A point of interest (aha moment)
A new definition on chains.
I came across this beautiful image on Instagram, a jewellery piece by a brand called Takara. I have been starting to consider the idea of the chain and how to go about constructing one but was struggling with creating something substantial. This Takara neck piece creates a beautiful alternative to just a pendant on a string as well as still having quite an organic feel to it.
Spring/Summer 2013 collection
Therefore I began to try to suss out how it was constructed, after a couple of futile attempts of trying fishtail plats and various knotting techniques, I came to the conclusion it was a form of wrapping around something in a figure of 8 construction.
My first attempt, taking something simple like wool and experimenting with various yarns and strings. The free nature of the wool resulted in quite a weak finish, too light and delicate.
Failure of the wool, I tried the technique on two strings of chain, using the figure of 8 wrap to bind the two together, resulting in a break through sample. The thread completely covers the chain, hiding it from view but also giving it a bit of weight which I think to be of some importance in jewellery. The covered chain also results in quite am appealing aesthetic, tonally and texturally.
I continued this exploration into the figure of 8 by trying it with different thicknesses of cord and rolled tape. It wasn't nearly as successful due to cord making it too rigid, not forgiving enough to have a malleable form. Also due to the flat texture of the cords, it made the surface quite unremarkable, unlike the chain which creates a really appealing texture.
