Making Crocheted Chain – Let’s Make Professional Jewelry Journal

After all the excitement of “All That Glitters”, I needed to slow the pace a little and spend some time learning and improving my jewellery making skills. I would love to do a course such as the “Silver Diploma” over at Jeweller’s Academy, but at this stage in my life, I don’t feel I can justify the cost or the time spent. In the meantime, I’m really happy that I came across a Facebook Group called “Let’s Make Professional Jewelry“, a group dedicated to making projects from the book of the same name, by Alan Revere. In today’s post, I talk about my attempts to make the crocheted chain.

Facebook Group Aim

The Facebook group was started by Alan Revere, and is moderated by a number of experienced jewellers. As mentioned, the group follows the book “Let’s Make Professional Jewelry” and replicates the projects within it. There is a Group A and a Group B. Group A focuses on making the Basic Projects from the book (which is obviously the one I joined!), whilst Group B focuses on the Advanced Projects. It equates to approximately 18 projects in a year.

I joined the group around April, which was a good time to join as they were just coming to the end of the previous project year, with the next “academic” year due to start on 1st June. This gave me some time to buy the book, and have a read.

Getting Started

Before I knew it, 1st June had rolled round. The group admin released a timetable of all the projects and I diligently added them to my calendar. I’ve planned all of my projects around our family holidays. The general group rule is that you follow along with the schedule – you cannot post photos of questions on projects that the group has not reached yet. You are allocated 3 weeks to complete each project. Throughout the 3 weeks, you have the opportunity to ask questions to the group along the way.

I was so excited to get started! And nervous and apprehensive… I mean, what if I couldn’t keep up with the project schedule? And what if I couldn’t actually make the things in the book? And what if? What if?! Yes, I spiralled a little bit! On 1st June, I posted a photo on my Instagram, announcing that I’d embarked on this project – I was committed! And then… nothing… I couldn’t actually start! The kids were on half term break and we spent a lovely week doing some much needed family activities in the sun… so that was a little bit of an anti-climax!

Starting the 1st Attempt

So I start my 1st attempt… I anneal a coil of wire (first time I did that… note to self: make sure you wrap one end around the bundle of wire. As the wire warms up and relaxes, there is a risk that the ends could ping out, in my opinion! It probably said that in the book, but I missed it).

I set-up the base loops, diligently wrapping my 0.5mm copper wire around my soldering pick and pulling as tightly as I can; measuring the loops out to 2.5cm and making 5 loops in total. I wrap the loops and start separating them into petals… it’s all looking a little messy, but I persevere! Then I try to splice on some fresh wire and start trying to weave, according to the instructions in the book.

One and a half hours later…

I really like this book because I like to follow along with projects. It also has lots of pictures to show you what to do, as well as detailed descriptions for each step. For something like the crocheted chain, I did find the book a little difficult to follow. I suspect this is nothing to do with the book, and everything to do with me. I’m a bit impatient and want to just get on! In this instance, I just couldn’t figure out which loop I was meant to thread my copper in and out of! So, I watched some more of Melissa Muir’s video – videos are an excellent support tool, especially for visual learners.

So by the end of my 1st attempt, I’d made this:

A little messy, I thought, but not too bad for a first go. I posted the photo to the Facebook group and sought advice on whether this was actually right or not! It turned out… it was not right!

Starting the 2nd Attempt

Undeterred, I started a second attempt after the children went to bed. From my point of view, my loops were too big and too loose. I felt that I was not getting the loops small enough because the soldering pick was too wide. To resolve the problem, I used a yarn needle to make the loops, as it was slightly smaller than the soldering pick.

I made the base loops in exactly the same way and spliced on a weaving wire. I started weaving the wire. Instead of pulling tight around the soldering pick, I was now pulling tight around the soldering pick, then the yarn needle and then lifting the stitch up with the yarn needle so that it was vertical. I was really pleased that this made a nice, tight stitch. I thought “I’ve got it!”. So I kept going… until I hit 4.5 inches.

At this point, I browsed the group again, looking at the other attempts. Then I realised that my chain still didn’t look like the same as everyone else’s!

So, I was a bit stumped. I mean, I was using a solder pick to line up my 2 loops; I was threading the wire through the 1st loop and out of the 2nd loop; and I was pulling everything tight and lifting up the stitches. So why didn’t mine look like everyone else’s?

