Recently, a reader who was trying to learn Hilt/Quad Hilt, asked me if I had a tutorial available.  I had to admit that this weave was still on my “To Learn” list.  The reader’s inquiry provided the incentive for me to give it a try.  Here’s my quick tutorial on the weave. I hope you find it helpful.

Try using jump rings with an AR around 6.5-7.0 (depends on your intended use).  The weave is not super flexible, which limits jewelry applications and makes it better suited for sculptural objects.  I haven’t experimented with it very much yet.  I used 18 SWG, 5/16” id AA jump rings from Metal Designz for this tutorial. 

Hilt Chain (by Kendall Silver) is a 6-sided weave.  Jump rings are added in rows of 3.  There are 3 jump rings at each end, which makes it tricky to start.  I made a 3-loop starter from 20g colored craft wire.  Here’s what I did.

1. Wrap the wire around your fingers 3 times.
2. Remove wrap from your hand.
3. Twist into a bundle.
4. Shape loops at the end of the bundle in a Y shape, as shown.  Starter piece complete.

Start the Weave (the start will be unstable):

1. Thread 1 jump ring (silver) on to each loop of the starter.  3 jump rings added.
2. Add 3 more jump rings (pink), connecting the 3 silver jump rings – connect #1 to #2, #2 to #3 and #3 to #1 (avoid wire starter).
3. Repeat previous step with 3 more jump rings (turquoise).  Each silver jump ring now has 4 jump rings passing through it.

1. Hang weave upside down to position jump rings.
2. Pinch weave and turn it right side up.  Arrange the 4 jump rings (pink/turquoise) passing through the silver jump ring, so that the inner 2 jump rings (pink) sit higher than the outer 2 jump rings (turquoise).
3. Weave 1 jump ring (orange) through the 4 jump rings (pink/turquoise) that pass through the silver jump ring as shown.
4. Repeat above two more times around the chain to complete the row of 3 jump rings (orange).  Now the weave should be stable.

Special Note: When weaving on the sides of the chain, make sure to choose the 3 sides that look like the photo above:  Vertical jump rings (silver, orange, purple) stack on top of each other from start to end.  Horizontal jump rings (turquoise, pink, silver) form a row of nested V’s that point towards the start of the chain. (Jump rings on the other 3 sides are in the opposite orientation.)

Pattern Repeat:

1. Thread 1 jump ring (purple) through the top V (pink jump rings) on one side of the chain. This ring should stack above the previous vertical jump ring (orange).
2. Repeat previous step two more times around the chain to complete the row of 3 jump rings (purple).

1. Pick up chain to view the top of the weave.  Spread apart the last 3 jump rings added (purple).
2. Weave 1 jump ring (silver) through 4 of the last 6 jump rings added (purple/orange) as shown.
3. Repeat previous step twice more around the chain, completing the row of 3 jump rings (silver). 

Your weave now looks like the photo above.  Repeat the pattern until your chain reaches the desired length.

Quad Hilt:

Quad Hilt is an 8-sided Hilt Chain.  Jump rings are added in rows of 4, so there are 4 jump rings at each end of the chain.  You will need to use jump rings with a larger AR than those used for Hilt Chain to make Quad Hilt.  I didn’t have appropriately sized jump rings on hand.  I found an AR recommendation of 8.7 on the M.A.I.L. website.  Make a 4-loop starter from craft wire to begin Quad Hilt.

1. Wrap the wire around your fingers 4 times.
2. Remove wrap from your hand and twist into a bundle.
3. Shape loops at the end of the bundle in a cross shape, as shown.  Starter piece complete.

Weave as follows:

1. Start Quad Hilt in a similar manner to Hilt Chain.
2. Weave in the same manner as Hilt Chain, working 4 times around each row instead of 3 times.

Click here to download a PDF copy of this tutorial.