posted: 2024-12-29

Mercury

Overview

While checking M.A.I.L. for interesting new weaves to make, I came across Mercury by ZiLi. Mercury is a neat member of the European family of weaves; it is essentially a 2-in-1 Chain with a unit of Box Chain orbiting every other ring connection. If you wish to try making it yourself, I found this tutorial by Bead Me A Story very helpful.

Materials

For the sample piece showcased in this post, I used Bright Aluminum rings purchased from The Ring Lord. The rings are 16 SWG with a 1/4" internal diameter, resulting in an aspect ratio of 4.03.

Notes

The Mercury weave is easy to understand. However, it can be tricky to make when adding the orbital Box Chain units; thankfully, adding them becomes easier with practice. You can make it even easier by making the 2-in-1 Chain longer than necessary and trimming it later. Aesthetically, the weave is quite pleasing. If the 2-in-1 Chain and Box Chain units use contrasting colours, it can become more straightforward to create, and the result can look much nicer. With its roughly square cross-section, bracelets, necklaces, and string/cord are great uses for it. While the weave looks pretty and has a variety of uses, I recommend learning it with the caveat that you should either have patience, prior experience, or access to differently coloured rings to reduce the difficulty.

Pictures

Flat

Flat: Angled

Flat: Profile

Vertical

Vertical: Profile

In Process