Honestly, that would be Phong's but finally, here's a chain maille book devoted primarily to skills building instead of projects highlighting variations on a handful of techniques. My first book on chain maille was the classic "Great Wire Jewelry" by Irene From Peterson. Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop by Karen Karon seems to be the heir to Peterson's book. It's an anthology of chain maille weaves.
There are some excellent books and DVDs on chain maille jewelry currently on the market and those into chain maille already have them. Chained by Rebeca Mojica is probably the best not only because of the photography and stunning projects but also the quality of information and instruction. However, Chained doesn't feature the European 4 in 1 or any of the Persian Weaves but it covers the Japanese 12 in 2 which isn't in Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop.
Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop has few variations on the weaves.... it's devoted teaching a diverse number of classic weaves, not just 4 or 5 weaves before the author veers of on their own unique weaves. A good chain maille book will will go into the basics: wire guages, metal types, jump ring opening and closing and the math (yikes) of doing chain maille. Karon uses the following terms for inserting a new jump ring through the intersections created by previous jump rings: TE for through the eye and AE for around the eye are used when discussing the placement of rings using clear illustrations. She provides an in-depth discussion of the all important aspect ratio. .
Now for the chains. It starts with the basic - the 1 in 1; 2 in 1; and the 2 in 2,
What follows are the classics of chain maille:
European 4 in 1
Byzantine/(aka Birdcage)
Box (aka Queen Link, Inca Puno)
Flower/rosette weave is taught is this chapter because it's used as a connector.
Celtic (aka Parallel, Helm)
Spiral/Double Spiral
Jens Pind
The Persian weaves:
Full Persian (aka foxtail)
The Half Persian 4 in 1 using a template to stabilize the rings while developing the pattern
The Half Persian 3 in 1
The Half persian 3 in 1 sheet. No GSG (Great Southern Gathering)but it's similar to this weave.
Round weaves
Inverted or open round chain maille
Roundmaille
Turkish Round
Dragonscale with instructions for an awesome dragonscale collar.
The instructions are clearly illustrated using color coded jump rings. There are beautiful photographs of each weave. The final chapter give in-depth hints on using clasps and other findings and using the weaves to design jewelry. The back of the book has about 20 pages of aspect ratio and conversion charts.
To those into chain maille or just getting started, add this to your library.
This is the best chainmaille book I have found and I think I have them all. I am a GIA graduate and bench jeweler for over 25 years. Karen Karon has covered it all in this book it is the most complete, well engineered text I have found. Hats off to Ms Karon job well done! She has really thought the projects through, included information you need with jump ring sizes that make sense not some off the wall ID that I found in other books. I have completed several projects and they really look great, her instructions are easy to follow, I have learned more from this one book than most of the other 20 or so in my library. I make all my jump rings with a "Pepe" jump ring maker, and cut them with a flex shaft so ID of 3.5 mm, 4.00 mm are easy to make. She sticks to 18, 16 gauge for many of the designs which are much easier to stock and use for other designs. This book is for the beginner and the seasoned jeweler. A must for any workshop that weaves wire! Thank you for all your hard work and attention to detail Ms Karon.
I know I have spent at least $1500 on my library of jewelery books. I tend to use them for inspiration more than technique because no one book is really as detailed as I believe it should be.
I started stringing, then beading, then wire-wrapping, and now chain maille. I am so pleased with this book and think it may be one of the best books ever purchased. I have read MANY of these type of books and I am hard to please.
The introduction to materials and techniques is very thorough. The illustrations and explanations for each project are as easy to understand as possible given there is not someone in front of you actually showing you the technique. The graduation through the material is appropriate and relevant. And the designs are skill-building, versatile, and gorgeous.
I suspect any additional chain maille books I might buy will be for inspiration only. Had I purchased this one first, I might have foregone buying several others. The techniques I learn here will help me fashion many unique designs.
This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it anyone that wants to learn this art form.
I saw this book in a local crafts store, and it was want at first sight. I make jewelry and love history, so wanting to try chain maille is a natural conclusion for me. The directions are very well written. There is so much more to opening and closing jump rings than you find in the average jewelry making book or magazine, and Karen Karon describes it all very well. My only complaint is not about the book, but the inability to obtain the supplies needed to make the projects locally. It seems that just about everything has to be mail ordered.
