Twisted Spiral Braid

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Making different braids using the same pattern

Hello everyone! It is good to be able to share another video with you. The pattern being shown this time is a bold, twisted spiral.

You can see in this photo how the same pattern can result in different braids.

For a small, neat braid 10-15 hairs per strand would be needed

A medium braid, 15-18 hairs

For a larger braid like the one in the photo you will need 20+ hairs per strand.

One thing to remember is that more hairs result in more wear and tear on your kumihimo disk affecting the disks gripping ability when you work on smaller braids later on. To get around this I bulk order disks to ensure I always have a new one handy when it is needed.

It is my intention to produce more patterns for you over then next few months. Braiding horse hair is a hobby for me and not my day job so please be patient. I hope I have inspired you to have a go at the wonderful art of kumihimo yourself. For lots more ideas and support, look up the Facebook Community related to this blog.

Best wishes

Lou

Simple Flat Braid Kumihimo Horsehair Bracelet

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Eight Strand Flat Braid Bracelet Pattern

Some readers have asked about flat braid horsehair bracelets. These are easy to do using a square kumihimo plate. Unlike the basic spiral design though, you need to work through a series of moves then keep repeating the sequence until you have the length of braid you want.

It is my view that for horsehair, flat braid designs are probably less durable and so won't stand up to regular wear as well as the spiral design. But the end result is pretty and perfect for occasional use.

The bracelet here is my first attempt at a flat braid design. There are a couple of flaws where the tension was different or the sequence momentarily wrong. It turned out much, much neater than I expected, being just eight strands - or warps- with 10 hairs per strand.

The pattern is described below. I found it best to work through a sequence of moves right to the end then set your plate up to repeat the sequence. That way you will be able to take a break and when you return, you will know where you are up to.  

If you do make a mistake, work back in reverse to the start of a sequence, or to a point where you can see what the next move should be.

Setting up the kumihimo plate

Start Positions

For this pattern you will be using the two middle points at the top and bottom of the plate. Your plate may have a different arrangement of numbers or letters so check this before you start.

Here the top and bottom positions are 5,6 and 15, 16.

The horizontal ones will involve D,E,F and G on the left and d,e,f and g on the right.

Step 1
5 to e

Step 2
16 to F

Step 3
d to 16

Step 4
G to 5

Step 5
6 to E

Step 6
15 to f

Step 7
g to 6

Step 8
D to 15






 Resetting the horizontal strands

The strands at E and F move to D and G on the left

The strands at e and f move to d and g on the right

The horsehair bracelet was finished with sterling silver crimp ends and the horse attached using silver wire.

It was much quicker to braid than the spiral design and took about three hours in total to braid then finish off. A perfect gift for someone.

What size bracelet to make

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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!