How to make the Dragonscale Pattern
By Frank Hiemstra

Dragon Scale is an interesting pattern that looks, oddly enough,
like the scales of a dragon when completed. It is a little tricky to
get started, but gets easier once it is going.

For this weave to work, you will need two different sizes of rings.
The smaller diameter of ring should just be able to fit through the
larger rings. Ideally, the smaller ring should be a little bigger than
the ones pictured here to work right. I have used a slightly smaller ring
here to better show the difference between the two ring sizes in the weave.

Start with a simple chain of alternating small and large rings.

Place a closed large ring over the small ring, and straddling the two large rings below.

Loop and close a large ring through the small ring so that it is pulled up through the closed ring that we just laid down. This will
anchor the ring that we just laid on top.

Place another closed large ring down over the next small ring. Thread another large ring through the first and second small rings and close.
Continue until the row is complete.

You should now have a strip of mail that is three layers of large rings deep.
Place a small ring through the first two large rings of the second layer. This ring should stick up through the large ring on the top layer. I have coloured this ring so you can see it in there. Care must be taken that this small ring stays behind the other small rings. This "stepping-back" of the small rings is what allows the mail to hang in the scale pattern. I find it easiest to push the
top layer out of the way, close the small ring through the large rings on the second layer, then push it up through the top layer.

Take a large ring and thread it through the small ring you just put in. This will keep the small ring from being pulled back down through the weave. In this picture you can also see the consequences of using a small ring that is too small. The small ring has worked its way forward of the one below it on the left side. This needs tobe corrected by moving the ring to sit behind the lower one for the pattern to sit straight. This problem can be avoided by using a small ring that just barely fits inside the large ring.

Take a small ring and place it through the second and third ring of the second layer. Poke it up through the large ring of the third layer. Take another large ring and thread it through this ring and the small ring you put in before it.
Continue in this manner until this row is complete.

The weave is continued like this until it is the size that you wish. The important things to remember are that the smaller rings should just fit through the large rings, and to keep the small rings one behind the other in a step pattern as the weave gets larger.