Largesse for the New Kingdom of Avacal

A friend of mine from my former Barony in Alaska (Barony of Eskalya, West Kingdom) announced that she would be attending the coronation of the first King and Queen of the new Kingdom of Avacal. She had received permission from Their Highnesses of Oertha to make a presentation of largesse on behalf of the principality, and put out a call to aritisans of the Principality to contribute. I asked if she'd like items from *former* members of the principality, and she told me that would be grand.

Double-weave in progress.

I decided to do a handful of Viking knit chains that Their Majesties would be able to use for award medallions. Avacal's colors are red, silver and gold, so I decided to make two chains of each color.

I was nervous about the gold chains, though. After all, a gold chain is a mark of Knighthood. I sought the advice of several artisans from across the Knowne Worlde, and it was suggested that I include a note with the chains, stating that the intended purpose was for displaying award medallions. An *unadorned* gold chain is a mark of Knighthood; once it has a pendant, it's no longer regalia of the Order.

Single-weave silver chain.

I made one chain of each color in a six-loop, single-weave pattern out of 26-gauge enameled copper wire. For a mandrel, I used a Tide-to-Go pen. The cone findings were purchased from Michael's. The connecting ring is constructed of 20-gauge enameled copper wire, following instructions in Ancient Wire: An Illustrated Guide to Making Intricate Jewelry in the Manner of the Vikings and Other Ancient Cultures by Helene Jacobs.

Double-weave chains in red and gold.

For the second set of three chains, I used the same materials and again made one of each color, but this time I used a six-loop, double-weave pattern.

Experiment in progress.

I didn't stop at six chains, though: I experimented with a new single-weave pattern that alternates colors. My theory was that it would create vertical stripes after it was drawn. I think my theory was correct, but the chain needs to be woven around something much thinner than a Tide-to-Go pen. Or maybe it needs to be double-weave. In any case, it still made a pretty chain, so I included it in this lot for largesse.






Because I have a lot of down time at work, I made a couple more chains as well. All-in-all, I had nine of them finished and ready to mail.

Nine chains in assorted weaves and colors.

With a deadline of June 24, I still had some time to round out my contribution to the largesse pool. I decided to do a handful of fingerloop-braid cords, which could also be used for award medallions. Using my favorite pattern--"A Grene Dorge of vj Bowes"--I made six red-and-gold and red-and-silver cords.

Red and gold fingerloop braids.