Faire Lady Anklet

I was inspired to make this project after attending a local Renaissance Festival — the combination of maille and beads looks like something a lady of the Middle Ages might wear!

I used annodized niobium and sterling silver rings from The Ring Lord, some clear silver-lined beads and a lobster clasp. The number of rings you'll need will depend on the length of your anklet — materials shown are for an average size anklet. This anklet is light and airy, and when worn, the dangles hang nicely! Another option instead of the beads would be tiny bells.

Materials
18g 5/32 inch Shimmering Brown annodized niobium rings (31)
18g 5/32 inch Dark Rose annodized niobium rings (30)
20g 7/64 inch sterling silver rings (102)
Clear silver lined beads (hole large enough to thread jump rings through) (10)
Lobster clasp (1)

Level: Intermediate

Close all sterling silver rings and open all niobium rings using Beading Help Web's jump ring opening/closing instructions. To keep my patterns straight, I divided my brown and rose rings into piles of three each (each pile will be one section of your chain or one dangle).

1. Using a bent nosed pliers, pick up a brown niobium ring, and thread a closed sterling silver ring on it. Close the niobium ring. I like to add a piece of scrap wire, a clasp, or a bread tie to the niobium ring so I have something to hang on to and to mark the end of my piece.

2. Pick up another brown niobium ring, thread two closed silver rings on it. Thread the open niobium ring through the silver ring that you added in the last step. Order of the rings is now: brown niobium ring, silver ring, brown niobium ring with two loose rings.

3. Pick up another brown niobium ring, thread three closed silver rings on it. Thread the open niobium ring through the last silver ring in your last step. Close the niobium ring. Now your chain will look like this: niobium ring, silver ring, niobium ring with one silver ring hanging down, silver ring, niobium ring with three loose rings.

4. Pick up another niobium ring, thread two closed silver rings on it. Thread the open niobium ring through the last silver ring in your last step. Close the niobium ring. Now your chain will look like this: niobium ring, silver ring, niobium ring with one silver ring hanging down, silver ring, niobium ring with two rings hanging down, silver ring, niobium ring with two loose silver rings.

NOTE: Be sure when you are threading the new rings that the loose silver rings are on the same side of the chain! If not, your dangles won't hang properly.

Repeat steps 2-4 until your chain is the length that you would like your anklet to be. Average size for an anklet is 9 inches. My anklet used 9 repetitions of the pattern, plus one extra niobium ring at the end to hook into the clasp.

Dangles:

5. Pick up an open rose niobium ring, and thread two closed silver rings on it. Thread the rose niobium ring through the loose silver ring on the second brown ring in your chain, then through the first loose ring on the third brown ring of the chain, and close the rose ring.

6. Pick up another rose niobium ring, and thread one closed silver ring on it. Thread the rose ring through one loose silver ring on the rose ring you added in step 5 (the loose ring that is on the right), and through the loose rings in the third and fourth brown rings in the chain. Close the ring. Your dangle will now look like photo #7.

7. Pick up another rose ring and thread a bead on it. Thread the ring through the two loose rings on the bottom of the dangle, and close the ring. Your dangle is now complete!

Repeat steps 5-7 until you've finished all dangles. Add a lobster clasp and one additional silver ring (you might want to use a larger ring) and your Faire Lady Anklet is complete!

The Finished Product
Click Image To Enlarge

-- L. Kvigne