Spiderchain Jewelry

Boutique Jump Ring Manufacturer

0 items
| My Account
  • Learn
    • Beginner
    • Intermediate
    • Advanced
  • Shop
    • Jump Rings
      • Sterling Silver
      • Jewelry Brass
      • Copper
      • Goldfill
      • Goldfill Rose
      • Goldfill White
      • Niobium
      • Rubber
    • More Jump Rings
      • Gauge Samplers
      • AR Samplers
      • Large AR Rings
      • Color Samplers
    • DVDs
    • Books
    • Kits
      • Spiderchain
        • DVD 1
        • DVD 2
        • Step by Step
        • Project Maps
      • O. Sebastian
        • Phaedra
      • Rebeca Mojica
      • Scott Plumlee
    • Tools
    • Findings
    • Limited Editions
  • Reference
    • FAQ
    • Available Sizes
    • Sample Grid
    • Family Portraits
      • Basic 2-in-1
      • Jens Pind
      • European 4-in-1
      • Birdcage
      • Snake
      • Box
    • All About Metals
    • All About Niobium
  • Blog
  • Gallery

Stepping Stone Pendants

March 18, 2016 By Spider 2 Comments

Liz is a chainmailler who loves color! She’s been collecting colorful glass pendants to use in gifts for her family, and she wanted to make niobium necklaces to to compliment each pendant, all the same pattern of chainmail.

  • Color? Check.
  • Clever idea? Check.
  • Variations on a theme? Check.

This is my kind of project!

Liz planned to use the Japanese Stepping Stones pattern from Modern Chain Mail Jewelry by Marilyn Gardiner. We knew the sizes would need to be “tweaked” a bit, so I did some testing.

Version 1:

This is fairly close to the sizes listed in the book, with a bit of adjustment in the brass rings to allow enough ease for the weave geometry. And yes, there is enough ease – but only barely enough. This version is fairly stiff, but holds the pattern of the weave beautifully.

Version 2:

A slightly smaller “stepping stone” and a slightly looser overall fit.


Liz preferred the look of the larger stepping stones and also the more “crisp” weave structure. With the weave specifics sorted out, it was just a matter of choosing colors to go with each pendant. She was kind enough to ship me the actual pendants (so much easier for color matching!) and I got to play a bit, show Liz some good options…

Water mix, and yellow goldfill.
Peacock mix, #0 niobium, and white goldfill.
Pastel mix, #80 and #90 niobium, all three goldfill colors.
Pastel mix, #70 niobium, white and yellow goldfill.

…and then Liz made the final decisions. I shipped her rings off and then held my breath until she sent this picture:

Nicely done Liz!

It was a real treat to be part of the creative process for this project. Definitely (definitely!) my kind of project… *beam*


14mm PhaedraAs so often happens, I got caught up in the enthusiasm of the project and decided to make a version of my own. I was intrigued by the contrast of the two variations, and decided to see what they’d look like combined. After seeing that they worked very nicely together, I was too impatient to take the complex weave all the way around the necklace, so I transitioned to a simplified chain that still has some of the same Stepping Stone feel. I had no fused glass pendants on hand, but I think this 14mm Phaedra fills in quite nicely!

Here’s a closeup of the different textures. One advantage of the simpler weave (besides being faster to make) is that it’s more flexible than either of the Stepping Stone variations, especially side-to-side. Or maybe I’m just justifying being a bit lazy! *grin*

Filed Under: Fun Projects, Size Testing

Comments

  1. Liz says

    March 19, 2016 at 4:46 pm

    I really appreciate all your help in this project! Like I said
    before….I was impressed how nice it all turned out. Your “mock ups”
    and our brief phone conversation were a Great help in working on a
    style I have never done before. It was a hard project but it was so
    rewarding to be able to make it come out looking so nice. It’s a
    project that am not tired of yet. I so DO Love your niobium ring
    colors. They are so special and they are made with such care.

    Reply
    • Spider says

      March 19, 2016 at 4:50 pm

      Your necklaces came out so gorgeous – nicely done!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • About
  • Mailing List
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Spiderchain Jewelry

Create a new list