Silversilk Capture - Adding End Caps

Last week we rolled out the new SilverSilk(tm) Capture - which is a totally cool knitted wire chain with a bead chain "captured" inside.

I admit to being quite taken with the look of this chain - it has a dimensionality and sheen and suppleness to it that is more reminiscent of rattail - but is more complex on closer inspection. It is handsome in it's own right, and makes a fine partner for a single, flashy pendant.

And - when push comes to shove, the single, flashy pendant is what I am really, really good at. (Being the queen of the honkin' lampwork focal.)

I'm really impressed with the endcaps that go with it too - what a nice, finished end they make for it. Put together a chain with this and your friends are going to swear you bought the whole thing at some swanky boutique in the tony section of town.


To use, cut your chain to the length you want it. Mix up a little bit of glue - use the 2-part epoxy. (Actually - I tend accumulate things that need gluing, and do a bunch of things at once - but this often includes household repairs, such as gluing ears back onto beloved ceramic horses.)
Mix up the epoxy (use a disposable surface, like one of the zillions of tiny plastic bags that beads come in) with a toothpick - mixing until it is thoroughly blended (Count, 1-one thousand, 2-one thousand - up to 60). Start by mixing around the entire pool in a circle - ensuring the two parts are pulled and mixed together, then concentrate on the edge, making small circles, pulling the compound from the outside to the centre, then larger circles, making sure each quarter is thoroughly blended, then mixing the whole again.

Use a fresh toothpick to push a little blob inside the end cap, then push the chain inside, and using your parallel jaw pliers, squeeze it shut. (Parallel jaw pliers won't mark the surface, and you need quite a bit of oomph to shut these - they are not flimsy.)

If you got too much glue and it squeezes out the side, wipe it off (if it persists and makes a mess, wipe clean with vinegar - it cuts through the un-cured epoxy like a dream) - and then leave it to cure (24 hours.)





Attach your clasp - a lobster claw works very well - and the ring on the end cap is large enough to accommodate most of them without an additional jumpring, if you so desire.

Et voila! A gorgeous and sophisticated chain that enhances the pendant without overshadowing it.