Intro – Where This Ridiculous Idea Came From
This project started during a regular conversation with my neighbor about how difficult it is to find a Christmas gift that actually impresses an 8-year-old boy these days. His son is into knights, armor, and everything medieval — which is great… until you realize real armor costs about as much as a used car.
So I opened my mouth and said the most dangerous sentence a 3D-printing hobbyist can say:
“I could probably print that.”
The idea:
a fully wearable 3D-printed chainmail shirt (and eventually a helmet, when sanity allows).
The setup:
Later, when I explained this plan to my wife, she gave me the classic “I support you, but this is really stupid” look. And she wasn’t wrong.
But the challenge was already accepted.
What could possibly go wrong?
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2) Finding the Right Model
I’m a big fan of Printables and the whole Prusa ecosystem — the site is clean, fast, and actually pleasant to use. Also, why reinvent the wheel when thousands of other hobbyists have already reinvented it in every possible shape, size, and infill pattern?
So my first step was obvious:
search Printables for chainmail.
I scrolled through dozens of models — each with its own idea of what “chainmail” means. Some looked fragile, some too rigid, some clearly designed for decorative keychains rather than protecting a small knight from imaginary dragons.
And because I enjoy suffering efficiently, I wanted something:
I avoid Makerworld and Thingiverse for this kind of search — those sites feel like relics of the internet where UI design went to die. I’ll stay where my eyes don’t bleed, thanks.
Eventually, I found something truly clever:
🧩 “Chainmail x16 Levels – The Largest 3D Printed…” by Propsmaker
https://www.printables.com/model/1464618-chainmail-x16-levels-the-largest-3d-printed
And then even smarter paid versions:
🧩 Large Folded Sheet Chainmail v2.1
https://www.printables.com/model/1257726-chainmail-v21-is-here-large-sheet-and-its-a-game-c
Now this was chainmail done right.
A folded multi-layer print that creates several rows of flexible “fabric” in a single job — totally genius, and way more efficient than printing thousands of loose rings like a lunatic.
But… there was a small problem:
These were designed for bigger printers like the Prusa XL, not my MK4S.
And the best files required a payment (fair enough — the work is worth it).
Luckily, Propsmaker had published one free sample for a Printables “Fabric” competition — and competition entries must be free to download.
So I decided to start with that 5 cm test piece.
If it worked, the path ahead might not be completely stupid.
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3) Adjusting the Model to Fit My Purpose
The free Propsmaker sheet printed perfectly on my MK4S using my trusted 0.25 mm draft profile — fast and good enough for armor that will mostly be hit by foam swords.
But then came the problem:
the sheet was about 5 cm wide and over 1 meter long.
Which is ideal if you want a plastic scarf, but completely useless for a chainmail shirt unless you enjoy sewing plastic rings together for months.
(And by sewing, I mean linking until you lose sanity and finger mobility.)
So my choices were:
either pay for the bigger models and remix them anyway…
or remix the free one and keep my wallet happy.
As a fundamentally cheap and stubborn maker, option #2 won.
So I opened Fusion 360 and started slicing, duplicating, and rearranging the pattern to create wider, modular sheets that could actually form clothing.
Because if I’m going to suffer, at least I’ll suffer on my own terms.
This is where confidence met reality.
At first, I isolated the “repeatable” section of the pattern and extended it sideways to cover the entire bed. Feeling proud, I launched a 12+ hour print. It finished perfectly — and I discovered I had accidentally extended the length, not the width.
Congratulations to me: I now owned 6 meters of chainmail spaghetti.
My grandmother used to say, “If it’s not in the head, you’ll have it in the legs.” In 3D printing, this translates to: “Back to Fusion. Fix it. Rinse. Repeat. Try not to rage at inanimate objects.”
The second attempt was the opposite extreme — a giant chainmail tile covering every millimeter of build space. Fusion approved it. PrusaSlicer… less so. It happily estimated 9 days and 16 hours, consuming 2.4 kg of PETG, with about a 100% guarantee the print would fail while I slept.
Slightly too risky.
Finally, on the third round — after my optimism had taken a noticeable hit — I cut the sheet in height instead, reducing it to four rows of rings that could be spread horizontally without creating a chainmail mega-block. Slicer estimate: 2 days and 3 hours. Still ambitious, but printable. And that was good enough.
