European 4 in 1 Chain Maille Guide

The European 4 in 1 chain maille weave is one of the oldest forms of chain maille and was the weave of choice back in the middle ages (and long before) for creating armour. Here is a quick guide to get you started! It shows you how to create a small diamond Shape which can be turned into a key charm or even a pair of unique drop earrings when earwires are attached. The great thing about chain maille is that you need minimal materials to work with...

Things you will need:

Artistic Wire 18 gauge Chain Maille Rings 3.97mm or larger if you prefer. You can use any kind of Jump Rings as long as they are 18 gauge.
Two pairs of flat nose or chain nose jewellery Pliers (or one of each)

Step 1

Twist open a jump ring using your two pairs of pliers, slide on 4 closed rings then twist closed.

Step 2

Split the 4 rings into pairs, one pair each side.....

Step 3

Open two more rings and link one through each pair of rings on either side...

Step 4

Twist open another ring and hook through both of the bottom rings....

Step 5

Attach another ring to the two rings at the top, making sure it's laying in the same direction as the others...

Step 6

Open two more rings and hook through the ring on the right.

Step 7

Repeat Step 6 on the left side....

Step 8

Hook two more rings through the bottom ring. Split them up so one ring is laying either side and are in line with the other center rings.

Step 9

Open 2 more rings and attach them to the ring at the top. Then attach one ring to the pair of rings on the right, then another to the pair on the left...

Step 10

Hook one ring through the pair of rings at the top, then another through the pair at the bottom...

Step 11

Now this is the tricky part! Open a ring and this time you're hook it though the ring on the bottom pair on the right, the ring above that, then the ring to the right of that. So you're going through three rings before closing. Repeat on the left side. This is now filling in the edges of your diamond shape...

Step 12

Now you're going to repeat Step 11 at the top. So, open a ring and hook though the ring on the top pair of rings to the right, then through the ring underneath that, then through the ring to the right before closing. Repeat this on the left side completing the chain maille diamond!

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