose, there are now plenty tutorials available since this post was originally published. Hopefully you're able to find other helps on the world wide web :-)
      Daisy

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  7. Absolutely divine! I just can't figure out how you added the beads. Tips?

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    1. Thank you, Angelmaille! They are just strung on with a piece of beading wire :-)
      Daisy

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  8. Found this design of yours. Absolutely love it. Did you ever create it in stainless steel or niobium? Also, do u have any pics of the ends to show how u attached to the tube slider? Would love instructions. Thanks! Lana

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