Chainmail Coif

So I was getting really into making chainmail stuff. Jewelry, keychainhangers, shirts, bracelets and necklaces could all be found on this site. The only thing I couldn't find was a chainmail coif. 

So I did some research, found multiple designs and I have combined them in one design, my version isn't fully finished but the plan is all done.

This build is not too difficult, but it requires some technique and experience in the making of chainmail. It will take a lot of time, so don't think of it as a project you could finish in two weeks. if you work on it very well, you might be able to finish it in a month. But it took me longer than that.

Try the coif from time to time, see if it fits. At certain points in this instructable you will need to put it on you head (I know it's very cold but if you put a balaclava underneath it, it's not that bad). If it doesn't fit you, please leave a comment because I hope to help you with it.

For this project, you can use the technique of my other instructable: `A faster way of making chainmail`

Step 1: The Coif's Plan

In order to start with the coif, you will need to make a plan, lucky for you, I thought of a plan which I'm going to explain in this instructable.

The main idea behind this coif, is expansion. You start with a small hexagon and keep expanding it.

Step 2: Preparations

It's necessary to make preparations before you start each new row. First you need seven rings. One open and six closed. Put the closed rings on the open ring and close it. For more clarity, you could put it down like the picture suggests. For the second row, you'll need twelve rings, third row, eighteen rings. This way, you could say 6*x where x= the amount of rows, for as long as you're expanding.

Step 3: Going on (part One)

When you've put your hexagon down as done in the picture, you can start adding the second row. Attach one ring to two rings, like you would do with normal chainmail. Keep doing this untill you have six rings for the second row. 

Now move on to your next step where we're going to finish the second row.

Step 4:

In the previous step, we ended with a full first row and half of the second row. Now it's time to finish the second row, expanding the hexagon.

A hexagon has six angles (points). If you look at the first row, you see them clearly. Every corner, needs to be expanded. Do this by adding a ring on every corner of the first hexagon. The result should look somewhat like the second picture.

Step 5: Keep Expanding

Now that you know the technique, keep expanding the hexagon untill it fits around your head. It shouldn't go all the way down, just close to or a little bit over your ears. On my head, I exanded it 13 rows from the center ring.

Step 6: Going Down

So as you have your little cute hat thingy, you want the side of you head protected as well. Stop expanding in this stage, since you only want to go down, and not out. Just make a weave as you usually do, at the angles of the hexagon, you make a normal weave (don't add a ring). Add a couple of rows untill the maille reaches you eyebrows. You now want to have an opening a bit wider as the outer corner of your eyes. For me, leaving one side of the hexagon open did the job. Continue this untill you've reached the height of your chin.

Now close the chin part by making the hole for your face a rectangle. Add as many rings at the bottom as you did at the top. Then go three or four rows down from there. To add even more protection, go down diagonally from your cheeks as in the picture. You don't want to close it all the way down there. Leave the middle ring free there for added comfort and functionality.

the bottom should look something like this:

( ( ( (                            ( ( ( ( 
 ) ) ) ) )                      ) ) ) ) ) 
( ( ( ( ( (                   ( ( ( ( ( ( 
 ) ) ) ) ) ) )             ) ) ) ) ) ) )
( ( ( ( ( ( ( (         ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( 
 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Step 7: Shoulder Parts

Now that your head is well protected, your shoulders are left unprotected. If you're not there, keep going down untill you've reached your shoulders. From here on chose eight points to be expanding from. I recommend to put two points on the front and back and two points on your shoulders. Try to place the other point on equal distance from eachother. Keep expanding using the same technique you used with the hexagons untill you've reached the end of your shoulders.

If you look at the picture, you might be able to see some "orientation rings" (as i call them) these are the points where I'm expanding.

Step 8: Good Luck

I hope this instructable was very usefull and I hope it gets just as popular as my first one. If you have any tips, or you have a question, please put it in the comments and I will respond ASAP.

Good luck with you project and let me know/see when you've finished your build.