WIP Chain Mail Armor

!Wow! Can't wait to see it finished! ^-^

 

0.o I can imagine how time consuming this is. But still, this is awesome! Great idea too!

 

>.< Your doing a great job on it though!

 

Do you happen to have the link to the tutorial on hand?

 

Oh wow, thanks! I'd love you see yours when its finished. Just the few pics you've posted were inspiring, but the final product should be awesome.

 

^w^ Yay! lol, this is so neat!

 

Wow. Good luck.
I doubt that I'd ever have the patience to ever do that. But it always seemed like fun.

(My mom has that same desk. XD)

 

Have you thought of using jump rings instead? That might be easier and would most likely save a lot of time.

 

Wow, keep on the good work!~ I like to play with wires before, but not to this extent >___> (Cos i'm not that hardworking)

Just a little heads-up- won't the wires rust over time? *o*

 

Only if it's made of iron. (as far as I know) Which, for some reason, I doubt it is.

 

65 cents for 1? Neither would I.
I saw them at A.C. Moore and I got a small bag of them for 99 cents. I think Micheals had them for the same price. Just look for them in the jewelry section.

 

You can not get a good enough price on jump rings to make it cost effective compared to making them yourself. I've run the numbers, and neither Rio Grande nor Fire Mountain Gems (both bulk suppliers) has them cheap enough.

I know galvanized wire isn't supposed to rust, but I've got a doll-sized chainmail dice bag that says otherwise. Be careful with the thin wire; I think the galvanization is thin enough to be fairly delicate. Although if you don't get the finished object wet, you should be fine.

 

No but they might swim in it! J/k. I'm the same way, I would rather make something than buy it. Less money,more possibilities.

 

It's falling apart? Maybe try putting super glue on the ring ends? =3

 

How odd, if you were following the tutorial it doesnt look like it would have fallen appart. Rizu-San probably has the right idea, as you finish some of the links, just dabbing a bit of glue where the two ends of wire meet might prevent any sort of breakage.

 

I wonder why they won't stay? The rings you made look just like the ones on the tutorial! XP

 

Is the wire too weak, perhaps? If the wire your using isn't strong enough, it'll fall apart under its own weight. I haven't had any trouble with the 4mm jump rings I bought (I have no idea where to get a 4mm dowel or what wire to use), and I've even tugged on them and whatnot.

 

I hope they stay together for you Helsing365! =3

 

I'm currently waiting for my Megi. >.< I have to wait to resize his clothes.

Hope he/she gets home soon!

 

I really like this idea! Seeing this makes me really want to try it, but i doubt i could...

good luck!! i cant wait to see what it looks like finished!

 

LUTS boys are so cute! Congrats!

 

Some suggestions for your ring cutting problems.
1) Are you gently stretching out the spring before cutting? It helps separate so you can cut each one singly, and then your rings are at least partially opened before you start.
2) What are you using to cut? On steel 20g (U.S. guage) or smaller, I've never had trouble with a small wire cutter from the hardware store. (The ones sold in craft stores for jewelry often don't work as well. They're intended for softer metals.) Normally I'd suggest a jeweler's saw for this scale, but steel kills normal blades like nobody's business.

Use a knitting needle. A US 6 needle is 4mm in diameter.
As for wire, here's some recommendations for different weaves. Here's a chart of aspect ratios for weaves, and elsewhere on the same site the gentleman explains how to calculate the ratio.

 

Oooh, I didn't even think about knitting needles; thanks. ^_^ Mom has some around....

 

That is really cool!

Good luck with the rest of the mail! (I am jealous that you are getting an Abadon...)

 

there is a website that you can order rings from. I order mine from them. I have fround, depending on what look you are going for, the 20g 3/32 rings work well.

These are with 20g 3/32, shirt and belt

 

sorry, i still do not have the hang of this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8348597@N02/502710385/

 

You will get there. I have not sold anything, just have traded jewelry with friends and given a few pieces to friends.
I get my rings from http://theringlord.com/
They have a large selection.

 

I did a little searching on eBay for jump rings in the size I'm using since I'll be needing more sooner or later and I don't particularly care to make the silvery/golden rings from scratch, and I did find that some people have lots of over 1,000+ and 2,000+ jump rings for like, $10 after shipping. Same amount costs well over $30/$60 at Michaels.
I bet you can tell where my next batch is coming from.

There's one person who has them in several different colours, but only in lots of 50/100 and for $4 shipped. >.o They are inspirational though, as one can get coloured wire at the store.... ^__^

 

Thank you. Took a picture of my husband sleeping with my cat and his eyes sortof turned out that way. Thought it looked neat. Figured I would use it since my dolls have not shipped yet.

 

Try flipping the chainmail over and then adding the next row; you might be trying to put them on the wrong end of the pattern. I kept running into the issue of new rows looking wrong until I realized that I was violating the pattern.

 

We have 3 cats. One sits next to the dogs toys and attacks them when they try to take one.

The colored ones are pretty. I have a tester set of the anodized aluminum, but they are much to large to use for the dolls.

When you start remember if the rings in the row you are adding to are angled up or down (when the pattern is laying flat). Just keep adding to the row angled in that direction. Hope this helps.

 

Totally understand. There is one chain that makes want to scream when starting it.

 

Wouldn't you be able to use jump rings that you can buy at any craft store in the jewelry section?

 

I'm an avid chainmailer (if that's a word ) and I get my rings from the Ring Lord too! You can also get tips and advice at the forum over there. It's crowded with chain mail geeks and lovers.

I wonder if the wire will hold the weight of the finished shirt, because it looks really thin. It would be a shame if the weight of your shirt will pull itself apart.

Is this going to be a shirt with sleeves? If so I can advice the 45 degree angle to attach the sleeves. I've used a 90 degree angle for the shirt I made for my doll, because it's the easiest way, but a 45 degree angle looks so much cooler.
I'm looking forward to see you progress. There aren't enough dolls in chain on DoA. ^_^

 

Those jump rings tend to be very expensive. At one of my local craft stores, they're $3 for a pack of 144 rings. It's actually cheaper to just go on eBay and buy 1,000 or more from someone in most cases. I've found lots of over 2,000 rings for under $10 after shipping. It'd cost $41 before tax to buy the same amount of rings from the store.
144 rings isn't as many as you'd think, either. I'm making a 1/6 chainmail shirt with short sleeves, and I've used four packets alone for the back panel of the shirt. That's around 576 rings, and a few rings were lost and broken here and there. Once I use up the packets I've bought, I'm turning to eBay to get the rest needed to finish. >.o
A spool of wire can make a ton of rings, and the spools don't cost much.

 

oh wow, this is really inspirational. I can't wait until fall when one of my fibers classes will be teaching how to make chainmail. There's quite a few things I'd like to make for Aydin.

...Namely a beaded sleeveless hoodie... thing.