So awhile back I started making a chain mail shirt for a Halloween costume, but it takes loads of time and effort and I stopped for awhile. Recently, I've been trying to finish it, but I lost my pliers so I can't. :'( Anyways, I was thinking how much I enjoy working on something for a really long time and then seeing the finished product, knowing that this was made by me. It's just so satisfying to know how all my hard work paid off.

Discuss:
- Homemade items
- DIY construction
- Self-sufficiency
- Benefits of knowing a trade

well I'm nowhere near self sufficient, But I do really enjoy sewing.
I've just recently started going to Conventions and working on a costume that takes a lot of time is a lotof fun. there's a kind of self satisfaction that comes out when I wear something that I put a lot of work into. Even if most of the time I'm sewing fabris on premade shirts and stuff

that's so cool that you even know how to make a chainmail shirt (I wouldn't know where to start) and good luck in finishing it :)

Well, I know the basics. Actually taking a crap load of chain mail and making it into wearable form will be difficult. I got 14 gauge galvanized steel wire from Home Depot for the rings. I take the wire and wrap it around a metal broom handle. Then after I end up with a spring shape, I use sheers to cut individual rings. Then I like them up in clusters of fives by closing them with pliers. Finally, I use more single rings to join the clusters together. On paper, it's not difficult, but just making the rings takes a serious amount of time and effort. Link them together is very difficult and making a mistake is so easy when you're working with a material that can't have any rings facing the wrong way and changes size and shape frequently.

O.O wow, I don't think I would ever have the patience for that :sweat: I would probably stab myself when trying to cut the individual rings, plus pliers never really liked me. it's really neat though how you use steel wire to make the rings and go one from there, I'd imagine sizing the chainmail into what you want would be difficult too.

My family on my dad's side is really big on do it yourself stuff. My grandpa has his own welding equipment and repairs his own tractor, mowers, and other stuff he has laying around. My dad barrows his welding gear all the time.
They also all farm their veggies for the most part seeing as how most of them only eat cucumbers and tomatoes.
My grandpa has two fish ponds so they catch their own fish. They usually go hunting out behind his house because there's a lot of woods.

I've always told myself that when I get older I'd be just like that but living in apartments it's kinda hard.

though i don't actually have a job doing it, i really enjoy cooking for friends.
thats is what i want to do, so my friends sometimes ask me to help them out with parties.=3
it make me happy!

I finished a cross stitch project that had dozens of colors and was 20 by 30 inches or so. it took me years, and I do mean years to finish. Now if I could afford to frame it, I would look at it and say "wow, that is so cool" but it sits, instead, in a box. With all the other projects I can't afford to frame.

You could try getting some wooden boards and tacking them to the boards so you can display them. It wouldn't protect them, but it'd probably be better than keeping them in a box.

That happens quite often for me. You see, I sew hats. And I dont have a sewing machine, so I have to do everything by hand.
6 hours of painstaking work, pulling the needle in and out, in and out, correcting twisted threads, making sure that my stitches aren't too far apart, keeping the few holding pins I have in place.... It's alot of hassle, but the finished product is quite rewarding. So far I've made an inverted purple and white kitty hat, a tonberry hat (as a cosplay commission for a friend), and a penguin hat (as a birthday gift for another friend).

Well right now I'm trying to learn to knit (I know how to make the first row..but don't know how to start another..lol..), but other than that I do know how to sew, I hemmed and embroidered my sister's pants, and embroidered my back packs, pants, a shirt for a birthday present, and make my own bookmarks! I'm still trying to work up the patience to cross stitch (XD), and I love working on puzzles, then framing them, and taking my own pictures. It's just nice to see your work around you..

I can just about sew in a straight line. But i am green fingered.
I can grow plants beautifully.

Wow, an entire chainmail shirt? That's quite the feat to make. I remember in 4th grade a man came in and demonstrated one of those jousting tournaments, and a sword fight. Afterwards he taught an art class and showed us how to make chainmail. I just made a little patch that took two hours. It really was a lot of work, and it's admirable that you would do it all yourself.

Beats getting something made in China, right? And the work involved, the labour is definitely worth saying I made this.

there is this guy on the trimat bus were I live that wears a chainmial shirt over his other shirt, is that you? O.o

Originally Posted by RainbowSuicide

there is this guy on the trimat bus were I live that wears a chainmial shirt over his other shirt, is that you? O.o

I wish that was me. That would mean I've finished it. >.<

oh well then you both had the same idea

Um.....I really get annoyed after a while if I start something so I usually quit in the
middle. :sweat:

I made a lopsided shelf with two by fours when I was seven.

Only thing I've ever made like that lol.

...Well, I made a gumball machine in seventh grade wood shop... does that count?
It was functional, too. :3

That's it. I never do anything nifty like that. Fail. TT____TT

Originally Posted by Fabby

...Well, I made a gumball machine in seventh grade wood shop... does that count?
It was functional, too. :3

That's it. I never do anything nifty like that. Fail. TT____TT

That's awesome! I wish I got the chance to take some sort of shop. None of the schools I went to offered it. =(

I've made earrings from Sculpey before. I tried again afterwards but failed a couple of times. Only the first one paid off though it has so many mistakes. I plan to make more in the future but it's like so long... So lazy.

Wow, that's pretty impressive. I hear those things take quite a while to complete. In the end, if you ever do finish, you'll be proud of it, eh?

I throw pots. As in, ceramics. I sit at a wheel with a lump of clay and turn it into bowls, vases, jars, urns, all sorts of neat things. It's one of my favourite pastimes. I have a few bowls that I gave to my mother as presents when I first started back in my first year of high school; she'll use them for appetizers before the opera or any other even that goes on in town she attends.

What I have trouble with, are things that require an avid imagination. I can't make sculptures, because I'll get halfway through and it'll just be an abdomen and an arm hanging out from a block. Which, on occasion, hasn't been too bad looking for the corner of a room, but I can't really "see" the finish, so I don't.

@Lee-- ...Really?
I never want to take such a class ever again. I was horrible at it. I can't even plane a board properly.
It's a miracle that I got it finished.

I know exactly what you mean.
Though..I don't make things like that.
I'm a knitter, jeweler (sort of), and crafter. The most satisfying thing for me is when I finish the second sock of a pair. Then I'm all giddy inside and ready to wear them.
:)
I also tend to try and make gifts for people, with knitting or with my jewelry making. I feel it's a lot more personal and it means a lot more to people than me going out, finding a pair of socks at Walmart and buying them.
So not only do I get satisfied with being self sufficient and being crafty, I also am a lot more satisfied with the gift that I give the person. I know that they will use it and cherish it for a long time.

Oh, and I remember when I made this dragon sculpture. It took me ages to make all the scales on it, but at the end I was really pleased with all the time and effort I put into it.
It's too bad that it broke. *sigh* The neck was too thick and I had to stick the head on with toothpicks and then form the left over clay on top.

i love the feeling of accomplishment when admiring the finished product of one of my drawings. If it's a well done, fantasy/realistic drawing i love it! the feeling of having done a good job and everything! you know what i mean!

it can be defined as a certain rush almost!