Knotted Chain Mail Vest

Hand-crafted Knot Jewelry:
Decorative Marlingspike Seamanship rendered in precious metal.

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This is a vest made entirely of knotted chain mail. All the knots are 3x4 Turk's Head knots, tied in pure silver 18ga wire.

Here's another picture of the vest, a little longer, and worn by a friend of mine.

At this point the weight is 5.1 lbs, and there are approximately 2440 knots.

Pure silver knotted chain mail with start of sleeve.

I'm working on sleeves for the vest, here's is the pattern's beginning. Same knots, but I'm saving a quarter of the work by leaving four out of every sixteen knot square. Weight is about 5.73 lbs, with 2,743 knots. Scroll down for more.

The vest is now up to 3,095 knots, weighing 6.47 lbs, with half-sleeves, bias cut, that extend to the wrist. Modeled here by a young lady of my acquaintance.

The vest is now up to 3,459 knots, weighing 7.17 lbs, with full sleeves, no cuffs, that extend to the wrist. You'll recognize the model from above. Click the picture for a couple more shots of it from different angles. (Without actually changing its appearance, I've done a little trimming. Stats: 3400 knots, 7.0200 lbs. The sleeves were a smidgen too long, and the neck opening was stretched too wide. For those who've asked, before, I figured out that the shirt probably consists of about 425 yards of 18ga fine silver wire.)

While I was in Connecticut I met up with Lilith and her boyfriend, and she wanted to try on the shirt. Notice what's in the background... Brrr!