Viking Knit

Along with learning how to wire wrap cabochons, I've also been taking classes on how to weave a chain out of wire. Surprisingly, it is super easy. I have never heard nor seen this before, so I was intrigued. The process is called, "Viking Knit." If you googled those words you could easily find how to create your own loom and create your own chain. Seriously easy-peasy.
Here is the first piece I created, a bracelet. It wasn't intended to be anything... but it ended up being long enough to fit around a wrist, so "ta-da" a bracelet! I pulled it through the draw-plate as far as I could which created the super tight weave-- which I don't particularly like, so I won't pull anymore this tight in the future. I created a second  length of Viking Knit with the remaining silver that was on the spool. Practice makes perfect. The second piece measures at 15 inches. I would have liked this one longer but ran out of wire. Again, I feel I should have stopped pulling the wire knit through the draw-plate before it got so compressed.

Here is another piece I made, this piece was made using super cheap/common 24 gauge copper spool wire that cost about $3.00 a spool. I have been pulling off wire from this spool for years, even so with what remained, it made a woven length that measured at 18 inches straight off the loom. Once you pull it off the loom, you use junk wire to use as a pulling handle to tug it through the draw-plate.
After pulling it through the plastic draw plate it created a wire woven chain that measured at 36 inches. Pure magic I tell you! The absolutely hardest part of creating a Viking Knit chain is not making it long enough to have a really nice length of chain. I had read online that you can make a super long Viking Knit chain and cut it up and use the pieces as it doesn't unravel because it is wire.
So, with that in mind, I just kept using the wire off the spool until I ran out. That is how I determined the length....figuring I could cut it to make it shorter with no heartache. The length is actually perfect so that was a happy outcome.

 To make the ends of the necklace I made some coils and added that over the thicker end wire attaching the clasp as I created the ends.

 Actually, the necklace is long enough that it doesn't need an actual clasp, but I like how it looks.

I like making the Viking Knit chains. They are super easy and are nice to have a "go-to" project I can work on mindlessly while talking on the phone or listening to the television. Plus, it is a nice way to get rid of all my junk wire. *wink*
big hugs,
Cheryl