Video – How to braid on the square plate #2

kumihimo flat braid

Length – 13.33 minutes

Patterns – 2.00 minutes

Demo, set-up – 4.30 minutes

Demo, braid moves – 5.50 minutes

 

How to braid on the Square Plate #2

In this video I show a method of braiding on the square kumihimo plate/disk/board which will be new to many people. It produces a great looking braid, which can be made in different widths. In my opinion it is one of the easier flat braids from a tension point of view and I hope that people who have not yet had success with flat braids may have better results with this one.

 

The quantity of cord recommended is 3x the finished braid length for each cord on the top and bottom. The cords at the sides need to be longer so for your first attempt I recommend 6x the finished braid length. This is likely to be more than you need, but the cord consumption varies considerably depending on how tightly the side cords are pulled and on the number of cords used, so take a note of what you start with and end up with and you can adjust the quantities for your next braid. It is not possible to add in extra cord in this sort of braid, so it is best to overestimate.

flat kumihimo braids

In the video I demonstrate a 10 cord version of the braid. I also show some wider braids which are 12 and 14 cord braids. Once you have learnt the technique you can experiment with different numbers of cord and vary the placement of the colours. For this braid there is always an even number of cords on the top and bottom of the plate and one cord on each side. Here are some ideas to get you started.

flat kumihimo braid

  1. 10 cords. 4 cords of pink in the middle, top and bottom. Black everywhere else.
  2. 10 cords. 4 blue across the top, 4 grey across the bottom, grey at the sides.
  3. 10 cords. 4 cords across the top and bottom, dark green, mid green, light green, yellow. Dark green at the sides.
  4. 14 cords. 2 blue, 2 cream, 2 red across the top and bottom. Cream at the sides.
  5. 14 cords. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple across the top and bottom. Black at the sides.
  6. 12 cords. 2 red, 3 brown on the top. 3 brown, 2 red on the bottom. Brown at the sides.