Japanese Chain Maille Jewelry Tutorials / The Beading Gem

The Japanese call chain maille "kusari" which means chain. The samurai used it as armor particularly during the 13th to 14th centuries. We now have far more peaceful ways of using chain maille! So let's celebrate Japanese weaves.

One of the easiest ways is to make a focal as I did a few years ago. If you need a tutorial, then check out the one written by Obstinate Pursuit. She used twisted wire jump rings which, as you can see above, made the design prettier!

The Japanese style is lovely if you use the technique to make flower motifs. Beadaholique came up with a great video tutorial for this matching bracelet and ring set.

The instructor does go over the size of rings you need. If you have jump rings at home and wish to attempt this, please make sure that the middle rings are large enough to take 6 pairs of smaller rings.

I've featured Marilyn Gardiner's Japanese flower jewelry tutorials before. The pretty necklace and earrings instructions really complete the jewelry set! The step by step close up photos are very clear and quicker to digest than a 16 minute video!