Home Sign Up!

Browse Community Submit

All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech

European 4-in-1 maille (chainmail) speedweaving

by Paul the Mole on June 16, 2007 Table of Contents European 4-in-1 maille (chainmail) speedweaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: European 4-in-1 maille (chainmail) speedweaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Making the rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Opening and closing rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Starting the first row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Continue the first row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: The second row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Make something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 4 5 6 7 8

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Intro: European 4-in-1 maille (chainmail) speedweaving

First of all: maille, mail, chainmail... their all different words for the same thing. I like to use the word maille, but I'm sure some like the other words better. Maille is a form of armour. It was invented by the Celts and it became very popular in the middle ages, where it was used as 'standard' armour for allmost all soldiers, because it's flexible and prevents cuts from swords, knives etc. Nowadays maille is made for other re-enactments, as 'alternative' clothing, or just for fun like I do. Back in the days maille was made out of mild steel rings which were riveted. Which means: a lot of work. Today most of the maille is made out of steel wire. And it's not riveted anymore. It's called "butted". The most common weave is without a doubt "European 4-in-1" (or E 4-1). This is the way the rings were linked in Europe in the middle ages. I'll come back later on the 4in-1 thing. I'm Belgian and I live in Brugge (Bruges). But when I was a child, I visited the "Gravensteen" (that's a castle castle) in Gent. There, someone was making maille at the time. I found it very fascinating and the thought of making some my own never leaved my mind really. Some time ago I started making my own maille. Currently I'm making a coif (have a look on Google Images if you don't know what a coif is). The technique I use is called "speedweaving" because it's one of the fastest ways to make maille. What I will describe is not the only way to speedweave, but this is the one I use, and which works great for me. I did not invent this technique. I'm just sharing it with the world...

Step 1: Making the rings

Let's start making rings. I used galvanised steel wire. For two reasons: it's easily obtainable and it's cheap. My wire is 1,5 mm thick. Making rings starts with transforming your wire into coils. And than cutting the coils with a mini bolt-cutter. I won't describe the whole coil-making process but I'll include some pictures of the way I do it. Perhaps I will come back to writing this piece out one day. My coils have an inner diameter (ID) of 6 mm, but because of a thing called "springback" the rings have a real inner diameter (RID) of 6,4 mm). My rings have an aspect ratio (AR) of 4,3. This is the ratio of RID and the wire size.

Image Notes 1. pliers + the coif I'm working on 2. music while I work: My Dying Bride and Therion 3. Fender-freak 4. mini bolt-cutter

Image Notes 1. spool of wire 2. make a coil by turning the mandrel

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

5. finished coil 6. container with rings 7. handle of the mandrel 8. wood: recyled stairs 9. cheap paper-bin

Image Notes 1. mandrel 2. hmmm... not so neat

Image Notes 1. Not neat. I said it before... 2. Sam said to Frodo: It's the ring isn't it.

Image Notes 1. Container with ca 1000 rings. Always label them. If you make different sizes of rings this will come in handy

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Step 2: Opening and closing rings

The first thing you have to learn is how to open and close the rings. This is usually done with pliers. I think the pictures are quite clear.

Image Notes 1. open ring - side view

Image Notes 1. how I hold the rings

Image Notes 1. twist in the direction of the arrow to close th ring

Image Notes 1. closed ring

Image Notes

Image Notes

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

1. Some closed rings, you will need lots of them...

1. twist in the direction of the arrow to open the ring.

Image Notes 1. an open ring

Step 3: Starting the first row

Well, let's start connecting the first rings. The first 5 rings show clearly how "European 4-in-1" got it's name. 1 ring is always connected by 4 other rings.

Image Notes 1. take an open ring and 4 closed rings

Image Notes 1. close the open ring. This was probably the hardes picture to take... a third hand would be handy ^^

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Image Notes 1. the result

Image Notes 1. Lay your work down like this.

Step 4: Continue the first row

The pictures show how to connect more rings to your first row.

Image Notes 1. take an open ring and 2 closed ones

Image Notes 1. through here 2. and through here

Image Notes

Image Notes

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

1. isn't this beautiful

1. short row

Step 5: The second row

You have a first row. Well, let's start a second one.

