This fun "chaos" weave was introduced by Motorcyclemama on The Ring Lord Forum. It's essentially a 2-1 chain with extra rings added to each link in the chain. It has a lot of versatility, depending on how it's presented and the ring size used. When it's hanging straight down it tends to have a geometric appearance, but the loose rings keep it from becoming static. This works especially well for earrings. When laid out flat, the extra rings are free to flop around and the weave turns "shaggy" (as in the photo on the right above). This makes for interesting bracelets, necklaces, and anklets.

Shaggy loops can be made with rings with a relatively small AR. The earrings in the first example photo above are made with 18swg 1/8" rings (AR~2.6). With a higher AR, the weave becomes much more open, allowing the loose rings to flop more freely. The earrings in the second example photo are made with 20awg 1/8" rings (AR~3.9). Just about any ring size(s) can be used, as long as four rings can fit in one closed ring.

Making the chain is rather simple. It can be done by adding individual rings to a 2-1 chain, but this procedure is much faster since the loose rings are added as the 2-1 chain is made. There are probably even faster ways to do it, but this is the method I like. The diagrams show the chain being made from the bottom up. Gray rings are preclosed rings; gold rings are open rings used in the current step; bronze rings are the open ring from the previous step.

Procedure

1. Put three closed rings onto an open ring. Close the ring.

2. Put two closed rings onto another open ring. Pass that open ring (gold) through the open ring (bronze) from the last step. Close the ring.

3. Separate the two loose closed rings (gray) so they lay on either side of the chain.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the length of the chain.

Notes

* You can add wire-wrapped beads, crystals, or whatever you like in addition to or instead of the loose closed rings, or try mixing metal colors for different effects.

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