Drawing Your Chain

Remove the dowel rod from your chain.  Secure the drawplate in a vise, between your legs or against the bottoms of you feet with your legs outstretched.  Put the twisted end of your staring bundle into hole in the drawplate that is just barely will fit in.  Use the flat-nose pliers to pull on the starting bundle through the hole.  (If you're securing the drawplate between your legs or against your feet, you'll want to have your chain partially started through the hole before you secure the drawplate.  You'll need to use the force of the pull to hold the drawplate in place.) Repeat this in the next smallest hole and so on. Optionally, you can pull the chain through the same hole a second or third time. Keep working your chain through smaller holes until you feel that the chain stays firm after it’s pulled through the same hole twice. You may need to soften up your chain to make it more flexible. You can do this by running it around an old chair leg or dowel rod and pull it back and forth a couple of times. Be careful not to mess up your furniture.

Last But Not Least

You need to snip off the starting/anchor bundle and any ugly rows of knitting at the beginning of your chain.  Use the needle to work in any loose bits and the freshly cut end so only one wire remains at each end of the chain.  Your chain is now ready to have end caps and a clasp attached.

The easiest way to cap you chain is to by ending "cones" in the same metal you're working in.  They are a category of supply called "findings."  You'll also want to buy a clasp.  Store bought clasps are not very Viking, but they are the easiest to do for the first time you make a chain.  If you want something more authentic, look at the photographs and resources mentioned to see how it was really done.

Thread a new piece of wire through your chain's end and twist it closed to make a short loop (you want it to barely stick out of the cone when you're done).  Pinch this loop to make it small enough to pass through your cone and slide the cone over your loop to cover the end of your chain.  It might be a good idea to epoxy the cone onto your chain for extra strength.  Do this again on the other end of the chain.  Then use your needle-nose pliers to attach the clasp to both loops.  You may need to buy jump rings to attach the clasp to the loops if you clasp does not come with any.

Welcome to a beautiful art form. Knitting takes on a whole new meaning now... I strongly recommend that you purchase Peterson's book.  It's less than $20 and goes into many more styles and techniques than the one we covered today.  ENJOY .

Apollonia Voss, ApolloniavossNOSPAM@comcast.net.  Apollonia Voss is a 10th Century Eastern Frank living in Constantinople. She is a goldsmith apprenticed to Mistress Brianna Yseulte Wynman, Crafty Fox, of Stonemarche.  Apollonia moderates an email-group for Historical chainmakers  Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/historical_chain_makers/ to join or for more info.