Image Notes 1. take an open and two closed rings an put it through two rings of your first row

Image Notes 1. the beginning of a second row

Image Notes 1. don't use this hole... yet

Image Notes 1. we'll link this later

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Image Notes 1. a ring comes here 2. and here

Image Notes 1. connect

Image Notes 1. look... a ring

Image Notes 1. your first sheet of E 4-1 is finished

Step 6: Make something

Once you can don this, you can make a lot of things. The only thing you will also need are contractions and exansions. But thats for an other time... Or try making some really rocking Byzantine chain! Here's a picture of the finnished coif and me... It took nearly 50 hours te make this one (making the rings and going to the hardware store to buy wire included)

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Image Notes 1. the top part of the coif I'm making + pliers 2. Gooooooood music (Therion and My Dying Bride) 3. a lot of rings

Image Notes 1. Please ignore me look at the half-finished coif 2. A long time ago, I saw this picture on a site. I loved it, so I took some markers and a large sheet of paper. Now this is a poster on de door of my bedroom.

Image Notes 1. nearly 2,5 kg 6661 rings (counted!!!) almost 50 hours of work

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Related Instructables

How to Make Japanese 4-1 Maille (Speedweaving) by ineverfinishanyth

How to make a chainmail shirt by ineverfinishanyth

Maille and plate leg armour (Photos) by armourkris

Chain maille embroidered Shirt by Lizander

Volume 2 - How Ye Olde Chain to Weave Maille Rings by European (Euro) matthewbeckler 4-in-1 by jbb3141

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 372 comments

iknowirule3 says:
Where do you find the wire? I searched Wal-Mart, Google, ect, ect.....but I still can't find it. Can anyone tell me where to go?

Jan 17, 2009. 3:27 PM REPLY

ducttapeunicyclist says:
Try home depot.

Jan 15, 2011. 1:04 AM REPLY

GANSTAMAN4 says:
i found some good quality 18 gauge wire at a local home depot or lowes

Mar 11, 2010. 7:47 AM REPLY

yeti bear says:

i get mine at tractor supply (14 ga galv) pretty cheep... does anybody have a good source for 16ga stainless??

Feb 26, 2010. 8:35 AM REPLY

ILIKEPIE333 says:
Go to Home Depot, thats the first place that comes to mind...

Sep 4, 2009. 12:28 PM REPLY

jedi_brsil says:

Aug 22, 2009. 7:06 AM REPLY I have yet to see anyone suggest where I got my wire... the local recycling yard. 19 strand high voltage aluminum grounding wire. Sure, it is work to unwrap the strands so they can be coiled, but its worth the $1.70 I paid for what equals 6500 rings. And for the nay-sayers, 14G aluminum are 3/8 dia. ring is quite sufficient for light combat grade, at 1/3 the weight of steel.

WurdBendur says:
Rural King, Tractor Supply Co, or similar places, some hardware stores. They sell it as electric fence wire.

Apr 20, 2009. 11:51 AM REPLY

Speedmite says:
Or notebook spirals.

Jun 9, 2009. 10:53 AM REPLY

ILIKEPIE333 says:
They might be a little flimsy

Sep 4, 2009. 12:29 PM REPLY

Speedmite says:

Sep 4, 2009. 4:40 PM REPLY No, they are quite strong. They are like aluminum or nickle or steel, some weird alloy. I do like my weaves denser.... but they are way stronger than 16 gauge copper wire. and cheap, and in mass quantity for me.

WurdBendur says:

Sep 9, 2009. 2:48 PM REPLY Indeed notebook spirals are a strong steel. You just have to use small rings to keep them from opening too easily.

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Speedmite says:

Sep 10, 2009. 2:32 PM REPLY If you read the post below, I make very small rings compared to most of what I see, which is 14 AWG with a big inside diameter. I make chain mail by inch much slower though....

Speedmite says:

Sep 4, 2009. 5:51 PM REPLY 3 and 5 subject notebooks are 1/4 in outside diameter, 0.5 cm inside. 1 subject is what i like to call my dense micro-mail. I only made one 1 inch square of it. its 5 cm outside, 3cm inside Im using what fits best on my ruler here. I dont have one of those fancy tools for .001 measurements, nor a gauge where you pull untill the ring lets go and you read at what force pulling does the ring bend. So all measurements are approximate. And this is what i consider strong for my mail. It easily takes bb shots. I'm crazy enough to shoot myself in the leg with the bb gun with my mail and thin pants on. It didn't break until i messed with it the next day. and it was one link that got too loose from the shots. and i did it like 20 shots in the middle. it didn't hurt me but i wouldn't recommend it, cause of the fact you may have a better bb gun laying around. I just looked in my closet for something, after mailing and saw it and added 2+2 and did several trial runs just holding it in front of it, and noticed that the bbs didn't go through, and it hardly move the mail, and had a stupid attack. I get those occasionally.

