Here are the color-pattern set-up instructions for 25 or so triangle braids that I showed in my recent Triangle braid tutorial. The instructions below do not cover how to braid the triangle braid, just how to arrange the colors on your fingers before braiding, for various color pattern effects. The braiding method is covered in the tutorial.
The braids are arranged (mostly) in order of total number of loops, from 5 on up to 11. Many of the color-patterns can be adapted to other numbers of loops than the one shown.
There are clearer images of most of these braids in the photos and videos of the tutorial.
Double-check any bicolor loops before braiding to make sure the correct colors are in upper and lower position on the finger – this may be different on the two hands. Upper color is underlined in set-up instructions.
Please let me know if you find any mistakes!
Th= thumb, A= index, B= middle, C= ring, D= little finger, DLow= little finger towards palm, DHigh= little finger towards tip.
| Bicolor Chevrons: (5 loops) | ||
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5 loops: 3 white loops; 2 bicolor black/red loops (upper braid in photo) | |
| Left hand: A white B white C white |
Right hand: A bicolor red/black (red up) B bicolor red/black (red up) |
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| Note: For single-color chevrons, substitute 2 single-color loops for the 2 bicolor loops. | ||
| Black chevron over bicolor stripes: (5 loops) | ||
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5 loops: 1 black loop, 4 bicolor rust/white loops, | |
| Left hand: A black B bicolor white/rust (white up) C white/rust (white up) |
Right hand: A bicolor rust/white (Note: rust up) B bicolor rust/white (rust up) |
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| Notes: 1. The bicolor loops must be placed in opposite “up-down” orientation on the two hands. 2. My black is a tiny bit thicker than the rust and white threads – not necessary for the pattern but I like how it turned out! | ||
| Pastel Chevrons with Lopsided Black W’s: (5 loops) | ||
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5 loops: 2 black loops; 2 blue loops; 1 pink loop | |
| Left hand: A black B blue C blue |
Right hand: A black B pink |
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| Note: This is a 5-loop version of the 9-loop “pastel chevrons/black W’s” further down. It has a fun lopsided feel. For a more symmetrical color pattern, make it with 6 loops (add one more pink loop onto Right C, and see footnotes re 6-loop triangle braid method). | ||
| Lopsided bicolor W’s on Black: (5 loops) | ||
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5 loops: 3 black loops; 2 bicolor pink/yellow loops | |
| Left hand: A black B bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) C black |
Right hand: A bicolor yellow/pink (yellow up) B black |
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| Note: For a more symmetrical pattern of straighter bicolor W’s separated by a wider black area, add one black loop. Move the loops on Right A and B down one position to Right B and C; then add the new black loop onto Right A. This will make a different pattern than the following braid. See footnotes for instructions for 6-loop triangle braids. | ||
| Alternating Black and Bicolor W’s: (6 loops) | ||
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6 loops: 3 black loops; 3 bicolor pink/yellow loops | |
| Left hand: A black B bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) C black |
Right hand: A bicolor yellow/pink (yellow up) B black C bicolor yellow/pink (yellow up) |
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| Note: See footnotes below chart for 6-loop triangle braid method. | ||
| Edge plus 1 solid black loop: (5 loops) | ||
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5 loops: 1 black loop, 4 bicolor black/pastel variegated loops | |
| Left hand: A black B pastel/black (pastel up) C pastel/black (pastel up) |
Right hand: A black/pastel (black up) B black/pastel (black up) |
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| Note: A variation of Edge pattern (I show other Edge patterns further down; many can be adapted for 5-loop braids). Sample was made with doubled black embroidery floss, and a sportweight silk knitting yarn of variegated pastels. The pattern would look great with two solid colors as well, as long as they have good contrast. For color variegations to line up like this in the braid, cut each of the variegated lengths with the same exact color sequence – find the color-repeat in the yarn before cutting the lengths. | ||
| Bordered bicolor Chevron: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: 4 purple loops; 2 white loops; 1 rust/black bicolor loop. | |
| Left hand: A purple B purple C purple D purple |
Right hand: A white B bicolor rust/black (rust up) C white |
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| Note: This color-pattern looks great with lighter/brighter bicolor chevron colors, set off by two black loops instead of white as the border of the chevrons. Or substitute a shiny rayon or silk loop instead of the bicolor loop at the center of the chevron, another great contrast, especially with black border loops! | ||
| Busy Chevrons: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: 3 black loops; 2 green loops; 2 bicolor pink/yellow loops | |
| Left hand: A black B bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) C black D bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) |
Right hand: A black B green C green |
