The Viking Weave

This is a very old and simple method of weaving wire that can be used to make necklaces and bracelets. Whether you are looking for some accessories to round out your viking garb or you just want to make some cool looking jewelry this is fun and easy requiring a minimum of tools to accomplish. Here is a really simple piece that I made using some copper wire and a polished stone that I got from the aquarium section of walmart.

Ok so you only need a few things to do this. You need a pair of pliers, a dowel rod or tube, a board with a hole drilled through it, a roll of wire, safety glasses (highly recommended), some beads and/or decorative pieces to add to the wire.

Start by taking some wire and wrapping it around a credit card or gift card. Make six complete loops. Then remove the loops and make tight wrap around the bundle about a third of the way down.

Now spread the loops out into a flower pattern like this and put it over the end of the dowel rod. Make sure to get them evenly spaced then tape the jig in place so that it doesn't move.

Next start looping the wire like this.

You can estimate that the finished length of the chain will be around double the length what it is on the dowel rod. This may differ slightly depending on the size of the dowel that you use verses the size of hole that you use for pulling but you will figure it with a little experimentation.

Once you have the weave to the length that you desire then you feed it through the hole drilled in the board and pull it through with a pair of pliers. This narrows the weave down to the desired diameter and stretches it to length.

Wire types can be almost any wire but some wire will oxidize and turn colors on you. It is possible to find gold or silver plated wire. From craft stores you can find multiple colors of wire and copper wire can be found from most hardware stores. You can also find clasps and beads at craft stores to decorate  your jewelry. Feel free to alternate colors in the weave or you can add yarn, ribbon, beads, or stones to the inside of the tube before pulling it to give color contrast.

The weave can also be wrapped around stones like this to create a center piece or an amulet for the jewelry.

Cool amulets, end pieces, clasps, and beads can be found online or at craft stores. I like Fire Mountain Gems as a resource to get a lot of this stuff.

with a little imagination or some research on line for ideas you can come with a lot of really cool ways to utilize this ancient method for making fine jewelry. You can even experiment by mixing unconventional style together, changing up the number of loops, or doing extra wraps of wire instead of single loops to give a different look.

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial.

Thorne the mercenary.