These are knit flat, from the elbow to the palm, with 1” rib at each end, then seamed. There are Youtube videos about knitting with these ultra-cool aluminum scales. I futz’d quite a bit with the process before I found a method that would guarantee that the scales could be smoothed slick or ruffed up to stay standing.

This is a garter stitch with two stitches between each scale stitch. On the wrong side rows, K2TOG using* the scale’s hole-stitch and one of the “between” stitches. I figured out that I could get the left hand glove’s scales slanting one direction and the right hand glove scales slanting the opposite direction.

For instance, K2TOG before the scale* (left glove) and K2TOG after the scale (right glove).

SWATCH it and try a 6 row-5 scale swatch with the scales knitted through the front of the hole (bump facing you), and a swatch with the scales knitted through the back of the hole (concave side facing you). Depending on your tension, you’ll find that the scales behave very differently and one way is smoother than the other.

One skein made two pairs of fingerless gauntlets surprisingly quickly, once I got the hang of it. The second pair was the “Magic Wizard” pair with silver scales and multi-colored scales. They were grabbed up before I could take photos.

Blue Buddha Boutique carries these scales. Each pair of child size gauntlets took about 450 scales. The scales are only knit on a a 4”x10” section of the glove. I staggered the number of scales on each row 5/6/5/6/5/4/5/4/5/4/5/6/5/6 to contour to muscle,wrist,hand. The scales pointed toward the knuckle are the most comfortable given you be sure to leave about an inch of plain garter around the knuckle/palm area.

These scales are amazingly versatile and well-made with nice smooth edges. I believe these scales lend themselves to all kinds of SKA, SteamPunk and theatrical projects. I’ve got enough left to try the “Knight Service Shrug” in the Holla Knits Accessories ebook on KnitPicks!

Blue Buddha says of their Anodized Aluminum Scales:
These components make spectacular additions to your chainmaille pieces. These scales are anodized in the USA using a process that allows for full-color coverage, meaning even the edges are colored. The scales measure 7/8” x 9/16” x 0.025” (22.2 mm x 14.3 mm x 0.6mm). We will eventually post photos of the various colors, but for now you can refer to the Anodized Aluminum page to get a good idea of what the colors look like. Occasionally we get an off-color batch from our anodizer, so we might have colors like “light teal” or “dark gold” (or any other color that you do not see listed on the Anodized Aluminum page). Once we finish that batch, we might never have them again. Therefore, if you order scales, please order enough to finish your project all at once, as we cannot guarantee that we can match a color from a previous order.