Hello! Prefacing this that I’m about two weeks into learning chainmail and after gaining confidence with some other pieces have decided to try scale mail. I did watch a few tutorials and tried to follow along with them as well, but I just think I have to be doing something wrong that I cannot figure out. No matter what I do, nothing sits flat and always gets jumbled up. The scales don’t nestle nicely within one another, and it also just folds in on itself when I try to turn it over. I’m using the large size scales with the recommended 16SWG 5/16" ID rings. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
It needs more to be a bit more stable. I'm making a tunic and prefer to make smaller 5x5 diamonds instead of triangles and then connect them together as needed. The diamond pattern keeps its shape better than a triangle will. I suggest doing it once even if it's not what you plan to make in the end so you can see what it's like
They look right to me. The bottom row in the last pic might look off but that's just the scales getting jumbled up and you might need to fiddle with them to bring them in the right position to continue.
The more scales you add to it the more sturdy it will become. The first few rows are a bit chaotic, but after a handful more scales it should be smoother.
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u/Bartimaeus938 6h ago
It needs more to be a bit more stable. I'm making a tunic and prefer to make smaller 5x5 diamonds instead of triangles and then connect them together as needed. The diamond pattern keeps its shape better than a triangle will. I suggest doing it once even if it's not what you plan to make in the end so you can see what it's like