Speedmite says:

Sep 4, 2009. 5:53 PM REPLY And another reason not to do it, is your mail may be weaker. I am not accountable for your actions, just as a disclaimer.

eyebot117 says:
Craft stores might have it...

Apr 15, 2009. 11:03 AM REPLY

Speedmite says:

Apr 16, 2009. 8:33 PM REPLY craft stores have 20-24 AWG wire in copper and some silvery stuff, but its beading wire, not stiff enough. I recommend your local home depot or lowes, what ever you have. You may be able to get it in bulk in the electrical, but more likely to find somthing in the hardware. 25 feet of 18 AWG of bare copper in the hardware section of lowes near me costs $3. the shiny silvery stuff, i think steel is $2.70 for 25 ft of 18 AWG. I use 18 gauge and a stationary screwdriver as a mandrel. The larger the gauge, the cheaper the wire.

Darter76 says:

Mar 26, 2009. 3:07 PM REPLY u could go to home depot or online at the ringlord.com they have everything. i am ordering pre made rings from there to make a dragon scale shirt.

Speedmite says:
lowes is overpriced with wire. And its not too big of a selection.

Jun 9, 2009. 10:54 AM REPLY

Darter76 says:

Jun 9, 2009. 12:59 PM REPLY i never said any thing abut lowes... i got copper wire from home depot and it was good not bad. it was $17 for 100 ft. it was electrical wire and it came in 25 ft segments

Speedmite says:

Jun 12, 2009. 8:16 AM REPLY It was the same at lowes. Notebook spirals are free. And in abundance for me. They are both hardware stores. What gauge were you getting?

Darter76 says:

Jun 12, 2009. 11:35 AM REPLY 16 swg and i think that is a pretty good deal because i made the fingers to my glove with the wire. i still need the thumb tho and getting the wire has been a challenge because one of my dads friends was going to drop off extra copper wire he had but has not yet...

Speedmite says:

Jun 14, 2009. 6:06 PM REPLY Whats that in awg? Or is that a typo, cause the a and the s are close together. If it is, then I am sorry, but I have to do this............. YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, A TYPO, A TYPO, YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, A TYPO, A TYPO, YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, A TYPO, A TYPO, YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, A TYPO, A TYPO, YOU JUST MADE A TYPO, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. I hope that wasnt too excessive......

Darter76 says:

Jun 15, 2009. 11:32 AM REPLY it was not a typo i got a ring mesurment sheet from theringlord.com and it has swg and awg. the gauge is 14 in awg.

Speedmite says:
Sorry then.

Jun 19, 2009. 10:15 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

Thundertydus says:
or try "Rona, Home Depot" you know, Hardware stores T.T, (Canadian tire too maybe)

Feb 11, 2009. 10:09 PM REPLY

Fire Brick says:

Feb 11, 2009. 1:05 AM REPLY search "Galvanized electric fence wire" 17-14 Ga are the most common gauge. I personally use 14-16 Ga. Now go forth and make the world shiny. :)

MasterOvCreation says:

Jan 19, 2009. 5:47 PM REPLY Check out "The Ring Lord - The Ring Lord Chainmail Supplies" Depending on where you live (shipping cost) they are a really good deal and have really good quality. If you have any questions just ask!

shmyt says:

Jul 9, 2010. 10:19 AM REPLY Any ideas as to how long a mail shirt would take to make? Rhyme not imtentional... Both me and my bro can work on it but I don't know how long it'll take (need time estimates for scheduling)

ducttapeunicyclist says:

Jan 15, 2011. 12:48 AM REPLY That depends on how long it takes you to coil and cut the needed wire, how large the shirt will be, how well tailored it will be to the person that will wear it and how quickly you can weave. Probably upwards of 100 hours each?

