Chainmail for Newbies

Chainmail for Newbies

Chainmaille Basics - An Overview

You are here because you want to start on the exciting journey of chainmail-ing. Congratulations to you. But you might have tried before and there was just too much information, too much terminology, too much you were supposed to know .. and you gave up in frustration. Well this little Chainmail for Newbies is just for you. Forget all the other stuff. (You will pick them up as you go - even before you know it.) For now, this is all you need to know about chainmaille.

What is Chainmail?

In the simplest form, chainmail (aka chainmaille, maille, chain maille) is made of jump rings. How you link the jumprings together is called the weave. Each weave requires a number of jumprings going through other jumpring(s). To ensure that they all sit comfortably - not too loose and not too stiff - we need to ensure that the size of the jumprings used is suitable for that particular weave. This is where the AR (aspect ratio) of a jumpring becomes important to the chainmaille weave you are trying to create.

Basic Basic Chainmail Requirements

1. determine what weave you would like
2. then jumprings with what AR is usable

Let's just accept for now that there are a lot of weaves for you to look forward to. But for us to know what jumprings to get for any one weave, we need to understand ..

What the heck is Aspect Ratio?

In general jewelry making scenarios, we normally buy jump rings of a certain size. This, by convention, is the outer diameter of a ring. And though less frequently specified, we know that the jumprings are made of wire (normally but not necessarily round) which has a certain diameter.

In chainmail, these facts are no different. We just need to focus on different aspects of the same facts.

For chainmail weaves, we want to know the:

• WD (wire diameter) of the wire (which is used to make the jump ring) - also called the wire gauge
• ID (inner diameter) of the jumpring

With these two figures, we can work out the all important AR (aspect ratio) of the ring.

As alluded to, AR is all important in chainmaille. Getting the correct ring sizes determines how well, or if at all, your maille project will turn out.

Calculating AR

Let's say you buy jumprings that have:

• ID = 3mm
• WD = 0.8mm

So what is it's AR?

Wire Gauges

WD (wire diameter) is the wire gauge.

Whether you buy wire to make your own rings or you buy ready made jumprings, you will need to know the WD. Sometimes this is specified (by the seller) in gauge size or in inches or in millimeters. If specified in gauge size, you will need a wire gauge conversion table to make the conversion (into mm or inch) so that you can work out the needed AR.

Summary

1. Determine which chainmail weave you want to make. (See: Weaves List to start.)
2. Find the preferred AR for that weave.
3. Get/make the jumprings that have that (approximate) AR (aspect ratio).

Weaves List + ARs

Chainmail Weaves List

Weaves, AR, & Tutorials

There are many maille weaves out there: lots and growing. And with gradations of difficulty. It is difficulty to decide where to start, especially when you are a beginner chainmailler.

The following is but a short list which I will add to it over time. The list give a quick overview of (subjective) level of difficulty, the AR(s) required, and a quick peek of what the chainmail weave looks like. I have included links to tutorials that I found were clear and straightforward.

Thumbnail	Name	For	Category	AR Range	Min. AR	Preferred AR
	Camelot Tutorial from CGmaille	Beginner				2 rings: 6.6 3.5
	Byzantine Tutorial from M.A.I.L* Tutorial from The Lord Ring		European	3.32 - ∞		3.35-3.5
	CIR (Captive Inverted Roundmaille) Tutorial from CGMaille	Beginner
	European 4-1 (Euro 4-1) Tutorial from CGMaille* Tutorial from The Ring Lord	Beginner	European	3.0-5.5	2.9	3.3
	HP 3-1 (Half Persian 3-1) Tutorial from The Ring Lord* Tutorial from CGMaille	Beginner	Persian	3.9-4.3
	Inverted Round Tutorial from CGMaille	Beginner	European

References

• Listing of weaves - a pretty comprehensive list at M.A.I.L (Maille Artisans International League) with links to multiple tutorials for each weave
• Chainmaille Tutorials from CGMaille - beautiful graphics, clear tutorials with indications of levels of difficulty
• Chainmaille Tutorials with clear instructions and pictures (CGI) - hosted at The Ring Lord
• Weaves, Variants, Constructs & Units - definitely worth a look. Weaves list with images and recommended ARs. From CMB (chainmailbasket)
• Jewelry Weaves pictures from zlosk
• Chain Maille Weave Patterns - listing with pictures and short description from Phoenix In Chains

Euro 4-1

European 4-1 Weave

European Chainmail Weave

The European 4-1 weave is sometimes shortened to Euro 4-1 or even E4-1. It is most famous for being the weave used in European knights' armor.

Weave family: European

Level: beginner

AR Notes
AR Range: 3.0-5.5 (anything above 5 will be tricky)
Preferred AR: 3.3

I recommend Tutorial from CGMaille and much as I would like to, I won't even try to produce yet another tutorial for Euro 4-1. However you might find the following notes helpful to you and can be used in conjunction with the tutorial.

Tips on Euro 4-1

1) Prepare a set of closed and unclosed rings to speed up your work. This image shows the basic Euro 4-1 weave. With reference to the image, the gray "center" row - are all open rings (i.e. you start with the jump ring open and then close it as you finish each weave linkage)

2) Apart from Step 1 which takes on 4 closed rings (left), every subsequent steps takes on 2 closed rings (blue) (right).

And instead of placing 2 closed rings on one open ring then try to weave onto main piece (as most of the tutorials will instruct), you can weave the gray/open ring onto the main piece, then put the blue/closed rings on, then close up the gray/open ring.

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Samples of European 4-1 Weave

• bracelets done in Euro 4-1

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Go back to top of European 4-1 Weave

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