Creating Bethany Hawke's Chain Mail

This particular project caused me a massive amount of pain and suffering, and I, more than likely, am going to try doing it again because I enjoy torturing myself and  still have a huge amount of metal wire leftover.
On  serious note though, go for the chain mail lookalike or ready made links options if you're not into having your hands blister and pain from cutting them yourself. Curse these frail and delicate fingers.
It did take me a few failed attempts and a couple of days of self reflection before I found my method to keep track of which rings to link. So play around with it until you figure out your method. Every ring in your mail will need to joined to four other rings in order for this pattern to work out.
My words of advice for this project would probably be to close the ends of the each ring  once you're done with its linking somehow because they do find a way of coming undone. Also, if you have have a big pandonckadonck, you might want to make the back piece a bit longer than the front one so that they don't look uneven when you wear it.
So, if you have set your mind to travelling this dark and dangerous path this is how I managed to create it.

Materials Required

Galvinised Wire 1.60mm x 5kg (317m)

4x Leather Straps
Side Cutters and Needle Nose Pliers

Step 1

Twirl a piece of your wire around a pole of your size choice to create a slinky. I used a garden rake's handle.

Once your done twirling, slide it off of the pole and use your side cutters to cut out each ring. Make sure the wire's cut end touches the back of your cutter in order to make sure you are cutting full moons which will more or less equal in size.

Step 2

Take five rings; link them so that one ring will have four rings attached to it. Close the ends of all five rings using your needle nose pliers, then use a strong adhesive to close the links to keeps them from coming undone later on.
Spread the linked ring out like a four petaled flower.
Repeat this step three more times and line your metal flowers into 2 rows of two.

Step 3

This is were the process will get a little complicated, so keep your elf eyes sharp and your ring formation neat. I preferred using a Down, Side, Up, Side, Down directional pattern as indicated by the arrows in the picture below.

Using five more rings, link the Ring A to rings 1, 3, 4 and 5;
Link Ring B to Rings 5, 6, 8 and 7;
Link Ring C to Rings 5, 7, 10 and 3;
Link Ring D to Rings 2, 3, 10 and 11;
And finally, link Ring E to Rings 12, 10, 7 and 9; to make the chain square on the right side of the picture.
Confusing right? Take a few days off to rest your hands, find inner harmony and then repeat three more times.

Step 4

Line up all four chain mail squares into 2 rows of two.
Using 3 more rings, link Ring A to Ring 1, 2, 3, and 4;
Link Ring B to Rings 4, 3, 6 and 5;
And finally, link Ring C to Rings 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Repeat with your other pair of chain mail squares.

Step 5

At this point you should have settled into your method. We will now join our two chain mail rectangle to make a bigger square.




Link Ring A to Rings 1, 2, 10 and 9;
Link Ring B to Rings 2, 3, 11 and 10;
Link Rings C to Rings 3, 4, 12 and 11;
Link Rings D to Rings 4, 5, 13 and 12;
Ling Rings E to Rings 5, 6, 14 and 13;
Link Rings F to Rings 6, 7, 15 and 14;
And finally, link Rings 7, 8, 16 and 15.
Repeat Steps 1 to 5 five more times.

Step 6

Line up your six squares in 2 rows of two and then repeat Steps 4 to 5 to make a longer rectangle. 
At this length, and you're my size, the chain mail could cover the length between your chest and knees. 
Repeat the process to create the back half, adding two more squares in Step 5 if necessary.
Once you're done with both the front and back halves, you can suture yourself into the chain mail on your event using the leather straps, like I did; or you can link the two halves, thread the two strap though for aesthetic purposes and find a way to wriggle into the mail when your ready to wear it.

Cosplaying Bethany Hawke

Isabella and Bethany at the Medieval Fayre 2017

Considering my recent World of Warcraft addiction and persistant struggles with cash (the two are not related, in case you were wondering) over the past few months, I was surprised I managed to get this costume done in time for the Medieval Fayre 2017 on the 2nd September.
And I cut it extremely close. Fortunately, Bethany's outfit isn't terribly complex to put together quickly; the most time consuming piece being her chain mail. This took me four months, off and on, to complete. 
Another added advantage to this outfit is that it can breathe, which I was grateful for because it was incredibly hot on that day.
I came across two downfalls to this outfit during its creation. You would notice, if you have ever played any of the Dragon Age games, that none the characters carry sheaths for their weapons. They just magically float in the air at their backs outside of combat. So instead of ruining the look of the costumes by making elabourate sheaths, we just ended up carrying the weapons in our hands. Which was a bit of an annoyance when you need them to do all the fun stuff at the Fayre.
The second problem was that I had to basically weave, suture and tie myself into the chain mail dress on the day of the Fayre; and had a heck of a time trying to get back out of it afterward too. It will be difficult to do this by yourself, so make sure you have an Isabella around to help.

The Budget Breakdown

Bethany Hawke's Outfit

Red Banana: I had this lying around the house, a souvenir from a team building exercise my mother took part in. They are fairly easy to come across anywhere and probably cost no more than R50. 

Men's Pirate Shirt: This cost  me R150 at China Mall and I had to hack the sleeves off. I probably will find some use for them in future.

Green Leggings: R60 at China Mall.

Brown Gloves: R15 at China Mall. This was a stressful buy for me because Bethany's gloves are actually the same green as her tights. Since I could not find a  green pair I comforted myself by buying a green tank top instead of a brown one.

Green Tank Top: R25 sale price at The Oriental Plaza. I actually managed to get one close in colour to the leggings thankfully or else my OCD brain would not have coped with it.

Brown Boots: R210 at Mr Price.

Chain Mail Dress

Galvinised Wire 1.60mm x 5kg (317m): R134.99 at Mica.

4x Leather Straps: R8 each at China Mall. R32 in total.

Brown Belt: R40 at China Mall. I actually planned on removing the bow and making a diamond shaped buckle. But, alas, the bow was cute so it stayed.

Side note with this aspect, the China Mall in Crownmine has a shop that sells packets of metal links of varying sizes; so it you don't mine spending more to save some time and avoid cutting wire, this could be a better option for you.

Bethany Hawke's Staff

Metallic Acrylic Paint - Silver: R169.99 at Mica. I am officially not a fan of acrylic paint, it dries slower and and this particular paint needed more coats than necessary because I could still see the newspaper print underneath. But, it is near impossible to find a metallic silver craft paint so it just had to do.

Additional Extras

Mini Glue Gun: R109.99 at Mica

Glue Sticks 8x100mm 12pcs: R24.99 at Mica

Topline 3pcs Pliers Set: R199.99 at GAME.

Portable Sewing Machine: R100 at China Mall. Do NOT waste your money on this. Save for  proper one if a sewing machine is a must, but it'll do in an emergency.

I did not set a budget for the outfit, and because we decided on our characters so far in advance I thought it I would manage my spending better if I bought what I could when I could. In total I spent a total of R1271.95 on the creation of this costume and would cost far less for you if you already have or don't need the extras.

Share, Like, Follow and stay tuned for the my next two blogs in the Bethany Hawke Series, where I will be giving step by step guides to creating Bethany's Chain Mail and Mage Staff.