or remove rows or columns. This is the commonly used method for tailoring. The normal way to add a link to a piece of mail is to loop it through two rings in the previous row. To contract a piece, place a link through three rings instead. This effectively removes a column, decreasing by one the number of links per row. To expand a piece add an extra link to the bottom of the mail. This extra ring goes between two others so that a link in the row before the bottom will have five others linked to it instead of the usual four. This increases by one the number of rings per row. The above two methods are "column" adjustments. You will observe that an expansion is effectively the same as a contraction, but the other way round. Always try to spread your contractions and expansions out; if you have too many too close together it will be very noticeable. This is because both changes produce an idle ring , that is a link that is connected to only three others and if too many changes are made in a small area these links will stand proud. To form this type of contraction leave a gap of one link in the row between the blue rings in the figure above. On the next line add a link (shown in red) between these rings. This narrows the sleeve by two rows per contraction. From the point at which you wish