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Saturday 10 January 2015

Scale Mail Project

I like projects. I enjoy working on things to get results, and crafts are just fun! My current favourite is the scale mail corset I came up with. It's inspired by Bibian Blue's gorgeous scale mail creation I saw at WGT.


Mine will be a black velvet corset with a scale mail front. I bought a cheap second hand corset that might need some modifying, the busk is a bit flimsy. I ordered a bunch of small scales and metal rings from Queen Ring in the Netherlands and set to work with the help of youtube tutorials and my trusty jewellery work pliers. 

I've done ring mail waaayy back, but scale mail takes more time because the rings used are so small and there's the extra mental challenge of getting the scales the go in the right way. I'm now about 1/3rd done and it has taken about two work days. 

Scale cells, I found making these first and connecting them was the best way for me to work.

I do enjoy making the armor, it's relaxing in a way and the result looks like it's going to be awesome! I made a template that's roughly the size of the front panels of the corset, but I think I might need to make the scale mail part a bit wider on the top to get a good hourglass shape.


The backside of the armor.
If I ever work with scale mail again, I might go for the large scales just to make the work go faster. The small ones are pretty, but I'm a bit impatient ;P


I have a paper template that's cut in the shape of my corset's front pieces.
What kind of projects are you working on? I'm so excited about this one that I'll be sure to post updates when I get to attaching the armor to the corset. I have a few ideas on how to do it, but I have to try things out first. I might need something to cover the top attachment, like in the Bibian Blue version, because I think they put that plume there for a reason I will find out once I'm getting to the attaching part ;D

20 comments:

  1. I love it! Can't wait to see the finished project, it looks fantastic~

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    1. Thank you! I ran out of materials but already ordered more, I'm eager to finish this project. I have a dream of wearing the corset to an event at the end of February, it seems like a reasonable schedule.

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  2. Oh wow! That is going to look amazing on you when you finish

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  3. that is some next level diy! i am curios to see the result, keep us updated ;)
    i have no diy planned at the moment, but maybe a trip to the thrift store will bring some creativity with it hehe

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    1. Thanks! You never know what will inspire DIY until you find an item!

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  4. Whoa that is a lot of work! I like crafting and doing stuff and projects too, and like you said, that feeling when seeing results is just so good!
    On topic! This looks A M A Z I N G!!!
    Atm I'm painting, but for christmas gifts I did some real crafting :D

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  5. oh my gosh that's amazing. Scale mail (and ring mail) looks so time consuming and fiddly, I admire your patience and your skill. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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    1. Thank you! I agree with time consuming part, so many hours going into this piece, I hope the result will match the time and effort ;D

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  6. Did you put all that stuff piece by piece together?. Wow what a patience!!. It looks amazing.

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    1. Yes I did! At it's current state the scale mail part has 500 scales and about 900 rings, then I ran out of material and had to order more ;P But looks like it will take about 200 scales more and the it finally should be finished!

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  7. Vau! Ihan mieletöntä :D En malta oottaa, että näen tuon valmiina. Miekii tykkään näpertämisestä, mut hyödynnän sen kynsien koristeluun :)

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    1. Kiitos! Mulla on melko realistinen aikataulu, tahtoisin saada tekeleen valmiiksi helmikuun loppuun mennessä. Vielä pitää vähän tutkia josko korsetin etukappaletta vahvistaisi, onni on ompelijaystävättäret joilta kysyä neuvoa :)

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  8. Wow, that is amazing! I am going blind looking at it and trying to imagine doing it!

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    1. Thank you! It does take some time to understand the pattern. The top edge was awful to make, because I was just starting and the edge isn't straight, so I made lots of mistakes. But after getting a straight edge to attach scales to everything went a lot easier!

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  9. Wow, this is going to look so cool when you're done!

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  10. This is absolutely gorgeous! I didn't realise you could order scales premade! Definitely inspiring for the future. *___*

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    1. Thank you! Aside from making mistakes, it's actually quite meditative to just connect rings. I once again ran out of materials, now at 800+ scales but soon, soon the piece is finished!

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