As an advanced chainmailler, you can make any weave that you fancy. You feel comfortable with your tools and with your ability to choose the rings that work best for your project. Your foundation is broad and solid.
So what now?
It’s time to identify what “flavor” of chainmail brain you have. Let me explain what I mean… We all start out making the same sort of chainmail. Some European 4-in-1, maybe some Mobius flowers, and almost definitely some 18ga Birdcage. But after a while, you’ll find that you’re especially drawn to certain weaves, or to extra-tiny rings, huge rings, size-varying weaves, inventing new weaves, color, beads, clothing, etc. My advice to you? Pursue that! Find the aspect of chainmail that is most interesting to you and then push the limits of that aspect.
Personally, I like taking fairly standard weaves and tweaking the sizes. I’ve tried branching out into exotic weaves, but beyond the satisfaction of making them successfully, they didn’t hold my interest. I’ve tried making armor and other clothing, but there weren’t enough details to keep me engaged in the design. What tickles my creative sense is relatively simple weaves like Full Persian or Japanese 12-in-2 that have been thrown into a math blender. I also really (really!) like the sense of completion that comes from “collecting the whole set” of ring sizes. I followed my chainmail brain — it has led me to manufacture thousands of ring variations and design math-inspired size varying chainmail jewelry.
I can’t tell you what flavor of chainmail brain you have, but I’m happy to help you explore and push your creativity. Tell me what you want to practice, and I’ll assign you a challenge: make a new weave with these three ring sizes, use four different weaves in one necklace, do a color inlay for this species of butterfly, and so on, etc…
And listen to your internal chainmail muse. She’ll tell you where to go.
Happy chainmailling!
-Spider