This hat was the reason I learned chainmail: I was at a Can’t Stop the Serenity event and they had a silent auction that included a chain mail Jayne hat. I bid on it, but didn’t win, so I thought, “How hard could it be to make one myself?” I bought rings, made a couple of starter bracelet kits, then made this. It’s still one of my favorite projects.

Below are the instructions on how I made this. These instructions assume you already know how to weave European 4-in-1. If not, try M.A.I.L. and learn the basics of this weave before you start.

Supplies needed:

14-gauge, 3/8” anodized aluminum rings (I got mine from theringlord.com):

Yellow: 611+ (see note below)
Orange: 480+
Red: 250+

Note: The ring counts above are for the main part of the hat. In addition, you will need a total of 142 rings approximately evenly distributed between the 3 colors for the pompom, plus 5-10 extra yellow rings to secure the pompom to the hat.

Hat:

1. Using yellow rings, weave a solid circle with 60 rings at the outer edge. There are several possible ways to do this; I usually make 6 triangles with 9 rows of rings (one in the first row, two in the second, and so on up to 9), and weave them together (the rings used to weave the triangles together make up the last 6 of the 60 rings at the outer edge), but you can also use this or this method or whatever works best for you, as long as the end result is a circle with 60 rings at the outer edge. Using the triangle method, this takes 311 rings. (May be the same count for other methods; I’m not sure.)

2. Weave another 5 rounds even of yellow rings (300 rings total).

3. Add 8 rounds of orange rings (480 rings).

Important Note: If you use the triangle method to make your initial circle, make sure you have the rings in corresponding rows going the same way. In 4-in-1, each row’s rings “face” alternating directions, so you need to make sure that your triangles are consistent. (I learned this one the hard way, unfortunately.)

Ear flaps:
Add 10 red rings on the last row of orange. Skip the next 19 rings and add 10 more. You should have two groups of 10, with 19 orange rings between them. (The 10 red rings of the ear flap are woven onto 11 orange rings, so that’s why there’s not 20 between them.)

Add another 7 rows of 10 red on the red rings on each side, then start decreasing by simply omitting one of the end rings on each row: a row of 9, a row of 8, and so on until you have 4 red rings. Then add a 1x1 chain of 6 red rings linked to the two middle of the four rings in the last row. (Total red rings: 250 - 125 per ear flap.)

Pompom (use all three ring colors, randomly distributed):

Note: A “dec” means weave the next ring through three rings instead of the normal two.

1. Make a circle with 25 rings at the outer edge (66 rings total). I made 5 triangles with 4 rings at the bottom, then wove them together.

2. Weave one round even (25 rings).

3. (dec; weave 3 rings as normal) 5 times (20 rings).

4. (dec; weave 2 rings as normal) 5 times (15 rings).

5. (dec; weave 1 ring as normal) 5 times (10 rings).

6. dec around (5 rings).

Stuff ball with plastic wrap or a bit of black cloth. Thread a ring through the remaining 5 rings to close. Secure pompom to hat using as many yellow rings as needed to keep it standing upright.

To answer a question I get frequently when I wear the hat: no, it does not snag your hair as long as you do your closures properly. I bought a black skullcap to wear with mine just in case, but have never felt the need to actually use it.

So far the hat has fit every adult who’s tried it on; most likely the size would need to be adjusted only for very large or very small heads. However, it is a bit loose, and doesn’t have anything to secure it on your head; when I wear mine, I have to keep my head relatively level to keep the hat from shifting or falling off. The weight of the pompom also makes it a bit less stable. But, y’know, that’s the breaks for having a shiny and cunning hat. :-)