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| Note: Or substitute 1 yellow loop and 1 pink loop for the two bicolor loops, for an equally colorful pattern without bicolor chevrons. A 9-loop and 11-loop version are listed below. The 5-loop “Lopsided bicolor W’s on Black” listed above is made with this exact loop sequence minus the two green loops, but doesn’t turn out anything like this braid. | ||
| “One-loop-wrong”: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: All bicolor black/white | |
| Left hand: A black/white (black up) B black/white (black up) C black/white (black up) D black/white (black up) |
Right hand: A white/black (white up) B white/black (white up) C black/white (black up) |
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| Note: Variation of Edge pattern below. Can be made with any number of loops, 5 and up. You can set up the loops as for Edge, then on only one hand, turn one loop (any loop) to be in ‘contrary’ position to its neighbors. Here, I made that be the loop on Right C, but it can actually be on any finger. | ||
| Edge pattern: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: All bicolor black/white | |
| Left hand: A black/white (black up) B black/white (black up) C black/white (black up) D black/white (black up) |
Right hand: A white/black (white up) B white/black (white up) C white/black (white up) |
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| Note: Can be made with any number of loops, 5 and up. This pattern is much nicer than you would guess from the terrible thumbnail! (I didn’t have a good photo to work from for making this thumbnail.) Very simple and elegant. Looks great alternating with the “One-loop-wrong” pattern above (I demo how to do this in the 7-loop video in my Triangle Braid tutorial) | ||
| Edge plus 1 solid black loop: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: 1 black loop, 6 bicolor black/pastel variegated loops | |
| Left hand: A black B pastel/black (pastel up) C pastel/black (pastel up) D pastel/black (pastel up) |
Right hand: A black/pastel (black up) B black/pastel (black up) C black/pastel (black up) |
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| Note: 7-loop version of 5-loop sample shown above, sportweight silk knitting yarn of variegated pastels, and doubled black embroidery floss. This is always a very striking pattern! Not just with variegated yarn – it looks great as a simple two-color pattern, in any number of loops, also when braided as a square braid. | ||
| Edge plus 1 solid green loop, and color variations: (7 loops) | ||
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7 loops: 1 all-green loop, others bicolor with one green shank: 4 loops green/white, 2 loops green/red | |
| Left hand: A white/ green (white up) B white/ green (white up) C green D white/ green (white up) |
Right hand: A green/white (NOTE: green up) B green/red (green up) C green/red (green up) |
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| Notes: Another Edge variation. (IMO this dark green and white combo looks really good with pink instead of the red of this braid, but the photo of that braid didn’t turn out!) | ||
| Edge with color variations: (8 loops) | ||
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8 loops, all bicolor with 1 black shank: 4 white/black; 2 rust/black; 2 blue/black | |
| Left hand: A white/black (white up) B white/black (white up) C blue/black (blue up) D blue/black (blue up) |
Right hand: A black/white (black up) B black/white (black up) C black/rust (black up) D black/rust (black up) |
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| Notes: 1. When setting up an 8-loop braid, I always load the loops from A to D fingers of both hands as listed in set-up above, and then before braiding, I shift the right loops up one position (thumb to C fingers) to free up the right D finger to be the “operator”/ braiding finger. 2. 8 loops is required for the even spacing of two colors (2 loops wide), alternating with 2-loop-wide sections of white. See footnotes for 8-loop method. |
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| Edge with color variations 2: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops, all bicolor with 1 gray shank: 3 white/gray; 2 pink/gray; 2 yellow/gray; 2 lavender/gray | |
| Left hand: Th white/gray (white up) A lavender/gray (lavender up) B lavender/gray (lavender up) C white/gray (white up) D pink/gray (pink up) |
Right hand: Th gray/pink (gray up) A gray/white (gray up) B gray/yellow (gray up) C gray/yellow (gray up) |
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| Note: 1. Here with 9 loops I do list the right hand’s loops from thumb to C-finger (as they probably should be listed for 8-loop braids as well!) 2. This is a 9-loop variation of the previous braid. This one has three evenly-spaced colors of 2 loops each, spaced apart by single white loops. Spelling it out here because it’s not very clear in the photo. |
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| Edge plus 1 brown loop, with color variations: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 1 brown loop, 6 bicolor brown/white loops, 2 bicolor brown/blue loops | |
| Left hand: Th white/brown (white up) A white/brown (white up) B white/brown (white up) C blue/brown (blue up) D blue/brown (blue up) |
Right hand: Th brown/white (brown up) A brown/white (brown up) B brown/white (brown up) C brown |
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| Notes: This pattern can be much nicer than it looks in this braid! (or maybe it’s just an unflattering photo!) | ||