I had searched for a book that had multiple weave patterns that teach the basics of the chain weaves. This book is that! Other books have only a couple weave patterns with additions of ugly ways to use them. This book shows the basic weave and I can use my own imagination to design what I want.
Other books also include wire wrapping designs that I would never use. This book is straight forward. It is a good chunk of basic weave patterns that will allow my work to expand. No ugly page fillers. No wire wrapping. Only chainmaille.
It also shows the gauge and diameters for anyone who needs it or wants to convert to AR.
Feature Product
- Interweave Press
Description
Discover the ultimate technique-based guide for one of the top trends in jewelry making--chain maille. In Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop, you'll find more than two dozen techniques for making today's most popular chain maille weaves--from simple chains to beaded wonders to intricate Dragonscale.
Jewelry artist and author Karen Karon pairs in-depth, step-by-step instructions with color illustrations that show exactly where to place the next jump ring. You'll also get a thorough but flexible approach to techniques that prove weaving can be done in a multitude of ways and demonstrations on "speed weaving," which is ideal for large projects. Designs progressively increase in complexity, so every jewelry maker--beginner or pro--will find inspiration and projects that suite their skill level.
What's more to love? Every chapter provides a unique jewelry project and a plethora of design advice, visual inspiration, shortcuts, tips, and tricks, as well as guidance for attaching clasps and findings. It's no wonder that Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop is the ideal resource for innovation and originality in chain maille jewelry making.
Really, clear, easy to understand instructions. Excellent diagrams and helpful hints like the starting aids.
Seems to cover every type of chain maille weave you could want.
I'm brand new at chain maille but have already successfully done 5 different weaves. I'm hooked!
I'm really glad that I chose this book among those offered on Amazon.
I had been debating between this book and another, but I am so happy that I chose this one after reading many reviews of each. The book has the most comprehensive chain maille instructions using diagram/CGI rather than pictures, using different colors to show different rings. There are a few weaves that I still don't understand like Jen's Pind, but that's a complicated weave to understand for many people. The bast part about the book is that it contains instructions for the base weaves and with an understanding of wire and beading, the reader can easily add beads and various weave combinations. A lot of other chain maille books have very specific designs that don;t translate into other combinations. Not only does the book teach you the fundamentals of each weave family, but also contains extremely helpful tables that will eliminate a lot of math and will allow you to better gauge wire diameter (inner & outer) as well as Aspetic Ratio if you don't have enough information to complete the aspect ratio equation (especially if you know the wire gauge, but don't have calipers available. I would love to see another book just like this one with additional weaves from Karon. For unusual, artist-created weaves visit[...]and check out the library!
This is one of the best books on chain maille out there, in my opinion. I got this book as a beginner and was able to follow the instructions on any project without fail. It has VERY well written instructions and diagrams to go along with them. I am a visual person and the diagrams helped immensely. I also love the fact that it gives you the ring sizes for both sterling silver and aluminum. I do not have the extra cash to buy silver rings for all of my projects - especially when I am first trying them out. Aluminum is an inexpensive way to try a project and see if you like it. I have had books in the past that only give the silver ring measurements, and I had to waste a lot of money buying several sizes of aluminum or copper rings to try and get the right size for the weave. That is not the case with this book. It is very helpful, clear, and concise.
This is BY FAR the best chain maille book I've got. I've purchased 8 or 9 others in the past -- which were all very nice -- but this is the first book that explains things in a way that makes sense. For instance, I've been doing the European 4-in-1 for years now, but this book showed me that I was taking the long way around. In addition, this book explains in clearer terms the whole inner diameter of jump rings and aspect ratio, etc., better. I can't say I have a grip on it yet, but this book took me leaps and bounds ahead. Also, the projects in this book go from easy to difficult and there are way more projects than I was expecting. If you do chainmaille - or want to do chainmaille -- you've got to get this book.
Simple clear instructions. And teaches everything you need to know about working with jump rings- What to do and what NOT to do.
Also love the designs, there are some beautiful projects. It also fires the imagination. This is the best chain maille book I own by far.
Great diagrams too, step by step. I am a visual learner so I can follow the diagrams. Or you can read, either way.
For both left handed and right handed. Awesome book Karen! Love It!
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