Shimmering silver and an endless knight: The art of making chainmail
Savannah Williamson, Contributing Writer
Every medieval dragon had their horde of gold, and (seemingly) every knight had their quest to slay the dragon. Gold versus silver and scales against steel chain. In the end, the knight always prevails and comes home with treasures untold. What of the knight’s steadfast armor?
Let’s start with the basics. Chainmail has always been seen throughout history and has been used in countless battles through humanity’s time on this planet.
According to Armorysmith.com, chainmail was first used in the fourth century and was used by the Celts, Romans and Medieval Europeans. Over all, it was created and improved over a period of 2,000 years, spanning from the third century (B.C.) to the 16th century (A.D.).
Through all that time, chainmail changed and evolved. According to MiniMuseum, it went from interlocking plates fastened with sinew and fibers to scale mail to what is most recreated today: European chainmail.
We may not fight in grand historical battles anymore, but chainmail is making a comeback in the medieval cosplay community, especially when it comes to Renaissance Faires.
Tiktoker Lauren.does.cosplay started making chainmail in 2019. She said, “The most common thing that I hear from people is that they are intimidated [of making it] because they don’t think they can do it. I promise you, you can totally do it if you have the patience. It’s not difficult, it just takes a lot of time. In the end though, you have a lot of really cool things you can wear to a Renaissance Faire.”
What’s the process of making chainmail for cosplay? Well, you go one ring at a time.
There are two options that you can choose from starting out, and one is easier than the other. If you have patience, you can order individual rings off of the internet and wait for their arrival. If you’re impatient, jump into your car and drive to the nearest craft store or Home Depot.
Once there, you’ll need to find a large spool of either 16 or 14 gauge wire. I find that these gauges tend to be the easiest to work with, but you can go to a higher or lower gauge if you’re feeling really bold.
Now that you found your wire, check what it’s made of.
Different wire types have a different malleability and different weight. When choosing wire, make sure you find one that works best for you. From steel and aluminium to copper, every type of wire is different from the other.
If you’re going for heavy and durable with the most realistic look, choose steel. If you’re looking for flexibility and lightness, aluminum is the way to go. But if you’re looking to be a flashy lighting rod, oh boy, is copper just for you.
As we’re just trying to stay simple, we’re going to use aluminum. It’s the easiest to work with and if it gets messed up, it won’t cost you as much as messing up copper or steel.
If you’ve ordered your premade rings on the internet, you can skip this step. For those of you that haven’t, grab a straight stick and a drill.
Start by securing the stick into your drill. Make sure your drill is going forward and then you’re going to secure the wire into the stick. Grab some thick gloves, and send up a prayer.
Start the drill slowly and begin winding the wire around the stick. It should start looking like a spring. Repeat this step for as long as necessary to make sure you get all of your wire wrapped.
This next step is time consuming and labor intensive. You’ll need a lot of hand strength and a few breaks. Once you have all of your wire wrapped, slide it off the stick. It should look like a spring.
The spring contains all of the rings that you’ll need for the chainmail, you just have to cut them first. Make sure to have a container underneath where you’re cutting the rings in order to catch them. You really don’t want to chase them around.
Once all of your rings are cut and contained, go find a good pair of needle-nosed pliers. They’re thin and provide you with enough length to work with the metal rings.
We’re entering the final stages of making chainmail, and you’ve done fantastic so far. Here’s the most tedious part. It can be confusing at first, but it gets easier as you repeat it.
With your needle-nosed pliers, you’re going to pick up five individual rings. Close four of them. For the fifth ring, you’re going to take the other four rings and put them on the fifth ring, close it and let them hang down. At this point, you should be able to hold onto one ring at any given point within the connected group of five and have four rings hanging down.
Set the group of five down, where it makes an X pattern. Make seven more groups of five and set them down in a line. Make sure that the groups make the X pattern and are set up exactly like the first master group.
If it’s not lined up exactly, it physically won’t work. It’ll be rigid and look different from the other groups you’ve laid out.
Once your line of eight master groups are checked and perfect, here’s where things get delicate. Take two of the eight groups, and pick up a spare ring. For group one, you’re going to take the spare open ring, and go under and through the top right ring in the first part of the X.
Now you’re going to connect the first X to the second X. While you are still holding the open ring after making the first pass through the first X, you are then going to go behind and under the bottom two rings on the second X.
Excellent work. You have one final pass to go before you can close and secure the open ring. After going through the two bottom rings on the second X, you are going to come up and through the top left ring of the first X. This is the final pass. You can now close the spare ring.
You now have two absolutely perfect links. Repeat the previous steps until you get the length you desire.
Once you have your basic chains, made from the links you’ve created, it’s time for the final step. You’ve got to connect the chains together. It’s slightly different than the previous steps — and for good reason. This step provides the alternating pattern in the chainmail that gives it flexibility.
You should still be able to see the X’s you put together. Find the top of one X and the bottom of another. You’re going to take a spare ring and go behind and up through the bottom two rings of the second X. Then, you’re going to go up and through the top two rings of the first X and close the spare ring.
Repeat that process and join all of your chains together. Look at the fruits of your labor. At this point, you’re probably exhausted. But look at all of the work you’ve done through this entire process. You’ve successfully made chainmail.
Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Unidentified Suit of Armor, n.d., Iron, Given in memory of Eliphalet Fraser Andrews, 1916.6.28
