The Sixteen-Strand Braid

Intro: The Sixteen-Strand Braid

Following the eight-strand braid, I thought it ought to be possible to create a sixteen-strand braid.

I was right!

Using the same loom, It makes a thicker, more cylindrical cord with a shallower helix.

STEP 1: Starting.

I raided Kitewife's yarn stash, and found four complementary colours.

I cut two equal strands of each, then folded them in half and knotted at the fold, making sixteen individual strands.

Threading the strands through the loom, I arranged them in opposing pairs - two white strands opposite two white, two purple opposite two purple etc.

• I only used this arrangement to make the steps of the weave clear, but the result looked rather good.

STEP 2: The Weave.

Hold the loom with one pair-of-pairs vertically in front of you.

Take hold of the bottom two strands (C & D), and move them both one space to the right (anti-clockwise). The right-hand strand will temporarily be sharing a slot with another strand.

Take hold of the top two strands (A & B) and move them both one space to the left (also anti-clockwise). Slot the right-hand strand (B) into place, but bring the left-hand strand (A) down to fill the vacant space at the bottom of the loom.

Lift the bottom-right strand (D) out of the shared slot and move it to the vacant slot at the top of the loom.

Turn the whole loom a one-eighth turn to the left (anti-clockwise), and repeat the whole thing again.

Keep this up until you run out of either patience or wool.

By popular demand (well, one comment, one PM and a phone-call), I have added a video of the weaving action:

STEP 3: Finishing.

As for the other braids, finishing is simply a matter of tying a knot in the end when you decide to stop.

Be careful, though: because the cord is thicker, it is slightly trickier to get the knot in just the right place.

If you don't want the knots, use a needle and thread to sew back and forth through the cord, locking the yarn in place.

As ever, take the idea and enjoy doing what you want with it.

Comments

[thundrepance]

FANTASTIC {& purple is me fave color}! x^)

[Kiteman]

Thank you!

[brooklynlord]

I'm kinda runnning out of stuff to make looms with....

My 8-knotched loom was 4 pieces of flat lego stuck together.....


Any idea of matierials (That can be worked by hand easly)?


Thanks in advance

[DavidR55]

At school I art we use use cardboard circles

[eternalwind]

you could use a paper plate tha's been cut down to size.

[Kiteman]

Scrap card should last for at least one braid.

Somebody else says they use an old CD - cut notches with a hacksaw and sand off the rough bits.

Just about anything will do the job.

[brooklynlord]

What about the clay stuff that remains soft until you bake it? i think im going to use that...

[Kiteman]

Polymer clay ("Fimo")?

That would work.  It would probably feel nice to use as well.

[Lithium Rain]

Also known as sculpey. Less expensive than Fimo IIRC.

[Kiteman]

Thanks.

[mkslocomb]

kumihimo looms are made out of thick "foam" available at most craft stores... or just buy a kuhimo loom (at less than $10)

[brooklynlord]

Just lost my loom :(

Now I'm kinda stuck.....

Last time i used a round wooden disc i found at Michael's, a craft store.

I made the centre hole with a file, i spun it until it made a hole and widened it with the file then witha pencil.

I made the notches with a different file, and i had to widen those too.

Now that's lost, uhhh.........

[EdwinMurillo93]

I made this, Thank you for the tutorial

[Kiteman]

Thanks for sharing what you made - that's an effective choice of colours!

[callidore]

brother,

just pick up a round topped bar stool, in an unfinished wood store. put a 2 inch hole in the middle, with a cup shaped hole cutter drill bit, and then use an agle grinder to round out the edges, and voila. a professional mauri dai for cheap.

regards,
kevin

[ttsgeb]

This is exactly what I needed. I've been trying to figure out what to do with the ends of the 48 strands of rope in a hammock I'm making, and this will nicely condense them into 3 large, but much more manageable cords that I can then turn into a laid rope and eye splice.

Thank you.

[Kiteman]

You're welcome - could you post a picture of the finished job?

[ttsgeb]

It's going to be a while before I'm to the point of having a finished picture, but I did a quick mockup of the ropes to make sure I have the braid figured out.

The rope is made with this same braid, except it's only 12 strands.

I'm going to have to make the braid a bit tighter on the final project, but I think I have the process down pretty well. I'm also able to do it a bit quicker because the loom can set on my lap, allowing me to use two hands to braid.

[cammy1345]

Hi there everyone,
I have used a plastic ice cream lid for Kitemans 8 slot disc. I wanted to use up strips of patchwork material. So I used a compass, blade knife,ruler and a paper punch. After cutting the disc from the lid, I cut a circle in the centre about the size of our old 2 cent piece (Australia). Then measured and ruled the slots. Cut 1cm slots then punched a hole at the end of the slot. This allowed me to use 3cm wide strips of material and the holes hold it in place as I go around. My idea is to coil the material rope up to make a colourful floor mat. So far it is working a treat. I just slip stitch a new strip on as I run out of strip.  I also roll the strips up and pin them so I don't end up with a tangled mess.
Good job Kiteman keep it up :) Cheers Janey

[BWP]

I thought I understood it but the video does make it much easier to understand ... and nice music with it too lol. BWP :o)