HalloweenJuNkY says:

Mar 24, 2009. 3:18 PM REPLY I tried to make the rings with the wire you use in chicken wire and it DOSE NOT WORK lol it might be a good chain mail for a rat but it would not be a good idea to run into battle with it. at least I only made about 15 rings, and tested it lol. Thanks for all the advice Miranda

dany man148 says:

for me i used electral copper wire... THAT STUFF IS REALY PLYABLE!!!!!! i am not kiddingany way nice intructable

Jan 21, 2010. 10:02 AM REPLY

Mr. Thirty6 says:

Jan 15, 2011. 12:15 AM REPLY lol. yeah, and it tarnishes really fast. if you use steel for your main one, you can "embroider" patterns into the shirt by removing the rings in the pattern you want to replace, and then replace them with rings of a different color.

addanephew says:

Apr 28, 2010. 8:58 PM REPLY here is a easy way to do it. when you do two sets of the rings of three, put the connecting ring in the bottom two in the middle and put it through the top two rings nest to each other.

crystaldeth says:
I do that too, I find it to be quicker. That way you don't have to re-open the ring, just loop through the third one.

Dec 27, 2010. 10:38 PM REPLY

Caleb93 says:

Nov 1, 2010. 8:04 PM REPLY Thanks man. Made my life so much easier than one ring at time. Great instructable even though you thought it was not that great.

goofy102938 says:
im making a maille shirt and this helps a lot; thanks

Oct 4, 2010. 4:16 PM REPLY

That Inventor Dude says:

Aug 25, 2010. 10:02 AM REPLY Don't pick it up until you've got it pretty big because it crumples up into an ineffable mess and is really hard to flatten out again to add more

1010tbone says:
I have made a nice rectangular piece but how do I bring it in to make it fit like a hood?

Aug 3, 2010. 7:19 AM REPLY

1010tbone says:

Oct 20, 2009. 10:34 AM REPLY Do people not get that "DIY" means just that? Of course you can buy this stuff, but what happens when you can't? Learning crafts such as these insures the survival of the knowlege. I read a comment/question about butter and why would you spend so much time making it instead of buying it. Well again "DIY" means just that and by learning how you become more independent. Give a man a fish...he eats for a day..but teach a man to fish and he eats for life....THAT IS WHY WE LEARN DIY!

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/

icy45 says:

Jan 3, 2010. 1:28 PM REPLY I always heard, give a man fire and he will be warm for a day, lite a man on fire and he will be warm the rest of his life. Anyway great instructable but, how do you do curves easily?

Doc Holliday says:

I like that, it's correct, albeit his life will be quite short and he'll suffer inflammation.

Aug 2, 2010. 8:08 PM REPLY

kleinz says:

Mar 25, 2010. 4:52 PM REPLY i think u mean, give a man fire and hell be warm for a day, but show him how to light a fire an he will be warm for the rest of his life.

wenpherd says:
OR, give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a life time.

Mar 25, 2010. 5:13 PM REPLY

fastfilmsinc says:

Jun 21, 2010. 11:45 AM REPLY I always thought it was "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer all day".

wenpherd says:
Heh.

Jun 21, 2010. 12:08 PM REPLY

Gunnar120 says:

Jul 7, 2010. 8:46 PM REPLY I think you ALL mean........ "...Give a man a fish... they say... and he'll stink up a whole town.... Give a man a fishin' rod... Ya see where I'm going here? Yeah, Give him a fishin' rod and he'll poke your eye out..." Overheard from a drunkard of Albion

icy45 says:

Mar 25, 2010. 9:33 PM REPLY If you're on fire, you'll be warm at least till you die. I mean how do you get rid of people asking for free fish or fire, unless you use ninja fish against them...note we must research teaching fish to be ninjas. Great idea teaching fish to be ninjas, I wish I thought of that.

wenpherd says:
Yeah, Ninja Fish.

Mar 26, 2010. 8:19 AM REPLY

corkie11 says:
its not kung fu, its kung fish

Nov 1, 2010. 5:15 PM REPLY

darknessfalls says:

Jul 29, 2010. 8:22 PM REPLY you sir, are an artist and have inspired me to take my coke tab chainmail and move up to the real thing, thank you for the wonderful instructions! it will probably save me a lot of time and a lot of mistakes!

view all 372 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/European-4-in-1-maille-chainmail-speedweaving/