DIY Braided Chain Bracelet

I can’t believe I’ve had this blog for a year now and have never shared any DIY jewelry.  In high school and college I took multiple classes on jewelry making.  I did a lot of lost wax casting as well as soldering.  But until I can convince someone to convert our shed into a studio with a gas line for a blow torch, I’ll just stick to simpler jewelry DIYs these days.  Like this DIY braided chain bracelet.  I’ve been in need of a nice silver, every day bracelet so I made one.

One of my favorite reasons for making my own jewelry is that I can customize the size.  I happen to have really small wrists so most store bought bracelets are too big and constantly catch on things.  Bangles are the worst, they fall right off if I let my arm hang straight down!  The size of this bracelet is totally customizable.  Might as well make yourself a little Valentine’s Day present.  Heck, make two and give to a friend.  Grown up friendship bracelets anyone? ?

While I was trying to figure out what to make the bracelet look like, I knew I didn’t want just one chain.  Twists can be very hard to keep twisted, so a braid seemed like a great idea.  It’s not so dainty then, and I always love wearing texture – clothes or jewelry.  I chose a snake chain rather than a link chain because I thought that would make the braid pop more.

Since I wasn’t able to find a snake chain on it’s own I used a necklace set.  I cut the longer necklace in half which gave me three finished ends to hook together.

Then I braided.  I cut the ends once I braided it to the length I wanted.

To finish the ends, I found crimps with loops that matched the ones that came with the chain.  From there, I used my go-to glue to secure the chains.  I then added jump rings and was done!