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Instructions for an 8-strand Round/Square Braid

This common braid is basically an 8-strand expansion of the 4-strand round braid. When worked without a core it has a square cross-section, but if worked with a core, it will conform somewhat to the shape of the core, tending to be round in cross-section.

To begin, hold four strands in each hand. Bring the outside right-hand strand around behind the other right-hand strands and the two inside left-hand strands. Then bring it up through the middle of the left-hand strands, and back over to the right hand as indicated by the blue arrow. Keep it to the inside of the other right-hand strands.

The second step is basically the same as the first, only reversed. Take the outside left-hand strand and bring it around behind the braid and up through the middle of the right-hand strands and back to the left hand as shown by the arrow. Keep it to the inside of the other left-hand strands.

Here you can see both steps have been done. These two steps are repeated for the rest of the braid.

Here you can see what a short length of the braid looks like.

There are numerous color patterns that can be done with this braid, and I have included a few of them here. To make one of the patterns, simply arrange the different colored strands in the same positions that they are in at the ends of the braids in the pictures.

By having two light strands and two dark strands on each side, with both light strands to the outside of both dark strands, a wide chevron pattern is produced on two sides of the braid.

This shows what the other two sides of the pattern above look like.

By arranging the strands in a dark-light-dark-light pattern, the braid will have narrow chevrons on four sides. The chevrons will point in opposite directions on adjacent sides

By having all light strands on one side and all dark strands on the other, the braid will have linear stripes.

By having all dark strands on one side and, going light-dark-light-dark on the other, the above pattern is produced. This pattern can also be done all lights on the one side.

This pattern is similar to last one, but on the side with half light and half dark strands, both lights are on the outside and both darks are on the inside.

"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone..." I Samuel 17:50

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Copyright by Timothy Potter