Endless Maille Bracelet
Want the look of maille without the hassle of a clasp? Visit your local hardware store or order rubber rings from a jewelry supplier and incorporate into your maille weave! My version uses colored copper rings and small black rubber rings with a Byzantine weave, but you can use the concept to make "stretchy" maille bracelets in any design with almost any size rings and O rings.
Level: Intermediate
Materials (average sized wrist)
9 5/32 rubber O rings (available at most hardware stores)
126 20g 4mm jump rings
Two pliers (I use bent nose and chain nose)
If you are familiar with the Byzantine weave, you will simply be creating sections of Byzantine between two rubber O rings. My instruction are easy to follow text step-by-step. There are several maille web sites that have excellent pictorial instructions as well.
Close 36 jump rings
Open 90 jump rings
Step 1
Begin with a rubber O ring. With most chainmaille projects, you will tie a piece of loose wire or twist tie to the beginning, but I find the rubber O ring is sufficient for this project.
Step 2
Create a 1 in 2 in 2 in 2 chain using four open and two closed jump rings. The first link of the chain is the O ring.
Step 3
Fold the last two rings back toward the O ring.
Step 4
Spread middle two rings (they are now your last two rings) apart from each other. You can now access the top of the two rings you folded back toward the O ring.
Step 5
Add an open jump ring through the folded back rings, and add two closed rings to it Close the ring.
Step 6
Add another open jump ring through the folded back rings, and also weave the two closed rings you just added through it before closing.
Step 7
Add two more open rings to the last two rings and close them.
Step 8
Fold the last two closed rings back toward the center of the link.
Step 9
Spread the middle two rings apart so you can access the tops of the folded rings.
Step 10
Add an open jump ring through the folded back rings, and add an O ring to it. Close the ring.
Step 11
Add another open jump ring through the folded back rings, and also weave the O ring you just added through it before closing.
You've now created one link with two O ring ends. Repeat Steps 2-11 until you have used all the rings. During the last repetition of Steps 10- 11, you will attach the open rings to the first O ring instead of to a new one. This will finish your bracelet. Be sure that you lay the bracelet out first so that it is not twisted!
