Readers’ Gallery part 2
Thanks, Gudrun, Julie, and Annie!
Kute-uchi
The Japanese hand-held loop braiding technique that preceded kumihimo and produced incredibly complex and gorgeous braids–some more complex than are even possible to make easily on braiding stands! Two videos teaching the two most basic moves for making square and flat braids, and text instructions for a more complex braid that requires using both moves.
Lace Dawns tutorial
An alternative method for braiding the 15th C. eight-loop braids known as Lace Dawns (or Daunce) and Lace Piole. It is a faster method, with no doubled loops on any fingers. (Requires using the thumb of only one hand, so might be a good intro to 9-loop square braids.)
Rainbow Girl
A ‘Plain Oblique Twined’ braid — usually abbreviated as POT by ply-split braiders. This kind of twining can also be done with loop braiding. I love this braid, and got to use it as part of a Braid Society Swap because of its unplanned resemblance to a Navajo sand painting figure… (not a tutorial)
Double braid workshop at Braids 2012
I am very excited about this! I just got word that my workshop proposal (Intro to double braids as a solo braider) was accepted by the organizers of Braids 2012! That’s an international braiding conference (who knew?) that will be held in Manchester, England next year, August 20 – 24, put on by the Braid…
Medieval 2-worker braid from a German cathedral
This is an incredible finger loop braid from the 14th Century! It’s only known from a single museum artifact somewhat older than the 15th C. loop braiding manuscripts. This braid is amazingly similar to a Japanese kute-uchi braid that was made by a completely different method…
Tutorial for the 7-loop spanish braid
If you are already comfortable braiding 7-loop square braids, this seven-loop braid might be fun to try next. It has twice as many loop transfers as a square braid–and they are done differently than you might expect! (Includes set-up instructions for several different color patterns.)
A Spanish braid, breed, breadth
An intricate and unusual 7-loop braid —the word for braid was spelled some funny ways in the 17th C. manuscripts— is the basis of the 14-loop alphabet braid. Joy Boutrup described this 7-loop braid in her recent groundbreaking analysis of the 17th C. letter braids.
Citrus letterbraid, pt. 1
I’m almost finished madly braiding a letterbraid to send in to the Braid Society’s Traveling Exhibition*—still fiddling with the braidlets at the end. The orange is DMC cotton embroidery floss, doubled, so 12-strand, and the light green is an unknown brand of silk knitting yarn of similar weight (sport? or maybe thinner). The braid is…
Loop Braiding 