I just bought my train ticket! Even though the conference isn’t until June 2025. I’ve already registered for what I want to take on the days I’m not teaching. This is the International Braids Conference! 4 whole days plus a field trip/day off in the middle, and part of the weekend day at both ends. Classes are on the 4 teaching days, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, week of June 16th, but registration and the first meeting is the afternoon of Sunday the 15th. From what I remember, aside from the classes that you sign up for, there are also free talks most days that can be very interesting and inspiring.

This conference doesn’t happen every year, they are now down to about 3 years apart. The first one was in Japan in 2007, and it was 5 years til the second one in England in 2012. That was my first time teaching at an international conference, I won’t go into how insecure I felt! I think I’m more relaxed and able to enjoy it now. I taught in 2016 as well, but had to rush in and out just for the class I was teaching because of outside circumstances, so couldn’t take any classes myself or relax much.

This will be the second time it’s been in the U.S., this time in Cleveland, Ohio at the Case Western Reserve University, so I’m expecting it won’t be in the U.S. for another few years. The last two conferences were in Japan and Denmark. Ohio doesn’t exactly feel ‘nearby’ to me here in California, but I am very excited that I can take a scenic train trip to get there! I’m even planning to come early to go to a few museums and see Lake Erie. I don’t remember seeing any of the Great Lakes until last year in Chicago where I got a peek at Lake Michegan. (I may have seen Lake Ontario in my childhood, but have no memory of it).

Aside from the actual classes, the best thing about these International Braids conventions is the excitement of being surrounded by people who love cool and obscure narrowware techniques! From all over the world – both the people and the techniques, in fact. Kumihimo, lucet, Andean braiding, tablet weaving, loop braiding, ply-split braiding, Sprang, inkle weaving, passementerie, and I’m probably omitting a few. “Braids” here basically means “obscure textile techniques” at least that’s how the Braids Society (the group behind this conference) seems to define it. Aside from the classes listed on the website, there will also be great talks and presentations, and the glossy Proceedings book has in-depth articles by all the teachers, so you end up learning all sorts of things that you didn’t even expect. Including from other participants. I remember Dominic teaching a bunch of us how to make a fancy Turks Head knot one evening, and just the daily sharing and talking about what we were learning.

Not all the classes are beginning level (including mine), but several are, and as someone pointed out, there’s actually enough time between now and the conference to get a start on any of the techniques by then. My class included – you would just have to learn the basic 5-loop square braid, the way I teach it in my “Start Here” tutorial. The more you already know, the more you can take away from the class, but that alone will be a great basis!

My class will be two full days on tubular loop braids – including two very different ways to braid them around a pre-made core (in class that will probably be another cord, but both methods can be applied to other types of cores as well – say, vinyl tubing; a craft-store clip-together imitation-leather necklace or bracelet; even something rigid like a dowel). I also hope to cover (pun intended) the 15th C. “couvert” or double-tubular braid, in which you braid an outer covering braid and an inner core braid simultaneously, as part of the same braiding moves! With this braid you get do some really fun and unusual color patterns, and color changes between the inner and outer strands.

I would also love to meet up outside of class with anyone outside of class who wants a quick how-to on something, maybe no-ends starts to braids or other ‘tips and tricks’? We could meet up on the outing day, perhaps, or in the evening sometime. (If so, we should figure this out early in or before the conference, because my class is scheduled for the last two full days.

Ok, I will pause here as I have to rush, just wanted to get this out as a heads-up. I’ll be posting some photos and more info about my class soon.

I hope to see you in Cleveland!!!!