Classic Chain Mail Jewelry With A Twist-Book Review-Giveaway

I recently received the book, Classic Chain Mail Jewelry with a Twist by Sue Ripsch from Kalmbach Books. 

I've been interested in trying my hand at Chainmaille for a while, but haven't had any books, classes or tutorials on it so I could try it.  This book is great, although I think I might have been better off to try Sue's first book first.  But she goes into great detail about how to make your own jumprings if you want, along with hints on how to do that and even mentions a professional jump ring maker if you are going to be doing this a lot.  She has the support of her family, especially her husband who makes the jump rings for her and even sells them on their site.  Plus her daughter, Megan has been developing her own chainmaille weaves.  She also describes how to clean and polish your jump rings/jewelry in tumblers and mentions the 2 diffferent types of tumblers available and how they work. She then gives you info on what to use in your tumbler to get the most out of it and where to get the supplies you need.  Then she gets into the part that made me think I should have started with the first book. She has a great chart in there about the different gauges of wire jump rings and what their wire diameter in MM would be as well as a chart showing the conversion for jump rings made out of different gauges of wire. Then she explains what the aspect ration is, how to figure it and how to change it for a weave to get it to work/lay right.  However, math has never been my strong point, so I had to read this 3 or 4 times before I 'got' it. LOL  But she does such a good job explaining it, that I finally figured it out.  Then the fun begins.  She has sections fro Beginner Weaves, Intermediate Weaves and Advanced Weaves.  They all look like so much fun.  Like the European Rosette Bracelet weave.  This is the one I want to try as soon as I can find some jump rings. I'm a little disappointed it's been so hard to try to find jump rings locally, (and I'm not wanting to make a couple of hundred jump rings right now) so I'll have to order some so I can try my first Chainmaille bracelet.  Plus she gives ideas on the different weaves to change them up, add some extra bling to them, use twisted jump rings for a different look, etc.  Her descriptions, pictures and explanations are so throrough, even a beginner like me will be able to make some great Chainmaille pieces.  I can't wait to get some jump rings and get started.  The illustrations are wonderful and really enhance the weaves and descriptions.  Even if you haven't been thinking about trying Chainmaille, after reading this book, you'll want to dive right in. 

Sue shares her expertise in workshops across the country and her and her husband have an online business, "Jewwelry by Sue" where you can find her finished jewelry, kits and jub rings made by them for your chainmaille adventure.  Check this book out. You're going to love it.

Kalmbach books has such a great selection of books for every type of craft/crafter.  You need to check out their site for this great book if you're interested in Chainmaille or other books in your favorite craft.  Also, for another perspective of this book, check out Texas Pepper Jams. She's done a review of the book and is having a GIVEAWAY!

 

(The book above was provided by Kalmbach Books for review. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.)