From horse's tail to bracelet

NEW on the Blog

Dear readers. When this blog first began with this post way back in 2012, I had no idea how popular it would be. People have asked for video demonstrations to help them with their projects. This is especially useful for beginners and so you will see, this post has a video to show just one way to get your sample of tail hair from a horse.

I hope you enjoy the videos as they are published. Lots more to come.

Best wishes, Lou

The horsehair must be cleaned, bagged and named. But before that, you must of course get the hair from the horse! Before you cut the hair you  need to know how long the lengths of hair should be, how much to should get and where to take it from.

Tips to cut the right amount of hair for a bracelet

1. First, give the tail a good brush so that it isn't tangled. If it is smooth and knot free you can easily find the length you need and only cut just enough.
2. Next start at the bottom of the tail and hold on to a lock of hair that leads to an area close to the horse's hind end where cutting the hair would not be visible. Doing it this way makes it easier to identify the longest strands of hair. You will need a generous 60cm plus to make a bracelet.
3. The lock of hair will contain close to 200 individual hairs. Many of these will not be good enough to use so before you cut (as close to the end as possible) be choosy and see where the best hairs are. This is more important if you are wanting to have a bracelet made from a coloured horse and need to have enough of each colour.
4. The cut horsehair should then have a rubber band placed around the cut end. It is then put in a plastic bag and kept dry.

Here is a video showing where I take samples from.

Here is some cut but unwashed hair

Preparing the horsehair

Now the hair needs to be washed.  I do this with shampoo, ensuring the hair stays together in a lock,  making it easier when it comes to sorting out individual hairs to use in the bracelet.

If the hair is very dirty or very dry, I use some conditioner. It might even need two or three washes to get it ready to use. It then gets left to air dry.

Sorting the horsehair

Just before the hair is completely dry it gets sorted. How the hair is grouped depends upon the size of the bracelet and any pattern to be used. Sorting still takes me up to two hours. The fastest I have managed this is one hour but the process is actually quite relaxing. It is important to get the very best strands for the bracelet and not opt for ones that may break or kink in a way that later spoils the bracelet. The strands must be a similar length and each group of hair (usually up to sixteen) also needs to be of a consistent length.

At the moment I don't have a wooden marudai to use to make the bracelet. So I use a glass jar with a suitable weight in the middle to help maintain tension as the horsehair is braided.

Foam kumihimo discs are ideal for working with horsehair because they grip the strands nicely while you work. For information on what equipment you need to get started, check out this post starter tools

Here is a video I have made showing how to sort hair and set it up on the kumihimo disk.

Preparing to braid

The Kumihimo braiding method is discussed in other posts. There is a wealth of information on kumihimo on the internet. If you look at my post  using beads in horsehair bracelet you will see a short video of how a simple kumihimo pattern works. What is key though, when working with horsehair is to allow enough length at start and finish to properly finish each end and avoid the work coming undone.

Maintaining a steady, firm tension is really important.

I have found it more challenging to work with different colours and patterns. I have recently worked on four patterned bracelets for the first time.

There is excitement when you see the emerging pattern. At the same time I feel a sense of anticipation and slight unease. It  is only when the bracelet is almost complete that I start to relax. Braided horsehair can be undone and re-braided if you make a mistake or decide to change your design, but you may need to wash and prepare the hair again in order to allow the hair to regain its natural shape. So far I have been fortunate and not had to start from scratch.

The finished bracelet

This one is a 'diamond' pattern.

Making a 12 Strand Rounded Flat Horse Hair Braid

Find other pattern posts here

How to Make a 12 Strand Rounded Flat Kumihimo Braid

This pattern is simple to follow and the braid has pretty, rounded edges. The strands in this example contain about 16 tail hairs each.

The instructions for this braid are similar to the 8 strand braid we recently discussed.





To make the braid you will need enough strands of horse tail hair, at least 60 cm in length. Another way to work out the length is for the hair to be three times the length you want your bracelet to be. 

How many horse hairs you use will depend on how wide you want the final piece to be. To get an idea refer to blog post What Size Bracelet to Make

If you are a new reader of this blog please check out posts showing you what basic equipment you may need and how to start and finish a braid. There are posts on most aspects of making horse hair jewellery so don't forget to use the search button also to find specific information you need.

Starting positions of the 12 strands

Here you have four strands set up at the top or, north side of the disc and four on the south side. 

Two strands to the west and east of the disc.













Now, starting right to left (or left to right if you prefer), move the bottom strand at position 1 to 14 and then move 14 to position 1. Moving north to south and south to north.

Do this with each set of vertical strands in turn, always in the same order until all have changed places.

The final move is to move the horizontal strands from east to west and west to east. 7 goes to 25 and 25 moves to position 7



The moves are repeated until you reach the length you want your braid to be.

