Completed chain with toggle clasp
In my previous post I mentioned that I’ll be stepping down as Montengarde’s Emerald Rose (The Arts & Science champion for the barony of the SCA I’m in) and part of that step-down is finding a new champion.
At the request of some of the population in our kingdom, I got permission to open up the competition to people who will not be trying to become champion – but would like the chance to compete anyways. I hadn’t originally planned for that, but I thought it would be great to have a gift to give to the “runner up” – regardless if that person is or isn’t a member of Montengarde.
Since my championship project was a piece of Viking Knit (or one of them that is) I decided it would be nice to make a necklace for the winner. It’s a pretty gender-neutral kind of chain, so that would work for a male or female competitor.
The chain before coming off the dowel
I used silver-tone coated copper wire in 24 gauge (from Fire Mountain Gems) and did the chain in single-knit, with four “rungs”. The original chain while still on the dowel was about 42 cm long, and once I took it off and through the draw plate, the final length was 73 cm. Before I pulled the chain through the draw plate though, I captured a bead in the middle of the chain. I did trim it, and added on a modern toggle clasp.
The bead is possibly made of Carnelian – a gemstone commonly used by Viking Age Norse in their jewellery. (I had it in a container with a bunch of other beads, so I don’t know if it’s real or not.) This style (the captured stone) isn’t a style with any kind of documentation that I have found, but I think it’s pretty, and could be wearable in a mundane way – or with garb depending on the winner’s persona.
If you are in Calgary and are interested in coming out to the A&S competition – it will be taking place at Twelfth Night on January 23. Learn more on the Facebook event!
Wow! No wonder you are a Champion!