Milky Way - Chainmaille Necklace

A free chainmaille endless necklace project featuring milky fired agate gemstone beads from Rings & Things.

As seen in the Rings & Things Spring Supplement 2011
Created by: Melissa Rhoades

Suggested Materials:
10 each #21-890-216 10mm faceted round gemstone beads, milky fired agate
50 each #21-897-216 14mm faceted round gemstone beads, milky fired agate
2350 each #37-145-1 6mm 19-gauge round jump rings, white
150 each #37-711-1 7/8" thin eye pins, white

Tools and Supplies:
Eurotool® chain-nose pliers (#65-330)
Eurotool round-nose pliers (#69-269-02)
Eurotool 5" side flush cutters (#69-056)

If you like this necklace, check out the matching "Milky Way" earrings.

Designer's Tips:
* Use Tool Magic™ (#69-160) or masking tape to coat the tips of your pliers. This helps prevent scratching your jump rings.

* Follow steps 1-3 in "Spiral Chainmaille" on pp 70-71 of Making Jewellery's Christmas 2010 issue (Issue 22) to learn how to make the spiral 4-in-1 weave.

* Make 5 sections of spiral chain, using 47 jump rings for each section.

NOTE: Make sure all 5 sections of chain twist in the same direction! This style of chain will unwind if it is not held in by the tension of an endless necklace that all spirals in the same direction.

* Add each gemstone bead to an eye pin and finish with simple loops.

* Link the beads and chain sections together as pictured, making sure to twist each chain section into it's full spiral shape before attaching the next section.

* When done, if the necklace is overly twisted, unattach the final section and untwist
1 or 2 revolutions until the spirals lay nicely.

Design Options:
* For a longer necklace, add more sections of chain and beads, as desired.

* For a different look, try using different platings of jump rings and/or different faceted gemstone beads.

See our printer-friendly designer tip sheet.

For additional details about techniques used in this design, see:
Basic Jewelry-Making Technique Sheet

To view our jewelry-making technique sheets (PDF files), you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download it free here.

View more free jewelry design ideas, peruse our complete list of free jewelry-making technique sheets, or search our design gallery. Post questions on the Rings & Things Discussion Forum. Don't be shy! If you're wondering, so is someone else!

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