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LOOP SET-UPS FOR HOLLOW DOUBLE BRAID COLOR PATTERNS:
Codes for the fingers, used in all the set-up instructions below:
A = index, B = middle, C = ring, D = little, Th = thumb
No-bicolor-loops braid pattern, hollow double braid, 8 loops: (above)
Left hand loops:
A Orange
B Black
C Orange
D Tan
Right hand loops:
All tan (4 loops)
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Hollow double braid above has 2 orange loops; the rest of the loops are all black+white bicolor loops, set up in Edge pattern configuration:
For the contrast-orange pattern shown above, follow one of the setups shown below for the EDGE pattern, except substitute two solid-orange loops for two of the bicolor loops. Place the 2 orange loops next to each other, on the A and B fingers of one hand – the other hand should have only bicolor dark/light loops. (finger codes explained at top of page)
Edge pattern loop set-ups for Hollow double braids of 6, 8, and 10 loops:
All loops bicolor, of the same two colors, one shank dark and one shank light.
Edge, 6-loop hollow braid
Left hand loops:
A Dark shank up [this means: place loop so the dark shank of the loop is over the upper side of finger; light shank on lower side of finger]
B Dark shank up
C Light shank up
Right hand loops:
A Light shank up
B Light shank up
C Dark shank up
Edge, 8-loop hollow braid
Left hand loops:
A Dark shank up
B Dark shank up
C Light shank up
D Light shank up
Right hand loops:
A Light shank up
B Light shank up
C Dark shank up
D Dark shank up
Edge, 10-loop hollow braid
Left hand loops:
Thumb Dark shank up — Note: it’s important to learn which shank on a thumb is “up” and which is “down” as this is not obvious. (Check photo #3 in the 9-loop tutorial)
A Dark shank up
B Dark shank up
C Light shank up
D Light shank up
Right hand loops:
Thumb Light shank up
A Light shank up
B Light shank up
C Dark shank up
D Dark shank up
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Bicolor loop braids do not have to be of only 2 colors:
13 loop hollow double braid, Edge pattern with 10 black/white bicolor loops, followed by 3 pink/brown bicolor loops
Loop set-up for grey/white and pink braid:
This 8-loop hollow braid has color-linking at the final loop exchange of each braiding cycle, as taught in my flat double braid post. That keeps the left hand’s grey and white loops on the left hand, and the right hand’s pink loops on the right, making each side a different color. Here, in a hollow double braid, the two different colored sides of the braid end up seeming like the “top” and “bottom” of the finished braid. During braiding, the braid was on edge, as shown in the photo. The braid also has openwork areas, made by not turning any of the transferred loops for (here) 8 braiding cycles.
No bicolor loops. The grey and white ‘W’ pattern can only be made with 8 loops, not 6 or 10 (but 6 or 10 loops will make a nice non-W pattern). I used embroidery floss, but doubled the strands to make a bigger braid.
The left hand holds 2 grey and 2 white loops. The right hand holds 4 pink loops. While you are braiding, the left loops and right loops should never cross over to the other hand. Instead of crossing, they are linked together at the final loop exchange by being exchanged twice (shown in a video in the flat double braid tutorial).
Fingers: A = index, B = middle, C = ring, D = little
Left hand:
A Gray
B White
C White
D Gray
Right hand:
All 4 loops pink
I braided “hollow” for 8 cycles, then “divided” (no loop transfers turned) for 8 braiding cycles to form the openings. Fewer divided cycles will make shorter openings, more divided cycles will make longer ones. The openings may not stay open on their own if the braid is stretched lengthwise. To keep them open, consider stringing a ribbon through the braid and tightening it to keep the braid from stretching out, or inserting something into the openings to hold them open.
Note—if you want the pink side to show (like a slight border) around the edges of the grey and white side, as in the photo, be sure to set the colors up exactly as I described, with the pink on the right hand, and the grey and white on the left hand, and do the final loop exchange as I teach in the videos: Left loop AROUND right loop (two times). If you do it oppositely, the pink side will have a (gray and white) border, and the grey and white side won’t have a border.
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Here are some other pictures of hollow braids that have color-linking at the final loop exchange:
6-loop hollow braid, right loops black; left loops white and bicolor white+other. Linked loop exchange.
8 loop hollow braid with linked loop exchange
16-loop hollow double braid with 2 kinds of linking—at final exchange, and also at right hand outer loop transfer (turned twice)–with bicolor loops this can result in 2 bands of lengthwise colors on the right side of the braid. Right loops bicolor; left loops single colors (4 green, 4 ecru).
Below is an 8-loop version:
8-loop hollow braid. Right loops are bicolor tan/black, turned twice. Left loops not bicolor. Final loop exchange done twice. Both types of linking are explained in an earlier post.
The braid below was made with 9 loops, which I haven’t taught yet for double braids, but below the photo I give directions for both an 8- and a 10-loop version. (Reduce the 8-loop version by 2 loops for a 6-loop version.) Btw, the braid in the photo really is a double braid, even though it has an odd number of loops! Over-explained under “what is a spanish braid?” near the end of my 7-loop Spanish braid tutorial. The gold is viscose rayon. The other colors are cotton embroidery floss. The 10-loop version has two contrast all-gold loops instead of just one; and the 8-loop version has no contrast loops (in other words, no all-gold loops, so no gold “interruptions” going across the multicolor columns).
8-loop version of the gold-and-multicolored Edge-pattern above:
4 gold + black bicolor loops
2 gold + green bicolor loops
2 gold + purple bicolor loops
Set-up (hollow braid Edge set-up, but dark shanks are 3 different colors):
Left hand
A: Black up, gold down
B: Green up, gold down
C: Gold up, purple down
D: Gold up, black down
Right hand —note that the colors are are the same, but the up/down orientation is the opposite as on the left hand
A: Gold up, black down
B: Gold up, green down
C: Purple up, gold down
D: Black up, gold down
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10-loop version of the gold-and-multicolored Edge-pattern above:
4 gold + black bicolor loops
2 gold + green bicolor loops
2 gold + purple bicolor loops
2 gold loops
Set-up:
Left hand (thumb to d-finger)
Th: Purple up, gold down –it’s important to remember which shank on a thumb is “up” and which is “down”! (Look at photo #3 in the 9-loop tutorial)
A: Black up, gold down
B: Green up, gold down
C: Gold up, black down
D: Gold up, green down
Right hand (thumb to d-finger)
Th: Gold up, black down
A: Gold up, purple down
B: Gold up, black down
C: all-gold loop
D: all-gold loop
Click here to return to the Hollow Double Braid tutorial.
Last updated Jan 2, 2023
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Loop Braiding 