I am nuts. I know that. But I have wanted to make an epic piece of chainmaille for a while now.
I wanted to make something "wearable" but artsy and wanted to show off what could be done with chainmaille that isn't the traditional suit of armour or the jewellery I usually make.
After a few false starts over the last couple of years and a couple of projects I want to go back to eventually, I have finally settled on one I am determined to finish.
What sparked this project off was seeing an absolutely beautiful mesh look couture gown on a vintage clothing show that would have looked gorgeous in fine silver chainmaille which got me looking up how to make a cowl neckline.
After playing around with a small sheet of Euro 4:1 chainmaille (the weave used in European chainmaille armour) to feel how it folds properly I decided against the cowl neckline.
That and sticker shock over the price of actual silver jump rings.
So kind of back to the drawing board.
I decided I wanted to make a feature of the piece at ongoing Medieval Fairs as I know the sheer amount of work involved will be most appreciated there so I moved in that direction for inspiration and design.
As a costume for our local Medieval fair I wear a front laced empire line tunic dress (made by my good friend Clothing and Creations by Rebecca) with an underdress/shirt and apron.
So, I got Rebecca to make a dress the same but in a dusky blue to use as both something to go under my work and as a template for the cut of my work.
I also found a pattern for a Regency style dress that has helped me with the shape for the train on the skirt part of my project.
After tinkering with different wires and ring sizes I have decided to go with 18 gauge (1mm thick) wire with 3.5mm ID rings. This means the inside diameter of the rings is 3.5mm which classifies this piece as micromaille.
To add strength I am going to line the bodice section with dark blue leather and will be using the strongest metal rings - Stainless Steel - for the shoulder sections. The lower section of the bodice will be Jewellery Brass which is also quite strong when work hardened and the bulk of the project will be in copper.
I have not yet decided if I will add sleeves. That will come last.
I have also designed an inlay pattern that will be a feature piece running down the entire back of the project going from a straight 10cm wide strip at the top and flaring out to decorate the full width of tje centre section of the train.
The background on this strip will match the colour/metal either side of it and the two interwoven ribbons that form the pattern will be silver filled (silver coating over copper core) as a bright/light single colour strand and Rainbow Niobium as a darker/chaotic strand.
Number of rings wise I first estimated 30,000+ rings but I am now having to revise that estimate to be closer to the 100,000 mark.
I have so far calculated that a 5inch x 4inch section of maille will contain approx 1122 rings.
To date, including designing the overall pattern, working out the inlay pattern and testing the best size rings I have worked on this project for 29 hours.
Depending on how much time I get to work on it, I expect this project will take 2-3 years to fully complete.
On that note I must get back to weaving.
Check back here and on www.facebook.com/maidofmaille for ongoing updates and pics.
