The Fat & Chunky Paper Chain

I've always loved chains, especially those from the retro '80s era—that classic hip-hop and underground street style. Unfortunately, these chains are quite expensive, but today we can make a prop for your costumes or stage sets at a low cost. All you need is gold paper, a printer for the templates, glue, and patience.

Below you'll find the detailed list of materials.

For this project we will use basic materials that we all have at home, such as:

1. Templates (check the step 3 for download)
2. X-acto.
3. Scissors.
4. Glue/Hot Glue.
5. Ruler Optional
6. Embosser.
7. Gold Paper/Gold Party paper plates

After the Instructables 20th anniversary party, I had some decorative gold plates left over, which I thought were too pretty to throw away, so I kept them waiting for a special occasion to use them. Then, when I saw the jewelry contest, and the first thing that came to mind was how I could take advantage of the shine of these plates to make something eye-catching.

For the design, I was inspired by the Cuban style of chunky retro chains, characterized by thick, tightly intertwined links that lie flat. These chains come in high-karat gold, but on this occasion, they will be made of high-grammage paper. These chains were popularized by the street style of the 70s and 80s. These eye-catching pieces represented luxury in street jewelry of the time and are still relevant today.

Obviously, the only way to achieve that polished finish is with metal, so I took the link design and transformed it into a version made of flat polygons with straight faces.

That way, it can be worked on paper.

Reference Image: Bling Cartel Store Ebay.

Please note that you will need to make at least 40 links to form the chain, which are distributed across the 6 pages of templates.

These must be printed on letter-size adhesive paper.

Cut the adhesive piece groups from each link

Prepare the golden dishes that are in the best condition

and place the groups of cut-out links on the back of the gold plates, distributing them so that several fit to make the most of the material.

Repeat the process until all the groups of links are attached to the gold plates.

Now cut again to separate each group.

Repeat the cutting process up to 40 times or more

Now we'll polish the finer details with a scalpel/Xacto, the inner edges and the tab separations.

Repeat the scalpel/Xacto process as many times as necessary and for as many links as needed.

Check the lines for making the folds

After the folding, we've reached the gluing part. So, using the animation guide, glue each tab to its counterpart to form the glue.

Use a toothpick to apply the glue, and gently apply it tab by tab.

Please note that along the red line in the template there will be a cut space where we will join the rest of the links; that is, it will be the passage/space to interlace the chain.

Repeat the gluing and assembly process up to 40 times or more

and begin joining the links along the space of the red line as shown in the template image.

Finally, complete the measurement that best fits your chest and then join the last piece with the initial one to close the circuit and obtain a gold replica (fake, of course) of a classic piece.

Coclusion:

This project was a lot of fun to make. I'm going to use it as a prop to hang on my studio wall and maybe even in a DJ mix broadcast. You can use it anytime, like for cosplay or Halloween, or even a photoshoot.

Thanks for watching!

Enjoy!