When do I tackle the chainmaile?

So I'm dying to keep working on my costume, but there are so many elements that I'm overwhelmed as to where to begin. I have to finish the dress and the chainmaile before I start the corset - I need to make sure that I make it the right size - not too small, not too big.

I was hoping I could do the chainmaile last, so that if I ran out of time I still had other elements that were important to the costume. But, it's definitely the best piece of the entire costume, and if I left it out it would detract from the costume.

But what to use? When we made Matt's chainmaile (darn, I really am going to have to make a whole post about that) we used thousands of key chains. It was SO heavy! And Susan's mail is very small, so we'd have to use slightly smaller rings, and they were difficult enough to work with when they were large.

My friend Amy sent me a link, and I think this seems much more doable than trying to use keychains: http://www.larp.com/orcs/PVCmail.html

But then my friend Samm sent me this link: http://www.theringlord.com/RingCutDetails.shtml I wouldn't have to glue those together, I think. I ordered a sample to see what the weight would be, what the size is like, and so I could see what it's like to put them together.


Or, I could buy this t-shirt for $50. It's got the right sleeve length. Except, every ring is welded shut and I'd need to mod the bottom. Also, am I really a cheater? (Stores this information in my brain for when I give up on the chainmaile.)

ETA:  Yeah, it wasn't a $50 shirt.  It was an extra $50 for the size I would have needed.  The shirt is actually about $300.