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I had heard a long time ago that this could be done but found little practical information.
One instruction said merely cut a piece of an outer bulb scale and place in a bright windowsill. The bulb scale would shrivel, leaving small bulbils. This gave me little except a shriveled piece of bulb, within days. It could have been because I live in a reasonably dry climate, or that my timing was wrong--I've since heard this should be done in the Fall.
Here's what worked. Gently peel and cut away a fraction of a fairly loose yet plump bulb scale from the outside of a decent-sized bulb (my bulb was only 2-3 inches across, the scale piece maybe an inch). A careful cut with a razor blade should free the attached ends. You can probably find a less visible part of the bulb to cut from--try to do this so that it doesn't change the overall appearance of the bulb. You should be able to cut off a chunk without unpotting the bulb--this is minor surgery!
Cut the removed chunk (if you took a big one) into smaller pieces--I used about 1/2 inch all around, if I recall, so four pieces.
The key for me now was very high humidity, but not moisture or dampness--this time the bulb scale fragments did not shrivel. My trick was to place the scales--the rounded part down--resting on top of well-draining dry potting soil--do not cover at all. I covered the top with plastic wrap and sucked up some water from the bottom, but not enough to moisten the top--I used a plastic cup with holes, so it was easy to visualize the water level. There are no doubt other, simpler ways to up the humidity but it's useful to have soil already there. Perhaps avoidance of water was not necessary, but I didn't want rot to make me wait another year. These were placed in a bright windowsill.
After a long time--months--patience is required--small bumps will appear on the edge of the scale. After a couple weeks a small bulb will form from this. This bulb will slowly grow and the remnants of the bulb scale will shrivel. Eventually roots will form and a grass-like leaf or two will develop. Gradually remove the plastic when appropriate. At some stage, certainly when the roots start growing, watering can begin. As of today, I have rooted pea-sized bulbs each with two leaves about 6 inches long. Each scale fragment led to one small bulb. I do not know how the scale fragment size ultimately affects the size or number of bulbils.
It was slow but easy and fascinating to watch. I suspect this is faster than growing from seed, and the bulbs reach a small, but reasonable size quickly.
