Categories: Experiences and daily life; Jewelry
Word count/read time: 438 words; 2 minutes
Recently an order came in for a matching bracelet and necklace set using the
Half Persian 4-in-1 weave. They were small rings: 3/16" inner diameter with
0.92mm round wire. Thanks to my trusty spreadsheet and the fact that I already
made an identical bracelet previously, I knew how many rings I'd need
and how long it would take.
I didn't have enough wire on hand to make them both so I grabbed some larger wire
and drew it down to size. I wasn't going to mix-and-match jump rings from different batches,
not that it would matter, and I had to make new ones anyway.
Regardless, there'd be another gaggle of leftover rings to bolster my stash.
Drawn, coiled, cut, and cleaned, it was time to start building. It's been a while so I had
to consult my tutorials. Some weaves can be a pain to start,
especially in smaller sizes; I didn't fuse the first 15-20 rings so I could get a stable
weave to build upon.
One wise piece of advice is to keep a starter segment for the tough weaves,
putting the starter back in the tool kit afterwards. Obviously,
I hadn't heeded this credo. With so many weaves and different sizes, do
I want hundreds of costly segments doing nothing...for eternity?
This starter would only be
a few dollars, and the time saved on the next weave would make it worthwhile.
Again, a few dollars times a hundred is no longer just a few dollars!
Fortunately, some could ultimately be used for other sizes as well.
You have to pick your battles.
While copper is cheaper and easily drawn into any wire size,
I'd have to solder the rings closed. Unfortunately, the solder would remelt
and make a mess once I started making a weave from it.
Maybe a quick zap from one of my welders would be strong enough to endure,
as ugly as it would be, without worrying about a molten waterfall.
Stainless rings would be best even if the sizes are not exact.
However, it's back to spending more money on rings that will never be used
except for a short section. It's wasted inventory in a sense.
At least they don't take up much storage space, and anything made from them
would basically be indestructible.
In the beginning you can start it anew or plan ahead. Sometimes preparations
are fruitless as the situation never happens again. I opted to make a small chain section with
the rings that were used to start the weave since I wouldn't re-use
them on a finished product. It's a step better than the scrap pile.
Posted by M: October 26, 2026
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