| Basic Chevrons, plain or bicolor: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 5 white loops, 4 bicolor red/black loops | |
| Left hand: Th to D: 5 white loops |
Right hand: Th to C: 4 bicolor red/ black loops (red up) |
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| Notes: For single-color chevrons, substitute 4 single-color loops for the bicolor loops. For vertically 2-tone chevrons, substitute 2 red followed by 2 black loops for the bicolor loops. | ||
| Bordered Chevrons, across bicolor stripes: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 2 black loops, 1 gold loop, 6 bicolor purple/white loops | |
| Left hand: Th to D: 5 bicolor white/ purple loops (white up) |
Right hand: Th Black A Gold B Black C: purple/ white loop (Note: purple up) |
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| Notes: This is the braid I made in the 9-loop video in my triangle braid tutorial. For a 7-loop version, use the same three single-color loops (2 black, 1 gold), but only 4 bicolor loops. All 4 bicolor loops on left hand (white up); black, gold, black on right hand. | ||
| Bordered Bicolor Chevrons: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 5 green loops, 2 black loops, 2 bicolor red/white loops | |
| Left hand: Th to D: 5 green loops |
Right hand: Th black A red/ white (red up) B red/ white (red up) C black |
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| Busy Chevrons: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 4 green loops; 3 black loops; 2 bicolor pink/yellow loops | |
| Left hand: Th black A bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) B black C bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) D black |
Right hand: Th green A green B green C green |
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| Note: Or substitute 1 yellow loop and 1 pink loop for the two bicolor loops, for an equally colorful pattern. This sequence of 5 loops for the chevrons only ‘breaks free’ at 11 loops. With fewer than 11 loops, the chevrons connect around the braid. | ||
| Pastel Chevrons with Black W’s: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: 4 blue, 3 pink, 2 black | |
| Left hand: Th blue A blue B blue C blue D black |
Right hand: Th pink A pink B pink C black |
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| Notes: I listed a 5-loop version of this braid up higher. A 7-loop version would have 2 black, 3 blue and 2 pink loops. There is a slight asymmetrical quality because of having one more blue than pink loop. | ||
| No-Turns Bicolor Pattern (single-color lower layer): (8 loops) | ||
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8 loops (lower braid): 2 purple loops, 3 bicolor purple/yellow loops, 3 bicolor purple/white loops | |
| Left hand: A white/purple (white up) B white/purple (white up) C white/purple (white up) D purple |
Right hand: A yellow/purple (yellow up) B yellow/purple (yellow up) C yellow/purple (yellow up) D purple |
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| Notes: Take all loops without turning them (a.k.a. unreversed, straight, open) – Warning note: this differs from the instructions in the tutorial! For these two braids, the purple shanks of the bicolor loops only show on the bottom of the braid, they never appear on the upper surface. This color set-up (in a triangle braid done with no turns) comes out very similarly to how it would look braided as a D-shaped braid with no turns. As a triangle braid, it has more “show-through” on the bottom layer, and a bit crisper, wider pattern on the top. (8-loop braid: Before starting braiding moves, shift right loops up to Th – C fingers. See footnotes for 8-loop method.) Upper braid is of 9 loops: 2 purple, 3 white/purple, 4 green/purple. |
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| Bicolor Dark-Light Alternations: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: all loops bicolor black/light green | |
| Left and Right hands: All loops black/ green bicolor (black up) [or vice-versa: all green up] |
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| Note: This basic pattern can be made with any number of bicolor loops from 5 up (triangle braids require a minimum of 5 loops). Some of this pattern’s variations below require an even number of loops, or a specific number of loops. | ||
| Bicolor Dark-Light Alternations 2: (9 loops) | ||
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9 loops: all loops bicolor with 1 black shank. 5 black/blue loops, 4 black/white loops. | |
| Left hand: Th to D 5 bicolor blue/ black (blue up) |
Right hand: Th to C 4 bicolor white/ black (white up) |
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| Note: Make with any number of loops 5 and up. | ||
| Bicolor Dark-Light Alternations 3: (8 loops) | ||
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8 loops: all loops bicolor with 1 black shank. 4 black/blue loops, 4 black/white loops. | |
| Left and Right hands: A white/ black (white up) B white/ black (white up) C blue/ black (blue up) D blue/ black (blue up) |
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| Notes: 1. Before starting to braid, shift right loops all up one position, to be on Th – C fingers. 2. This half-and-half color pattern is only possible with 8 loops (or 12 – must be a number divisible by 4). See footnotes for 8-loop method. | ||
| Alternating dark-lights plus black border: (10 loops) | ||
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10 loops: 2 black loops, 8 bicolor blue/white loops | |
