Creating with cup chain that have holes on the sides allows you to make jewelry pieces which are more complicated in their structure. Here is a step by step tutorial for creating a wide necklace made from rows of metal chains.
The best thing about using this cup chain, is that it allows you to create such wide necklace with multiple row of chains that keeps its structure and show all the chains in a nice order.
Shure, you can make this kind of necklace using just one kind of chain in one plating color, but here you can see how using different kinds of chains in nickel, turquoise and beige colors emphasize the lines in a really nice way.
These are the basic steps for creating this kind of necklace:
1. First, decide how many rows you want in your necklace, and cut the cup chain to fit that number. Here I used the 39ss cup chain that which is being used as the main element that everything is connected to from each side.
2. Start with the first row of chains, the one closest to the neck. All the other rows will be fitted according to this row.
Close the chains at the back and put it on a mannequin for presenting necklaces of some sort, and continue your work, it will be much easier to work this way, you’ll see.
3. The main connecting element used to make this necklace is an eye pin. You simply slide it from the inner side of the setting towards the outside, cut half of it, and use the round nose plier to bend it into a loop shape that holds the row of chains close to the setting.
4. The turquoise and beige metal chains are connected with 5mm jump rings on the bar between the stone setting.
5. When you are done making the rows of chains you can look at the necklace and add some decorating elements to finish it off. I used the eye pin again, to hang small turquoise beads, and a long chain tassel hanging from the hole at the last setting at the center.
Another way to use these eye pins and make a pair of earring with chains:
You can also slide the eye pin all through the settings and make small loops on each side with the round nous plier tool, and hang chains or beads on the sides.
Don’t forget to bend that pin a little in the middle so that it will not prevent the crystal to set in its place when you are embedding it.
Have fun creating new jewelry every day!
GITA team.