Celtic Labyrinth, or December?

My very first contact with chainmaille was a Byzantine chain, as demo'ed by David Scott Plumlee on an episode of Beads, Baubles, and Jewels.  I was hooked by how the tiny little jump rings of exactly same sizes and shapes morphed into this mesmerizing pattern.

I'll bet I'm not the only one that started their chainmaille addiction, uh, I meant "journey", from this weave:-)

There's a reason for this Byzantine Effect; and this Celtic Labyrinth pendant is a good example.  Look closely and you'll see this weave is another play on the same weave but with rings of rather different AR's.

And I do like making this weave with the Byzantine flip method, which is building the pendant inside out starting from the center rings.  This allows for a sturdy, immobile structure if you wish.  The other method, which builds the 2x2 chain first, inserts center rings last, seems difficult for me to properly close the center rings, i.e., no room to land my pliers.

So, what about December?  Right, the other weave that actually works exactly the same way as Celtic Labyrinth, but with different number of points; December as it's recorded in MAIL weave library has 6 points; Celtic Labyrinth has 4.  Those who came to chainmaille before me had already discussed this on MAIL.

I experimented with a few 5 pointed ones in different AR combinations.

Isn't it amazing that while they are all made in the same manner, the results are quite different, even with some 3-D effect!

Be it Celtic Labyrinth (Unit) or December, the influence of Byzantine is not hard to see, and I now have a much deeper appreciation for Byzantine weave's versatility.

Any insight learnt from making this pendant?  When needed, square wire rings are quite excellent in increasing the stability of the weave.  Now you know!! :-)

More views of the pendant, as well as my experiments, are here and here in my Picasa web albums.

Byzantine Stars Earrings

There's something magical about anodized niobium.....

and sterling silver:-)

Light bounces of them giving off such brilliance few other metals can.

Words are unnecessary.......

Very happy these pretty little custom ordered stars are going to their new home, yay!!

Interested in custom ordering for my handmade jewelry?  Send me a note or visit my online shop DaisyKreates.com for more styles and options:-)

Complete views are also available in my online Picasa web album.

Byzantine Side Knots Bracelet

It has been a while since my last Byzantine chain in its classic form.  That was when my net surfing landed on another one of Scott David Plumlee's ingenious chainmaille designs: the Byzantine Side Knots.

Here is my sincere admiration, done in bright aluminum.

Seven and a half inches long, 1/4-inch wide, with interspersed Byzantine Side Knots, the chain has an unmistakable ancient feel.  The Side Knots are made of two different gauges of wire; the thicker rings define shape of the knots, while the thinner rings flair out and fill the Byzantine "chamber" with delicate threads of wire.

To echo the 3-ring "wings" inside the knots, my Byzantine units for the chain are done in 3-ring connection, instead of the common 2-ring type.

For closure, I hand forged an S hook for its low profile and ease of use, a perfect compliment for the time-tested beauty.

Bright aluminum is a light weight aluminum alloy that is strong enough for chainmaille use, and brightly polished for a clean, crisp shine; no maintenance required.  To freshen up, give it a slush in soap and water, followed by blowing drying with a hair dryer at low settings.

This item is available for purchase in my ArtFire online studio.

v
^
=><=
v
^
..

Mobius a la Byzantine

Something about Byzantine that is super versatile, as it is totally mesmerizing on its own.

Inspired by David Scott Plumlee's Tripoli, my Mobius a la Byzantine is more square than triangular.  Somewhat ring hungry, tad finicky too.

But the outcome is fluid and lacy; nothing like the civilization of its name sake! :-)

This one is proudly adopted by my BFF, Sean:-)

Yay!!!

v

>o<|>o<|>o<|>o<

^

...

Tripoli Triangle Bracelet

Took me quite a while, but it's well worth it...........

Based on Scott David Plumlee's ingenious design of Tripoli Triangle, six of the Tripoli Triangle units are simply connected end to end.  I tried out a few other ways to link them up; in the end, I chose the easiest one; no muss, no fuss; nothing to distract attention from the intricate, lacy design of each little triangle.

The lovely bracelet shows off the unique combination of Byzantine and Mobius, the two ever popular chainmaille weaves.  With every movement of the wrist, each tiny jump ring of the Tripoli points reflects the light in all directions, giving a soft sparkle that's the trade mark of Byzantine weave.

Each of the six Tripoli Triangles is an equilateral triangle measuring 1 1/8 inches on each side.  The total length of the bracelet, including the handcrafted heart clasp in natural niobium, is 7 1/2 inches, with a thin profile at 3/16th of an inch.  All jump rings are bright aluminum for light weight and no maintenance required.

/

Tripoli Triangle

I must have been drugged.... for 2 days straight.... by this little triangle!!!

