Here are few pictures of some chain I made using latex and pipe cleaners. You can make the chain as big are as little as you want. This chain is black but you could make it brown to give it a rust look.
I’m using colored pipe cleaners so you can see how I attach them together. I’m also using latex with black paint mix in to get my color. I’m starting with a pink pipe cleaner.
I’m going to make two links of the chain with one pipe cleaner so to get nice even links I bend the pipe cleaner in half. Each half of the pipe cleaner is bend into a loop with the loose end wrapped around the center of the pipe cleaner like the picture above on the right.
The picture on the left show the first loop. In the picture on the right I made the second loop again wrapping the loose end to the center of both loops.
On the left is a picture of the two loops. To get it to look like a chain I just turn the two loops in different direction.
Next I do the same thing to the green pipe cleaner. But I make the first loop with the green pipe cleaner thru one of the links from the pink pipe cleaner.
You can see in the picture on the left how the loops connect. I then made then second loop on the green pipe cleaner.
Once you do it once its easy. Here i added a red pipe cleaner. Once you get the hang of it then chain gets long quick. I make chain in small pieces about a foot long then I’ll add them together later to make longer chains. It just easyier to cover them with latex this way.
I made a few chains with hooks connected to give you an idea of what you can do with this stuff. I also hang the chain from string so I can apply the latex easier.
I add black paint to the latex for my color. You could also us brown to get a rust color chain.
After I add the Paint I use my drill with a piece of wire thats bend at the end to mix the latex & paint. You only need to add a little paint. Once the latex turns to a grey color its ready to be applied. The latex will dry a lot darker.
On the left is the color once mixed and on the right is the brush I use to apply the latex. The brush is kept in a mixture of water and dish washing soap (like Joy). I keep the container with the latex under the piece of chain I’m working on to catch drips.
The first picture shows how I hang the chains in short pieces sso I can apply the latex easy. I just paint the latex on with a brush. In the picture on the right you can see the two hooks with there first coat of latex applied. The chain in the middle is a piece done from Halloween . Also notice how I keep the latex in a small container that can be covered between coats.
I clean any build up of latex left on the brush after each coat. Then I store the brush in the soapy water till the next coat. On the right you can see what the first coat of latex looks like when it’s dry. The first coat takes the longest to dry. The coats after this one dry real quick. You could make a bunch of chain in a few hours.
Next I applied another coat of latex and used a small fan to help dry it even quicker. The fan made the chains sway which looked cool.
The picture on the left shows the second coat of latex and the right is the third coat. The chain will get really smooth after a few more coats.
These picture show how the chain gets thicker with each coat. If you want thick chain just keep adding coats. This is the fourth coat.
More pictures of the forth coat drying on top and close ups of it dried on the bottom. I made some links round and some square . These chain could work well with props or on costumes.
I added a little more latex to some areas that weren’t as smooth. And on the right the finished chains. I made these to make this how 2 but if I were making chain to use for a prop I would be connecting these pieces together to make them longer. One cool idea is to make a bunch like the ones above and add some pieces of skin or a few eye balls and use a fan to make them sway a little. I also wanted to make one chain with a long needle with an eye on it.