Braiding Goes Beyond Just Hair
Did you know that braiding hair is what people normally think when you say braiding? Braiding is far more than just hair, it is found in Macrame, rugs, pillows, belts, headbands, bookmarks, and almost any craft you are into. Braiding is even a part of knitting and crochet!
Do you remember learning to braid in elementary school? We would take wool and practice on a braiding board. It was a lot of fun. I found some pins for how to create a braiding board and when you are practicing, a braiding board is likely what you will want to have. It will “ground” your yarn or rope in place while you practice a few different styles of braids.
You can build your own out of cardboard, you just need a way to have some pegs at the top to hold your material. I use a piece of wood that has been treated (I really don’t want slivers). Another suggestion would be to use a clipboard so you can secure your thread or yarn with the clip.
Braiding Methods
There are many knots you can use to braid a project. Here is a list of a few you can try
- 3 Strand – the most common type of braid
- French Braid
- Fishtail Braid
- Dutch Braid
- 4 Strand Braid
- Rope Twisted Braid
- Pull Through Braid
- Reverse Braid
- Waterfall Braid
- Milkmaid Braid
- Corn Rows
- Ladder Braid
There are many more, especially when you get deeper into hair design and macrame. Today we will stick to 2 types of braids: the 3 strand and the 4 strand.
3 Strand Braid
The 3 stranded braid is the simplest of all the braids, yet it is used when making many crafts. Here is a simple instructional video to show you the steps.
Now you have mastered the simple braid – here are some ideas around what you can make with that braid.
4 Strand Braid
Let’s pump it up a bit to 4 strands. This one is a little more difficult, however, the results are amazing.
Ideas for what to do with a 4 stranded braid should be flowing from you at this point – here is another video to give you some inspiration.
Diving Deeper into Braiding
These two methods will take you a long way when using braids in your crafting projects, however, there are many more ways to braid than we can fit in this one article. In order to help you along the way, I found 3 books I think are perfect for learning more.
Just for Fun Try These
I am including 2 more videos here as a challenge for you. This first video is about making a 5-stranded braid.
This next video is braiding in the kitchen. Braiding bread if you are up to a real challenge.
Last Word
Braiding can also be incorporated into paper crafts. I have used a soft tissue to braid a piece to fit into a card and also to decorate a wreath. As a matter of fact, you can use large pieces of braided rope or material to make your wreath round. The possibilities are endless!
Other than hair, what braiding have you used in your crafting?
Do share in the comments below or on our Facebook page, I love to see what others are doing.
Until tomorrow…
Bette
PS the password for our resource library is love