Realising the Problem

One of the pointers mentioned by the FB group was that my loops should be vertical and touching one another. I mulled on this point for quite a long time as it confused me. I was making my new loop each time, and tilting it upwards so that it was vertical. However, I twisted each of my loops again to re-align them to the next loop in the sequence. So what was the point in making the loops vertical in the first place? I couldn’t figure it out, so I thought I’d just go again with a 3rd attempt.

3rd Attempt

My 3rd attempt was short-lived. For this go, I attempted to pull the loops upwards like a tulip (as suggested) rather than a daisy. I pulled all my loops super tight around the yarn needle. Then I found I couldn’t actually get the wire through the loops, even when I twisted the loops into position. The loops were too small and tight. “This can’t be right!” I thought.

4th Attempt and My “Ah-Ha” Moment!

After mulling the idea that the loops looked like knitted stitches and they were all meant to be vertical and touching one another, it occurred to me that knitted stitches are made in one loop – from the same side! They do not straddle either side of a loop. And that’s when I had my “ah-ha” moment! I had been over-thinking this all along! And also thinking that wire could be treated like yarn! It can’t.

The key was to thread the wire back into the same loop where it had come out from, from the same direction! Here’s a series of photos to show the stitch.

Just Keep Knitting, Just Keep Knitting!

Now that I had my “ah-ha” moment, I pretty much just kept going! Very soon, I had to anneal some more wire as I’d used up my 7.5m coil already in the first couple of attempts!

Once I clicked, I found the process of making this chain meditative and relaxing. For me, making a crochet chain is similar to knitting, which I can do without looking at my hands. I watched a lot re-runs of Friends, whilst I made my chain! I aimed to make a 16″ chain for a sort of choker length, but I was unsure when exactly to stop. Upon completion, the chain is drawn through a draw plate to tidy the loops and straighten the chain out. This process elongates the chain, but I just didn’t know by how much!

After watching Melissa Muir’s video again, I calculated how much I thought the chain would grow by and thought I should stop at 11″. Of course, I second guessed myself after reading around the subject, so I actually stopped at 14.5″.

Drawing the Chain

I bought a metal draw plate from Cookson Gold. But after doing some more reading, a wooden draw plate seemed to be the way to go. I assume so that you don’t warp or mark the wire. I ordered one from Ebay. It was a good job that I did! The holes on the metal draw plate were just too small for my chain to get through!

After the wooden draw plate arrived (who knew, you could feel so impatient with Royal Mail?!), I annealed the entire chain. I was a bit anxious about this part – mainly worried that I’d end up melting the chain. If I did that, I knew I’d be devastated after the sheer amount of time that went into making this chain! I successfully avoided melting the chain, then pickled and rinsed it.

Drawing the chain through the draw plate was really fun! The FB mentors do not advise you to draw down any more than 3-4 holes. The book says to lubricate the chain before pulling. I didn’t really know what to use, so I rubbed on the nearest waxy thing to hand – Renaissance Wax! Diligently, I threaded the chain through each hole, pulling it through with my hands. On the last pull, I resorted to using pliers to tug the initial inch through. Overall, the process of drawing the chain was very straightforward. And my finished chain looked like this:

Drawing the chain added approximately 4″ to the length, so that the final chain was 18.5″. A little bit longer than my planned choker, but a comfortable length none-the-less. I was really pleased that the drawn chain was neat and tidy, all kinks removed. After that, I polished with some rouge and all done!

The Book

Thus far, I’ve really enjoyed following this book. I love the way it’s organised into projects (similar to “Wire Jewelry Masterclass” and “2-in-1 Jewelry Manual”, both books which I use a lot!). The book contains lots of pictures to explain the steps, and is set-up with lots of extra boxes for hints and tips. I suspect I’m not getting the full experience from the book, as I’m on a Kindle version. I imagine that the printed copy is beautifully laid out and that you can see all the steps together on a double page spread.

I’m not too sure how I’d feel about working through this book by myself. I felt that I had to rely on the support of the FB group (both moral and technical!), quite a lot. My personal view is that it’s a book for jewellers with a bit more experience and wanting to take their basic skills further. That said, if you enjoy a challenge and like working through projects, this is a great book!

Next Project

I’ve finished with 4 days to spare until the next project kicks off! The next project will be Project 3 from the book – Hoop Earrings. I’m looking forward to it, as I don’t often make earrings! Join me on my journey – I record all of my projects in video form on my YouTube channel. And if you can’t wait for the next instalment, then feel free to check out some of my other videos!