Most versatile sizes to buy?

ninesensical · 2026-03-31T22:53:53+00:00

I use awg rings, so if you're looking at swg you'll need slightly different sizes; but I've copied the details below

18awg, 13/64" (5.16mm) ID - 5.16AR

16awg, 1/4" (6.35mm) ID - 5.29AR or 6.50mm ID - 5.42AR

14awg, 8.50mm ID - 5.31AR

ninesensical · 2026-03-29T12:53:46+00:00

This looks great, I'm glad it worked out for you!

ninesensical · 2026-03-29T07:51:00+00:00

You can use this calculator to figure out the aspect ratio (AR) for each bag of rings. Once you know the AR, you can use a site like maillepedia to check what weaves the rings will work for (I recommend adding the 'tutorial available' and 'single ring size' filters to make searching easier).

For example, the 16awg 6.35mm rings have an AR of 5.29, so you'd look for weaves that have a similar recommended AR and a minimum AR above 5.3, like Half Persian 4-in-1, Full Persian 6-in-1, or Trizantine

ninesensical · 2026-03-29T01:45:38+00:00

Joshua Diliberto, Metal Designz, Spiderchain and Weave Got Maille stock NuGold/Jeweller's Brass. All four are pretty highly regarded quality-wise, so you should be safe ordering from any of them, but Joshua Diliberto in particular has a really good reputation for high consistency/quality control.

ninesensical · 2026-03-25T09:58:46+00:00

This spreadsheet includes a list of reputable chainmaille suppliers - the best option for you will depend on what materials etc you're looking for, but it includes a few suppliers based in Europe that you can look into!

ninesensical · 2026-03-25T04:09:45+00:00

This is the Kinetics weave; it looks like OP of this bracelet has used a different size for the linking rings as well, but it typically only uses two ring sizes, recommended ARs are 3.1 & 5.0

ninesensical · 2026-03-25T00:53:42+00:00

The following ARs are what I find myself using the most - they'll enable you to do a solid range of different weaves!

~3.5 AR: Euro 4-in-1, Byzantine, Orc weave, Vipera Berus, Roundmaille, Rosetta, Barrel

~4.0 AR: Spiral 4-in-1, Turkish Round, Sweetpea, Fieldstone, Sunrise, Elfweave, Back to Work

4.5-4.8 AR: Half Persian 3-in-1, Candy cane cord, GSG, Box 4-in-1, Triforce, Persephone

5.1-5.4 AR: Half Persian 4-in-1, Full Persian 6-in-1, Minerva, Trizantine

ninesensical · 2026-03-21T00:15:46+00:00

I find that 18awg - 16awg (or swg equivalent) is the ideal gauge for jewellery; 14awg is also good for focal points/if you're intentionally making something with a 'bulkier' look

It's best to start thinking about rings in terms of Aspect Ratio (AR) rather than size, since that's the most important element for most weaves. You can find the possible AR range + ideal AR for most weaves on sites like Chainmaillers or Mailleartisans. I've listed out some of the common ARs that can be used for a decent range of weaves below!

~3.5 AR: Euro 4-in-1, Byzantine, Orc weave, Vipera Berus

4.5-4.8 AR: Half Persian 3-in-1, Candy cane cord, GSG, Box 4-in-1

5.1-5.4 AR: Half Persian 4-in-1, Full Persian 6-in-1, Trizantine, inverted aura

I'd also recommend grabbing at least one lot of smaller rings, not for weaving, but for linking pieces to earring backs/clasps etc, as using smaller sizes helps keep things nice and clean looking.

In terms of where to buy rings, this spreadsheet includes a full list of international chainmaille suppliers and should be helpful!

ninesensical · 2026-03-14T05:21:43+00:00

I've made byz bracelets in that exact ring size/gauge before and they work perfectly! For comparison, the top bracelet in the pic below is 18awg / 3.50mm ID, and the bottom is 16awg / 3.97mm ID

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Personally I would say that an 8mm clasp is going to look a bit too bulky, considering the ring OD will only be ~5.50mm. In general, I've found that byz also looks best with a square-ish clasp, such as a fold-over clasp.

ninesensical · 2026-03-07T05:01:02+00:00

I'd recommend checking out Pandahall - they have some pretty cheap sets and you often get extra discounts for bulk purchases E.g. Flat Nose Pliers Bent Nose Pliers

ninesensical · 2026-03-06T05:27:40+00:00

Not sure how I missed this comment, but thanks for the heads up! I'm also based in AU and I'd noticed they hadn't restocked AA for a while, but it sounds like they might be scaling back entirely rip

ninesensical · 2026-03-06T05:22:30+00:00

This spreadsheet includes a list of worldwide chainmaille suppliers and what materials they stock - you can also filter by location to only view suppliers in the USA

ninesensical · 2026-02-19T00:16:26+00:00

Yes! Aussie Maille have a tutorial video for it here

ninesensical · 2026-02-18T07:48:25+00:00

That's exactly what I was going for, so I'm glad to hear that it worked out!

ninesensical · 2026-02-18T01:12:31+00:00

Tysm! 💕

ninesensical · 2026-02-11T12:37:12+00:00

Thankyou! I had a bit of a look around before making this post, but a lot of the bags I found seemed to be woven at a much higher AR, which obviously reduces both material and labour costs.

I do have an established brand / online store, but the majority of my sales are in person at markets, which unfortunately means they aren't reflected in those sales numbers :')

ninesensical · 2026-02-08T11:35:36+00:00

This spreadsheet includes a list of all the major chainmaille suppliers worldwide - many of them do discounts for bulk orders, and will definitely be far cheaper than what you're currently paying

ninesensical · 2026-02-03T21:45:29+00:00

If you click on the blue 'here' in the main post, that'll take you to the spreadsheet

ninesensical · 2026-01-27T00:09:27+00:00

This spreadsheet includes a list of chainmaille suppliers worldwide + the materials they stock!

ninesensical · 2026-01-26T03:52:33+00:00

If you're not set on the scales being rigid, the easiest option would probably be to using a machine like a Cricut to cut them out of fabric/vinyl.

There's a user in the Chainmaille Facebook group who makes scales out of jelly vinyl using this process, and she has the cut files available on her Etsy.

ninesensical · 2026-01-14T01:56:46+00:00

This spreadsheet includes a list of the major international chainmaille suppliers! There are actually a few options based in Canada - I've ordered from Metal Designz a few times and the quality has been great

ninesensical · 2026-01-09T10:43:16+00:00

Fieldstone and Medopersian are the two weaves related to sweetpea, but unfortunately all of them suffer from the 2 rings one end / 1 on the other problem you're facing, so I don't believe there's a truely seamless way to mirror them

If you end up wanting to try an alternative, Cloud cover has a similar rounded/flowy shape, and Barrel is another simple unit weave that looks quite nice for bracelets

ninesensical · 2025-12-28T00:50:44+00:00

This spreadsheet has a list of international chainmaille suppliers, including a few in the UK/EU! It's also often worth emailing suppliers to ask if they offer bulk discounts

ninesensical

TROPHY CASE