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Learn a Weave

European 4-1 Cuff

This weave is one of our favourites and was used for centuries in mail armour. The weave has a wonderful flow to it and can be shaped to create a wealth of designs. European 4-1 is an essential building block for a whole range of weaves.

Which rings?
You can use nearly any ring size, each creating a different result. The higher the aspect ratio is, the looser the weave, the lower the weave the more rigid it will become. Jump rings with an aspect ratio of less than about 3 would not work.

For how to open and close your jump rings, have a look at the basic techniques page

EUROPEAN 4-1 CUFF

For a 17cm cuff, you will need:

(A) - 163 gold enamelled copper jump rings 4mm ID, 0.81mm (rd3-32cpr-gld)
(B) - 64 brown enamelled copper jump rings 4mm ID, 0.81mm (rd3-32cpr-br)
(C) - 12 gold enamelled copper jump rings 3.2mm ID, 0.81mm (rd2-32cpr-gld)
(D) - one goldtone 3-strand tube clasp
tools: two pairs of smooth faced chain nose or flat nose pliers

1. Open one jump ring (A) and place two closed rings (A) and two closed rings (B) onto the open ring and close. Arrange the rings as shown.
2. Link one open jump ring (A) through two jump rings from step 1 and add one closed ring (A) and one closed ring (B). Close your jump ring. Link the jump ring whilst your work is laying flat. Once you have linked the ring, lift the ring with your pliers to add the closed rings and to close the jump ring. Lay your work down and pat gently to reposition the rings. If your work does not lie properly, it is probably because a ring is incorrectly linked. Continue adding jump rings as in step 2 until the thin band of rings fits your wrist.
3. You will now widen the band of rings. Link one open jump ring (A) through the first two rings of your band and add two closed rings (A). Close your jump ring.
4. Open one ring (A) and link it through two edge rings and the lower ring added in step 3. Add one closed jump ring (A) and close the jump ring. Continue adding jump rings as in step 4 until you reach the end of your ring band.
5. Widening the ring band by another row is the same as in steps 3 and 4, except that you will be adding jump rings (B). Link one open jump ring (A) through the first two rings of your band and add two closed rings (B). Close your jump ring.
6. Open one ring (A) and link it through two edge rings (A) and the lower ring (B) added in step 3. Add one closed jump ring (B) and close the jump ring. Continue adding jump rings as in step 6 until you reach the end of your ring band.
7. At the top of your ring band, link one ring (A) through the edge ring and the second jump ring as shown. Close your ring.
8. Link one ring (A) through the second and third top rings and close.
9. Link one ring (A) through the third top ring and the edge ring and close. Repeat steps 7-9 at the other end of your ring band.
10. To add your 3-strand clasp, use two jump rings (C) to attach each loop of the clasp to the top rings added in steps 6-9. Take the clasp apart to join the other end of your cuff. If you would prefer, you can use the same size rings as those used to make cuff to join your clasp. We have used smaller rings as we felt these looked better.

Suggested Variations:

Make patterns – stripes, boxes, squares, triangles or diamonds. Draw a pattern on a piece of squared paper first to help.
Add beads to the edge rings as you make your cuff. Any bead that fits on a ring would work, although make sure it isn’t too small that it floats under the connecting rings away from the edge. For the cuff in our project, try using size 6 (4mm) seed beads.