Chain Maille info?
 

I just saw a really cute lampwork bead on a chain maille "flower pattern" bracelet and I think I'd like to learn how to do that. Any one have any info/ideas about where I should start or go to learn the basics? or is there a book I should buy?

I thought I would start with all of you because, you guys know best! :p

Thanks in advance!
~Lynn

I do some chain maille work. Some links with patterns:
http://cgmaille.com/index.shtml
http://artofchainmail.com/patterns/
http://www.chainmailbasket.com/tutorials.php

I have bought rings and findings from The Ring Lord (good stuff)
http://theringlord.com/

Good list of suppliers http://www.artofchainmail.com/suppliers.html

Many, many others out there.

I hope to incorporate my lampwork with the chain maille at some point.

Chain maille pattern
 

Hi Lynn.
I've done a small amount of chain maille. I believe the flower pattern is Japanese. I googled this and came up with this site.
http://www.beadingtimes.com/project1205.htm
I hope this is what you are looking for.
Or you can google free chain maille patterns. You will find quite a few good sites.
Good luck.
Karen

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU TWO!!!!!! Gosh, this is perfect and I truly appreciate it!!! I can't wait to start learning!!!

Take care & thanks very much!:love:
~Lynn

The links Rico gave you are the ones I used when I first got started with maille. Don't bother with a book. There is tons of info on the Internet. I teach several chainmaille bracelet classes and most of my handouts are printouts from the web.

Oh good to know! I was just looking online at my local library to see if they had any books, but you're right, why do that when I can just get it online!

Thanks so much!!

I do a lot of Chain Maille, and am in fact just a begining beader. My favorite site to look at ishttp://www.mailleartisans.org/
there are a lot of tutorials, and pictures of chain
If you have any questions I can help with I would be happy to.
Suzanne

Here's my favorite DVD on how to chainmaille.
The lady, Spider, is one of the best teachers - she
makes a lot of things clear on these DVD's.
It's well worth the price.

http://www.spiderchain.com/instructions/dvd.thtml

This is the DVD I was also going to recommend. AWESOME!!!

Ellen Black here on LE has a couple of great chainmaille tutorials available as well!

urbanmaille.com is also a neat site. They sell the rings in all different sizes, and you can purchase a kit that will include instructions for the chain you would like to make. I have never had a problem with any purchase from them. I am new to lampworking, and have only been at the torch for about 6 months. Hopefully, I can post some pictures soon.
Susan

I have questions about these links. Are you allowed to use the patterns to make bracelets, etc, to sell? I haven't sold anything because I wasn't sure.

They're generally commonly known weaves so there shouldn't be any restrictions.

Another great source for kits and supplies is: http://www.bluebuddhaboutique.com/

I do like Ring Lord, but if you live in the US and aren't buying much, the shipping costs can be steep (they're in Canada). BBB is generally going to save you some money on smaller orders.

The Ring Lord forums are a fabulous source for information and eye candy. http://www.theringlord.org/forum/index.php?/index

I use Ring Lord too. I just place a larger order ($60-75) so that it's worth the shipping.

Yes, you can sell the pieces that you make using the info in the patterns. If the pattern is copyrighted, you can't reproduce or sell the pattern without permission. It is always ok to sell the finished jewelry.

I do ALOT of chainmaille and sell alot of bracelets just from patterns I have found on the internet so there is no problem using them as they are well known patterns. I even add my own little unique bits like beads and different colored rings. I buy my rings from metal designz because I live in Canada, here is their link if you need to take a look:
http://www.metaldesignz.com/

Chainmaille is addicting and once you have mastered the basics, you will want to try the more complicated patterns, that's what I've found anyways...LOL

Have fun!

Janet

Oh, ok, thanks! See, I used to get Bead and Button. Then one issue a few years ago there was an article about ethics and copywrites. It discussed the fact that a pattern printed in the magazine was copywritten and that it was not ethical or legal to reproduce the work for sale. I thought I misread - I read the article several times to be sure I understood it. I had never done it, but I often drew inspiration from the magazine, and several of the tutorials they had were common patterns. I was annoyed by this article and the information in it and stopped getting the magazine. After all, where do you draw the line? Next thing you know, they'll say if you were inspired by the article, it was against the copywrite. When I started doing chain maille it reminded me of this so I was curious.

You can also make your own rings. It is easy and much cheaper! It's time consuming, but I like that I can say I made every part of my work, even the rings. :)