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Chainmaille with Beads and Crystals

Since maille became more popular for decorative and jewelry purposes rather than armor, there have been patterns and weaves designed that incorporate beads and crystals.  I have learned some weaves that use beads or crystals alongside the metal rings to add embellishment to the pieces themselves and some weaves that "capture" the bead/crystal in the mail and hold it without it actually being attached.  I'll get right to the pictures on this one since there will be a bit of a description of each piece.  As always, feel free to get in touch with me if you see something that interests you!  You can message me through here, here, or email me here.

African Bead Necklace, Bracelet, and Earrings
The African Beaded set includes hand-crafted beads known as Krobo Trade Beads from Ghana, Africa.  Each bead is made from recycled glass bottles and then hand-painted and sold using Fair Trade Principles.  This set is truly one-of-a-kind due to this. 














The next necklace is the Tear Drop Necklace, which uses the barrel weave to connect glass, teardrop-shaped beads together in small bunches. 
Tear Drop Necklace













Shaggy Loops Bracelet and Earrings


The Shaggy Loops bracelet and earring set use seed beads to add decoration and a little bit of jingle to a simple piece. 
The Spine of the Centipede Earrings













The Spine of the Centipede pieces uses Swarovski crystals embedded (with wire) into a lovely piece of maille jewelry to add a "spine" of sparkle.
The Spine of the Centipede Bracelets
The Lattice Bracelet and Earrings are made with Czech Quadralentil Beads. They are beautiful and unique beads with very pretty colors available.  This weave also makes a gorgeous set of earrings. 
Lattice Bracelet


Lattice Earrings





Captive Bead Bracelet and Earrings
Next is the Captive Bead Bracelet.  This one is unique because there is no wire or string holding the beads in place!  Only the rings are holding them in there.  The Flower Power Pendant uses this technique as well but adds a large ring around the outside to make the flower shape. 
Flower Power Pendant



 The Scarab Pendant is a VERY unique piece.  It is a rainbow hematite cabochon completely enclosed in rings, micro-gears, and rubber rings!  It is a little on the heavy side of necklaces but is truly beautiful.
Scarab Pendant
The next two pieces use Swarovski crystal rivolis.  They are simply being held in place by the rings themselves, like the captured beads above, there are no strings holding them in place.  They are Byzantine Captured Rivoli Pendants, one of which I made a small set of earrings in Byzantine Rose with a small crystal dangle to match and added a frog charm for a bit of fun.  These were made as Mother's Day gifts for my Mother-in-Law (purple) and my Mother (green) who loves frogs!

Byzantine Captured Rivoli Pendant
Byzantine Captured Rivoli Pendant with Earrings




















Whirlybird Pendant
The last picture on this page is an adorable pendant called a Whirlybird! It's (maybe) the size of an American Nickel coin and has a crystal trapped in there too! I call this one, in particular, my little ball of sunshine.  It's mostly due to the color and the little bit of sparkle that comes off of the crystal, but it can be done in any color you wish.



Rings, Kits, Crystals, and Beads for all pieces completed are from Weave Got Maille, American Chain Mail, Hyperlynks, Metal Designz.

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