This became my base sheet — the foundation of the entire chainmail build.
Only two failed approaches, 14 hours of wasted printing, and one existential crisis later. Easy.
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4) Printing – The Factory Phase
After conquering Fusion 360 like a mildly frustrated knight, it was finally time to print the real deal: full-size chainmail sheets. And here comes the plot twist…
Nothing went wrong.
I know — I was also suspicious.
I printed three large sheets (about 25 cm wide and 1 meter long each) using my 0.25 mm draft profile on the MK4S. The model separated perfectly: rings released from the pre-defined supports without any drama. Major props to Propsmaker — the engineering is genuinely clever. A stuck ring here, a snapped ring there… but that was just my “draft speed first, quality second” attitude showing.
With printed sheets stacking up on every surface of the house, a new challenge appeared:
“How do I connect these giant slabs of plastic chainmail together?”
Propsmaker includes connector rings — but only in the paid files, and I still hadn’t softened my wallet.
So I searched. And found an army of keyring designs.
Strong, reliable, double-ring, triple-ring, maybe-won’t-break-if-a-kid-pulls-on-it versions…
Eventually I landed on this model:
Key Ring Collection by Adudino
https://www.printables.com/model/1021329-key-ring-collection
I printed a batch in miniature to test them. Functionally they were solid…
but on the chainmail they looked like tiny ninja shurikens — too sharp-edged.
So once again I went into Fusion 360 and reshaped them — more round, more comfortable, less “this armor will leave permanent markings”. It worked perfectly.
BUT — important note:
Both Propsmaker’s model and Adudino’s keyrings are under licenses that do not allow sharing modified versions, so sadly I cannot upload any of my remixes.
(Trust me, I would love to share them to save others from my fate.)
Final connector ring count for the full shirt:
600.
Yes. Six. Hundred. One by one. By hand. Had to sew them in
This is the part where my wrist officially filed for divorce.
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Assembly & Challenges
(Spoiler: the plan and the reality kept arguing)
The assembly didn’t happen after everything was printed — obviously.
Because who has that kind of patience?
The timeline looked more like this:
And because I am both cheap and unreasonably optimistic, I wasn’t going to waste that long strip. So I came up with a brilliant idea:
Spiral the strip → instant sleeves.
“Look at me, future medieval fashion designer.”
While main sheets were printing, I finished two full spiral sleeves.
And hey — they actually looked decent.
Once the second large sheet was done, I connected both into a 50 cm wide × 1 meter tall plastic cylinder — perfect for testing on my own 8-year-old, who served as my unwilling mannequin because the actual recipient is slightly smaller (growth margin secured).
At this stage, it was… well… a giant chainmail tube.
No neck hole.
No arm holes.
But confidence still at 100%.
I had even asked ChatGPT (yes — you, dear reader) how to attach sleeves, and the advice wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. So I had to go my own way.
To shape shoulders, I stitched the top of the cylinder together bit by bit, then cut arm openings into the sides. The first fitting looked great — I was on top of the world.
Which lasted about 8 seconds.
Because attaching the spiral sleeves was a crime against geometry.
The pattern direction didn’t match.
The seams looked like I tried to patch a soccer ball onto a T-shirt.
Even the kid looked confused.
So… back to the drawing board.
(spiral sleeves → abandoned in silence 🪦)
The only solution:
Use the third full sheet to build both sleeves properly, matching the existing pattern. I measured on the kid again, determined width & length, and returned to my new hobby:
Sewing plastic armor.
For hours.
Several evenings.
My hands now clinically hate me.
But finally — FINALLY — the chainmail shirt stood complete.
Proper alignment. Proper fit.
A fully wearable knight under-armor for an 8-year-old.
Achievement unlocked 🏆
I still have leftover chainmail (ironically the same size as the entire shirt), so a hood or coif may happen later. But for now, I am simply proud — and slightly amazed — that I produced a functional product and not a pile of medieval sadness.
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was a fun journey for me as a maker and am daring anyone who has doubts to throw that “reason” part aside and just enjoy the fun of this. lets see what the kids reaction will be. Will update after christmass
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