This is a very complex weave simply for the amount of steps, and the nature of combining TabMail with ChainTab elements. This uses 16 ga 1/4 AR 4.2 & 16 ga 5/16 AR 5.3 Bright Aluminum Rings I purchase mine from TheRingLord. I chose Bright Aluminum to match properly with the aluminum can tabs.

• Difficulty: 5/5 – This has 20+ steps for a reason
• Flexibility: 3/5 – Vertically it only flexes a bit, but it’s surprisingly moveable.
• Tabs per sq. ft: ~850
• 1/4 Rings per sq. ft: ~475
• 5/16 Rings per sq. ft: ~75

1. Start off with some 2-ChainTab (just 3 long as shown) – although you’ll want a couple of these.

2. Add some more cut tabs to the top.

3. And connect to make a 2-4-2 chain.

4. Now thread a 5/16 through the middle and close (should only surround the 4 tabs middle bars.)

5. Lay out 2 sets of tabs back-to-back, and for the top add a tab with the bottom half sticking out (between the 2 back-to-back tabs) and do the same but with the top sticking out in the bottom set.

6. Now switch to 1/4 rings (You only use 5/16 in the middle of the 4 tabs), and connect the bottom group.

7. And the top.

8. Now thread a 1/4 ring through the 5/16 and the 2 overlapping tabs (make sure the top one is facing – actually you can do it the other way – just keep it consistent)

Now here’s where you can “customize” see below is actually a swatch where the TabMail section is only 1 – wide. (This tutorial follows a 2 – wide pattern) but essentially you can make it as wide as you like, and best of all it doesn’t need to match you can make one part 3 wide than 1 wide then 3 wide again.

9. Since I’m making mine 2 wide though I set myself out another 2 groups as from step 5.

10. And connect.

11. Here you make as many (sections) as you’d like depending on your width (I have just 2 for this tutorial).

12. I find it’s easiest to connect the middle tab, but you’ll connect everything in the next step anyway.

13. The 2 sections connected.

14. I finish it off by adding an end chain.

15. Now you add a middle tab to the top of the section connecting down the whole line, and make sure you leave an empty space for the sections where you’ll add more ChainTab, but that they are connected to the rings as well.

16. Add your other swatch (as wide as before), but add the tabs to the bottom section.

17. Now add 4 tabs in the 4-ChainTab manor to the bottom of the upper section.

18. And connect them to the bottom section.

19. Now add that 5/16 ring to the middle bar of the 4 tabs, and connect the 2 overlapping tabs with a 1/4 ring.

20. And connect the 5/16 ring to the TabMail section (note this will require a lot of “finicking.”

21. Here’s the completed section from above, as you see the larger the piece the more it looks like the 4-Chain is studded out and “captured” inbetween the TabMail, hence the name.