Author's Note
I wanted to contribute my tutorials to Chainmaillers.com to help ensure that the entire chainmaille community has access to them. The tutorials are presented here with the same images and text from my old site CGMaille. I hope they continue to help inspire you to learn and create many amazing pieces!
-Phong
Weave Background
Persian Dragonscale, also called Oval or Euro-Persian Hybrid (EPH) Tube, consists of two chains of Half Persian 3-1 connected with two rows of European 4-1.
There are two methods of constructing this weave.
Method I is by making two chains of Half Persian 3-1 and connecting them with European 4-1. This approach requires one of the Half Persian 3-1 chains to be woven the 'regular' way, and the other to be woven 'backwards' - that is, a mirror image of the first chain. This can be a tricky proposition for some people (including me).
Method II is to make a strip of European 4-1 and add the persian rings onto that. This technique is slower than making two Half Persian 3-1 chains, but is easier to manage.
Aspect Ratio & Ring Sizes
Persian Dragonscale can be made with rings with ARs down to 4.4. In order to make sure the weave isn't too tight, I recommend rings that can make one of the Half Persian 3-1 sheet weaves, with ARs around 5.0. 18swg 1/4" and 16swg 5/16" are good sizes to use. The tightest Persian Dragonscale I've made was titanium 18swg 3/16" rings that had an AR of 4.4. I tried it with stainless in the same size ( 4.2 AR) and it was too tight.
Metric sizes - approximately 1.2mm wire/6.4mm ID; 1.6mm wire/8mm ID.
Tutorial Color Scheme
New rings are gold and old rings are steel.
In order to keep this tutorial from being too long, I'll describe Method I all the way through. I'll then describe Method II up to the point where it ends up being the same as Method I, and refer you to the appropriate step.
Method 1
Step 1: Make two HP3-1 chains equal to the length you want the final chain to be. Make sure one is woven the 'right' way and one is the 'wrong' way. They should look like mirror images of each other - one chain makes an 's,' the other makes a backwards 's.'
Step 1a: Face the chains toward each other, so they look like < > when viewed edge-wise.
Step 2: Put a ring through the top four edge rings. This should be a normal E4-1 connection.
Step 3: Add a ring to the next 4 rings.
Step 4: Continue to the end of the side.
Step 5:Flip the chain over and add a ring to the first 4 edge rings in E4-1 fashion.
Step 6: Add another ring in E4-1 fashion.
Step 7: Continue to the end of the side.
Method II
Step 1: Start with a strip of E4-1. This should be longer than the final desired length.
Step 2: Put a ring through the three edge rings. It should go 'down' through the end ring and 'up' through the next two rings. In other words, make it look like the picture.
Step 3: Do the same with the next 3 rings. The ring you're adding now should go above the ring you added in the previous step.
Step 4: Continue to the end of the side.
Step 5: Do the same on the other side. Put a ring 'down' through the first ring, and 'up' through the next two.
Step 6: Add a second ring on that side, keeping it above the ring added in the previous step.
Step 7: Continue to the end of the side.
At this point, construction is the same as Method I, step 5.
I wanted to contribute my tutorials to Chainmaillers.com to help ensure that the entire chainmaille community has access to them. The tutorials are presented here with the same images and text from my old site CGMaille. I hope they continue to help inspire you to learn and create many amazing pieces!
-Phong
Weave Background
Persian Dragonscale, also called Oval or Euro-Persian Hybrid (EPH) Tube, consists of two chains of Half Persian 3-1 connected with two rows of European 4-1.
There are two methods of constructing this weave.
Method I is by making two chains of Half Persian 3-1 and connecting them with European 4-1. This approach requires one of the Half Persian 3-1 chains to be woven the 'regular' way, and the other to be woven 'backwards' - that is, a mirror image of the first chain. This can be a tricky proposition for some people (including me).
Method II is to make a strip of European 4-1 and add the persian rings onto that. This technique is slower than making two Half Persian 3-1 chains, but is easier to manage.
Aspect Ratio & Ring Sizes
Persian Dragonscale can be made with rings with ARs down to 4.4. In order to make sure the weave isn't too tight, I recommend rings that can make one of the Half Persian 3-1 sheet weaves, with ARs around 5.0. 18swg 1/4" and 16swg 5/16" are good sizes to use. The tightest Persian Dragonscale I've made was titanium 18swg 3/16" rings that had an AR of 4.4. I tried it with stainless in the same size ( 4.2 AR) and it was too tight.
Metric sizes - approximately 1.2mm wire/6.4mm ID; 1.6mm wire/8mm ID.
Tutorial Color Scheme
New rings are gold and old rings are steel.
In order to keep this tutorial from being too long, I'll describe Method I all the way through. I'll then describe Method II up to the point where it ends up being the same as Method I, and refer you to the appropriate step.
Method 1
Step 1: Make two HP3-1 chains equal to the length you want the final chain to be. Make sure one is woven the 'right' way and one is the 'wrong' way. They should look like mirror images of each other - one chain makes an 's,' the other makes a backwards 's.'
Step 1a: Face the chains toward each other, so they look like < > when viewed edge-wise.
Step 2: Put a ring through the top four edge rings. This should be a normal E4-1 connection.
Step 3: Add a ring to the next 4 rings.
Step 4: Continue to the end of the side.
Step 5:Flip the chain over and add a ring to the first 4 edge rings in E4-1 fashion.
Step 6: Add another ring in E4-1 fashion.
Step 7: Continue to the end of the side.
Method II
Step 1: Start with a strip of E4-1. This should be longer than the final desired length.
Step 2: Put a ring through the three edge rings. It should go 'down' through the end ring and 'up' through the next two rings. In other words, make it look like the picture.
Step 3: Do the same with the next 3 rings. The ring you're adding now should go above the ring you added in the previous step.
Step 4: Continue to the end of the side.
Step 5: Do the same on the other side. Put a ring 'down' through the first ring, and 'up' through the next two.
Step 6: Add a second ring on that side, keeping it above the ring added in the previous step.
Step 7: Continue to the end of the side.
At this point, construction is the same as Method I, step 5.
