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Chain and Bead Jewelry Creative Connections: New Techniques for Wire-Wrapping and Bead-Setting
Far from its original utilitarian use—to create armor—the chain-mail technique has been adapted over time to create beautiful, unique jewelry. In Chain and Bead Jewelry Creative Connections , chain-mail expert Scott David Plumlee shows jewelry makers, beaders, and crafters at all skill levels how to incorporate beads into a variety of chain-mail weaves to create showstopping pieces.
First, Plumlee walks readers through basic skills and provides detailed information on traditional chain designs. He then presents more than 20 wire-wrapping and bead-setting techniques that incorporate beads seamlessly into a variety of designs, from the creative “Chaos” wire-wrapped bead to the sinuous Snake.
With step-by-step instructions for assembling age-old chain patterns—from simple to complex—and gorgeous designs that can be executed using only simple hand tools, Chain and Bead Jewelry Creative Connections is sure to inspire jewelry artisans at all levels to expand the creative possibilities of their work.
First, Plumlee walks readers through basic skills and provides detailed information on traditional chain designs. He then presents more than 20 wire-wrapping and bead-setting techniques that incorporate beads seamlessly into a variety of designs, from the creative “Chaos” wire-wrapped bead to the sinuous Snake.
With step-by-step instructions for assembling age-old chain patterns—from simple to complex—and gorgeous designs that can be executed using only simple hand tools, Chain and Bead Jewelry Creative Connections is sure to inspire jewelry artisans at all levels to expand the creative possibilities of their work.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2009
14 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Scott David Plumlee
63 books6 followersTo know thyself is the greatest journey, and I’m the type of guy that climbs a volcano in the dark to watch the sunrise. I have traveled to more than 50 countries, taken millions of photos, and now combining my stories and images into a series of digital eBooks to inspire others to discover their inner wanderlust. I am currently loving life in beautiful Thailand, working as an English teacher and fulfilling my novelist dreams. You can review the full list of travel book titles about my adventures in New Zealand and Vietnam at
my website
.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 26, 2010
Crafts. There are some really beautiful pieces in here; necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and keychains made from chain, beads, and several wire-wrapping techniques developed by the author.
The book starts with your standard introduction to jump rings, pliers, and assorted tools. It's a little different from the other crafts books I've been reading in that this one requires a lot of specialized tools (author: you need these pliers I developed myself!) and Argentium sterling silver and three-prong chucks and other things you're unlikely to have lying around the house unless you already have a small business making jewelry. Plumlee has a very specific way of doing things, and that's fine, but it means this book is geared more towards an advanced designer or professional. If you're neither of those things, you can't just pick this up and get started; you'd probably need to do a lot of shopping first.
Each project has step-by-step instructions and photos of nearly every step in the process, but the required materials are written out in a paragraph, not a list, so it's not easy to tell at a glance what you need. There's also a description of the piece, which is nice because it highlights design elements and talks about weight, movement, and color.
But, I'll be honest, sometimes I didn't care for Plumlee's attitude: "Ultimately, my goal with this project is to show women how to make a chain with weight and girth that their husbands or boyfriends would actually wear." I don't even know where to start. His patronizing tone? His promise that men will actually wear this bracelet? His use of the word "girth"? Why not just go ahead and show us ladies how to make a penis bracelet, Plumlee. So that irritated me. On a less personally affronted note, he makes a stupid mistake in the introduction, saying that the inner diameter (ID) of a jump ring will be the same as the diameter of the mandrel used for wrapping the wire into a coil. Eight pages later he contradicts himself and says, correctly, that the ID will not be exact, as some metals will experience spring back after being removed from the mandrel and expand. Even I know that, and I didn't know what a mandrel was two months ago.
Three stars. Innovative design and a variety of pieces, some with beads, some without. There are a lot of pictures, but the ones that accompany the chain designs are not as helpful as they could be. I liked Whyte's color-coded approach better.
The book starts with your standard introduction to jump rings, pliers, and assorted tools. It's a little different from the other crafts books I've been reading in that this one requires a lot of specialized tools (author: you need these pliers I developed myself!) and Argentium sterling silver and three-prong chucks and other things you're unlikely to have lying around the house unless you already have a small business making jewelry. Plumlee has a very specific way of doing things, and that's fine, but it means this book is geared more towards an advanced designer or professional. If you're neither of those things, you can't just pick this up and get started; you'd probably need to do a lot of shopping first.
Each project has step-by-step instructions and photos of nearly every step in the process, but the required materials are written out in a paragraph, not a list, so it's not easy to tell at a glance what you need. There's also a description of the piece, which is nice because it highlights design elements and talks about weight, movement, and color.
But, I'll be honest, sometimes I didn't care for Plumlee's attitude: "Ultimately, my goal with this project is to show women how to make a chain with weight and girth that their husbands or boyfriends would actually wear." I don't even know where to start. His patronizing tone? His promise that men will actually wear this bracelet? His use of the word "girth"? Why not just go ahead and show us ladies how to make a penis bracelet, Plumlee. So that irritated me. On a less personally affronted note, he makes a stupid mistake in the introduction, saying that the inner diameter (ID) of a jump ring will be the same as the diameter of the mandrel used for wrapping the wire into a coil. Eight pages later he contradicts himself and says, correctly, that the ID will not be exact, as some metals will experience spring back after being removed from the mandrel and expand. Even I know that, and I didn't know what a mandrel was two months ago.
Three stars. Innovative design and a variety of pieces, some with beads, some without. There are a lot of pictures, but the ones that accompany the chain designs are not as helpful as they could be. I liked Whyte's color-coded approach better.
July 27, 2025
I've read the author's other two jewelry books and found this one the most interesting. The projects presented are attractive and his step-by-step instructions to getting there are clear, as are the accompanying photographs. As an amateur jewelry maker (but I do have my own acetylene torch) I am very thrown off by a very basic aspect for his loop-forming! I was always taught to center the loop over the bead, but he does not (p. 35) resulting in dangles that look to me, odd-ball. I can't get over it! But that excluded, the introductory Chain and Bead Basics and Essential Techniques is very good. Beginners will learn a lot from this book and the finished pieces are creative.
May 28, 2022
I bought two books from this author. Overall, they were a disappointment. The patterns are not original and lack variety. Also, the instructions are somewhat disjointed which may not be a problem if you are already an expert, in which case you don't need these books. The illustrations are ok though. There are better jewellery-making books out there.
September 22, 2019
Good for the intermediate chain mail jeweler
This is not a good book for beginners, but rather for people who have already mastered basic skills as well as some chain mail weaving. I loved the variety of pieces shown and perhaps I’ll try some eventually.
This is not a good book for beginners, but rather for people who have already mastered basic skills as well as some chain mail weaving. I loved the variety of pieces shown and perhaps I’ll try some eventually.
March 12, 2017
Excellent resource for jump-ring chains. Double Chain, Byzantine, Three Ring Flower, Three-Ring Mobius, Four-Ring Mobius, Japanese 12-1 Chain, Japanese 8-2, Inca Puno, Snake
January 16, 2010
This guy makes beautiful chains... from wire. He makes his own jump rings. It is positively frightening. Very professional. I like the chaos and tornado wrap techniques, would like to learn those.
June 21, 2016
This would be a great book for someone wanting to learn to do chain maille. This is not my interest, however. It is full of patterns, excellent photos, cogent instructions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews