The Chainmail Hand Flower Blooms At Tangled Metal

Chainmail Hand Flower with Teal Glass Beads from Tangled Metal

I have been making "Hand Flowers" in one form or fashion since the early 90's. Originally I made only metal ones. They were far from feminine and looked more like armor than jewelry. In fact, I called them hand guards back then. It wasn't until my month suggested that I do some with beads that I even considered making jewelry from my armor.

All of the ones I could find pictures of were pretty simple and had very few beads. Most had beads and chains. The closest one to what I make now only had 21 beads. It was made with beads and chains and looked more like a net on the top of the hand. I had been working with Oriental chainmail patterns for a while and decided to try that technique with beads.

There are two distinct Oriental patterns 4-in-1 and 6-in1. Both are much different from the European patterns because they originated from coins linked together by rings. When you lost a coin you replaces it with a ring. Later they realized that rings were just as protective as coins and weighed less. Or so the story goes. Back to hand flowers.

The oriental 6-in-1 looks like a flower and lends itself nicely to a triangular shape. With much trial and error I finally perfected the process. My hand flowers have 30 beads. Many have copied me over the years and I may not be the first to implement a 30 bead hand flower but I did come up with it on my own. The teal glass bead one above was featured in a treasury that put me on the front page of Etsy.

With the high price of silver and gold these days I work primarily in stainless steel. I do, however, love to work in sterling and gold. So, if you so desire it and do not mind paying the added cost, I can make one for you in a precious metal. I also love to work with stone and gemstone beads on my hand flowers. Let me know what you like and I can surely make it for you.

For more information and to view some of the other color hand flowers I create visit my Chainmail Bracelet Section of my Etsy Shop:

Chainmail Bracelet Section of Tangled Metal's Etsy Shop

Thanks for stopping by and reading my latest blog post. I am always open to suggestions for my next blog, questions and comments and general feedback. If you have something to say, leave me a comment.