It's another shameless copy of Scott David Plumlee's masterful play on Byzantine weave.  From the first moment I saw it, I was hooked; yet it took me nearly a year to finally make a successful Tripoli Triangle.

No, it's not hard.  Anyone who's done Byzantine and Mobius can figure out how to make this.  But the devil is in the details.  Took me a while to find just the right size rings to create a sturdy yet still flexible chainmaille pendant.  Mind you, this is not a sculpture:-)

Before getting this one done just right, I went thru several iterations; I like some guess work with some math when it comes to chainamille...:-)  This one is my favorite so far; it has 2 ring sizes: 19 swg, BA, wrapped on 1/8" mandrel, actual AR about 3.35; large rings are 16 swg, BA also, wrapped on 7/32" mandrel.  Won't surprise me these are not the sizes that Master Plumlee used, but this combination works for me.  So I made another one, and another, one more, etc.  Now I'm tempted to try his Sequential Triangle bracelet......

This little triangle is totally addictive!

/

Fish a la Byzantine

A "Fish" in your hand.... :-)

Here's something whimsical to follow you everyday in your hand, your pocket, handbag, etc... Inspired by Scott D. Plumlee's designs, this fun little fish is outlined in chainmaille Byzantine weave, and connected to a moon shaped split ring. The fish is 2 1/4 inches long from lips to tail, 1 1/2 inches wide from fin to fin, and 3/8 inch thick, decorated with blue glass beads.

This cute fish fits perfectly in your palm, is not intrusive in your jean pocket, The metal used for the fish is bright aluminum, which is light weight and requires no maintenance. Another chainmaille example of form follows function! 

This key fob is available for purchase as custom orders on daisykreates.artfire.com.

Bollywood by way of Byzantine

If you already speak Maillese (yep, that's a word now, in my dictionary), you may think, "Byzantine? Where?"  Ahh, but they're there; see them?  This is a version of the Staggered Byzantine family that hit the sweet spot right in between Staggered Byzantine Halves and Sheet.  So maybe, a one-row sheet? Hee hee...

Even if you're not a maille-head, I hope you'll still find this bracelet a joy to hold and wear, just for the pure delight of the curves, the colors, and the gentle hug on your wrist.

Made of small, light weight bright aluminum jump rings, the frame work of the bracelet alone is no small feat, consisting of over 480 jump rings, while remaining flexible and almost elastic.

For as much as I believe less is more, sometimes, more is just so much better:-)  I could never resist adding pops of colors here and there.  And if you don't mind me saying, the random combination of red and gold beads adds an opulent, exotic flair.  Can you say, Bollywood?!!! :-)

Specs:

Rings: BA, from TRL, 19 swg, 9/64" ID.

Beads: Faceted glass cylinder beads, strung on SoftFlex wire.

Clasp: 3-point tube slider.

The bracelet measures at 7 3/4" long, just a tad shy of 1" wide, low side-profile at 3/16" thick.

This item is available for purchase or special order in my online studio DaisyKreates.com.

Custom orders welcome.  Please also note that use of different metals and beads may result in slightly different length and width, as well as clasp to accommodate the overall design.

More views available here.

Comments and critiques welcome.

Byzantine Stars Earrings

Here is a pair of earrings worthy of its name. Beautifully woven of an array of colorful anodized niobium rings, with sterling silver rings marking each point, and sterling silver chains trailing underneath. These darlings are a joy to have!

Although these earrings are based on the most classic Byzantine pattern, arranging 5 of them into a star shape, together with the long dangles, brings them into the 21th century.

The earrings measure at 2 1/2 inches long from the bottom of the sterling ear wires, 3/4 inch wide from point to point of the stars, and are made entirely of sterling silver and anodized niobium. The stars are solid but still light weight to wear comfortably throughout the day.

Click here for more views of the earrings.

Steel Magnolia

I named this bracelet "Steel Magnolia", it got nothing to do with the movie (no, please don't tell me I can't use the name), just simply, big bold beautiful magnolia flowers made in steel.

As to the weave, it is called "Double Spiral Half Byzantine + 1". Hee hee, that's a long name, isn't it? But very accurate, just take a look: There's the double spiral, half of a Byzantine (is that aka. a unit of Box?), and + 1 holding onto the next half Byzantine. Or, I'll fess up, I just love everything with double rings:-)

I learned it from this tutorial by Onering on MWw. Mine is made with 1 mm x 1 mm square stainless steel rings from C&T Designs. These rings were originally sized for JPL5, but since I don't know JPL5 (not yet :-), I used it for this fun bracelet.

Would have been great if I had a different metal in same size to work with in this bracelet, maybe copper, kind of like the pictures in the tutorial. Maybe next time, I will. This is too much fun to make only one.