The braid in the photo has been finished using sterling silver crimp ends. I do like to use these. They have a classic look and are unlikely to cause skin irritation. They hold the braid firmly in place too.

The hoof print is also made from sterling silver and adds extra interest to the piece. This particular embellishment was made from silver clay then left to dry thoroughly before firing and polishing

12 Strand Rounded Flat Horse Hair Braid

12 Strand Rounded Flat Braid

In my last blog post we looked at an 8 strand braid. I had an idea to adapt this pattern to see how this would affect the design. The result was a more chunky design that can easily be adapted to create various colour patterns.

The result is a 12 strand rounded flat bracelet. This design has a sterling silver hoof print attached to enhance the bracelet.

This braid pattern will be posted later this week. Flat braids are quicker to make than the spiral designs. The work is not rotated and it is easier to maintain tension in the horse hair. I really like this particular pattern. 

It is worth stepping outside of your comfort zone once in a while to try different patterns. You never know what you might come up with!

Horsehair Bracelet Starter Tools

Recently on the Horsehair Bracelet Project Facebook page a question came up about what a basic starter 'kit' might look like.

You really don't have to spend much to get started. If you want to produce a kumihimo braid then a kumihimo disk is essential. These are available online. The circular disks are often sold in two sizes. The regular size being approximately 17 cm in diameter and a smaller one approximately 12 cm in diameter.

Until you get confident at handling the braid it would be easier to start with the regular size disk. Once you are used to moving the warps around the kumihimo disk you might want to try using a  smaller disk. One good reason to use a smaller disk would be to make use of as much length in your horse hair as possible.

Pictured below are what is needed to get going with your own horsehair braid, apart of course from the horse tail hair itself   See From Horses Tail to Bracelet



 I like to work on a tray covered with kitchen roll, so I can see where things are and items tend to stay put.

On the tray here are:
Kumihimo Disk for round braid (you can also braid square and flat braids on this)
Kumihimo Plate for square, flat or oblong style braids
Glue
Cord, to tie off braid ends
Bobbins to hold the coils of hair, plus beads if used. Bobbins are also good to hold the weight in place under your braid in the early stages.
A ruler, to measure hair or braid length

You will need a good pair of scissors, tweezers and small pliers. For a small cost it is well worth investing in a small kit like the one pictured.

This kit has small containers where you can store findings, jump rings and chains.

In other posts I have shown that a vase or large coffee jar is useful if you want to rest your work while you take a break. It also helps keep the hair neat during the early stages of making a braid.

When actually moving the warps around the disk to braid you will be holding the disk in your hand.


Once you get properly up and running and more adventurous you may build on your basic kit, adding beads and maybe, more findings in different colours and designs.

Once you have the equipment above and the horse tail hair, you are on your way to having a fantastic bracelet!

What size bracelet to make

Find other pattern posts here

Deciding how what width you want your bracelet to be...

When I first started making horsehair bracelets last year, one of the biggest problems I had was working out just how many warps were needed for the kumihimo bracelet and how many horse hairs needed to go into each warp.

If you get this wrong, the end result may not fit into the end cap or clasp.

I am going to try to make it easy for you to get it right first time by telling you about the various sizes of bracelet in the photo below.

So then, from left to right.

Bracelet 1: the thinnest bracelet (gold ends)

How long you make the bracelet is up to you, but I work on having the length of hair approximately three times the desired length of the final bracelet. Weaving the hair takes up a lot of length. The tighter the weave the more durable the bracelet.

This bracelet is a 16 strand kumihimo design. In each strand contains five hairs. This gives you a slim, dainty look.

Bracelet 2: the medium thickness bracelet (silver ends)

Here again is a 16 strand design. Each strand holds seven to ten hairs. The end cap for this bracelet is slightly bigger.

Bracelet 3: the thickest/widest bracelet (diamond pattern)

In this bracelet design there are 11-15 horse hairs per strand. That's a lot of hair to weave but the Styrofoam kumihimo disk holds the strands of hair together well while braiding.

Bracelet 4: the beaded bracelet

This bracelet is made from an 8 strand design with just three horse hairs per strand. Any thicker and it would be very difficult to thread and manage the beads, so the bracelets I have made have all followed an 8 strand (3 hairs in each) design.

How long does it take to make a bracelet?

People have asked me how long it takes to make a bracelet. From start to finish you can expect it to take up to seven hours on a spiral design. The more horse hairs you add,  the longer it takes to make the bracelet simply because it takes more time to sort the hair and hold it at the correct tension while braiding. If you have a complex pattern or bead design that takes time too.

Making a bracelet can be very relaxing and enjoyable and you probably won't notice the time passing by. Before you know it, you will be looking at the finished bracelet!