| Left and Right hands: Th blue/ white (blue up) A blue/ white (blue up) B blue/ white (blue up) C blue/ white (blue up) D black |
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| Notes: 1. This pattern can be made with other numbers of loops. It will be slightly to very asymmetrical with an odd number of loops. 2. See footnotes for 10-loop method. | ||
| Alternating dark-lights plus 2 all-dark loops: (10 loops) | ||
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10 loops: 2 black loops, 4 bicolor black/blue loops, 4 bicolor black/white loops (lower braid) | |
| Left and Right hands: Th blue/ black (blue up) A blue/ black (blue up) B black C white/ black (white up) D white/ black (white up) |
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| Notes: 1. For first braid, substitute bicolor white/dark for both bicolor blue/dark loops. 2. See footnotes for 10-loop method. Similar patterns could be made with 6 loops: Use 4 instead of 8 bicolor loops, along with the same two single-color loops. | ||
| Busy Chevrons: (11 loops) | ||
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11 loops: 6 green loops; 3 black loops; 2 bicolor pink/yellow loops | |
| Left hand: Th green A green B green C green DLow green DHigh green |
Right hand: Th black A bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) B black C bicolor pink/yellow (pink up) D black |
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| Notes: 11-loop triangle moves= skip 2 loops (both D-loops), through 3 loops (C,B,A) take Th. See 11-loop square braid tutorial for loop-shifting moves. | ||
NOTES:
[update] I’ve heard from a viewer that these photos aren’t showing up well or maybe even at all on his small-screen device 😦
Is anyone else having problems viewing them? Please let me know in as much detail as you can in the comment field below, if I get enough info I’ll ask the WordPress techs what to do about it. It may have something to do with the html table coding I’ve been using for my latest color-pattern posts, I’m not very good at that stuff. (I can’t duplicate the problem on my own tablet, unfortunately, so the more details the better).
Opposite side: I didn’t show any photos of the lower surface in this chart, but I show the bottom surface near the end of my three videos in the tutorial (check the timeline under the tutorial to see where to go in the video). The lower surface of a triangle braid is very different from the upper surface – much simpler in color-pattern, wide and flattish. It’s similar to the bottom surface of D-shaped braids. When done with no turns (I show two examples of no-turn braid patterns above), and with bicolor loops all having the same color on the lower shank, the bottom will be an almost-solid color, but not quite as solid as the D-shaped braid version would be. There is a bit of speckling of the colors of the upper surface.
Even number of loops: When using an even number of loops, you will end up having one more loop on one of the hands than on the other when it comes time to do the loop transfer. I recommend going through the same number of loops on each hand. Let it be the loops that are skipped over that are a different number on the two hands.
So, for a 6-loop braid, put the operator finger through only one loop on each hand, as for a 5-loop triangle braid. You will be skipping over one loop on the left hand and two loops on the right hand.
For an 8-loop braid, go through 2 loops on each hand.
You will skip over one loop on the left hand, and over 2 loops on the right hand.
10-loop method: On left skip over 2 loops (Ld, Lc); on right skip over 3 loops (RdHigh, RdLow, Rc), on both sides go through 2 loops (B, A) to take Thumb loop. Actually, it also works to skip only 1 loop left and 2 loops right (going through 3 loops on both hands). The loops on the left hand will be held and shifted as if this were a 9-loop braid. The loops on the right hand will be held and shifted as if for an 11-loop braid. See 11-loop square braid tutorial for right hand’s loop shifts, and how to manage the two loops on the little finger.
Square braid versions:
Almost any of these color set-ups would also make great square braids. Some might look good as D-shaped braids, too. (Chevron shapes do not usually come out like chevrons in the D-shaped versions of these braids – the ‘chevrons’ tend to stretch out vertically and seem to connect into more like a meandering / zigzaggy line — which can also be a nice look!).
Other loop set-up possibilities:
Most color patterns have several possible different set-up arrangements of the loops. I have just picked one for each pattern, but as you are braiding that color-pattern, any of the loop arrangements you see on your fingers after you finish a row (cycle) of braiding will work as a set-up for that color pattern.
Material: Many of these samples were made out of a size 5 cotton crochet thread made by Nazli Gelin, called Garden 5 – it’s a little thicker than embroidery floss, and a little thinner than size 3 crochet cotton. Some of the samples are made with embroidery floss. Any black is embroidery floss. The variegated pastel-colored yarn (in the 6th sample and the 11th sample) is an unknown brand of silk knitting yarn that I happen to have in my stash.
In the videos for my tutorial I used heavier thread – size 3 crochet thread, and also some sportweight cotton knitting yarns.
Last updated Sep 27, 2018
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© 2017 – 2018 Ingrid Crickmore
Loop Braiding 
Thank you for your generosity, Ingrid! It will be fun to put together samples! best wishes, Katia
Thanks for checking them out and for your note!