Ending An 8 Strand Round Braid

[Tucker6591]

Howdy yall,

I'm new to this forum, and semi-new to tying and braiding. I have two question that I was hoping could get answered.

Sorry if it's hard to see what I am talking about due to the type of cord used.

1) How do transition from two 4 strand round braids into one 8 strand round braid?

Here's an example of how I did it, but I doesn't look very fluid:

2) I want to end my 8 strand round braid with a Matthew Walker knot. I know how to tie the knot but how do I get all the strands even at the bottom of my braid so that I can start the MWK?

Here is my problem, as you can see the strands are running up the braid and I'm not able to start the MWK. Any ideas?

TIA

[GrampaJoel]

Well I'm not the resident expert, but I'll have a goo at it.

Looks like you are doing 8 strand without a core. This makes your braided string square if I see it correctly. The knot you are trying to tie on the end works well on a round braid, but I don't see why it wouldn't work on a square one with a little finesse. The knot will cover your strings where they start the knot so I think it will work to just start the turn backs and see how it works and then just make some adjustments.

Here's a link, maybe it will help.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_QTNluJzsZw

[bucksnort]

When you bring your two 4 strands together if you look closely at them there will be two strands on each side that will naturally cross over each other on top. Cross one from each side, bring another over the top strand on the cross & then the other side over the two strands. From there, bring the highest strand under 2 over 2 & your on your way. When you get all 8 strands started pull everything down tight & you will come out with a nice smooth transition. Takes a little practice, but the key is to start out with the two strands from each side that naturally lay the right direction to start your 8 strand smoothly. As Joel pointed out, those transitions are typically covered with a button, but with a little practice you can get it smooth enough so that you don't need to if you'd rather not.

On your Matthew Walker knot (or any type of woven knot), you'll want to tie it at the level of the top two strands & unbraid the other back to that point. Hope this isn't too confusing. I'm sure some others can explain it better & probably have some better ways of doing it, it will be interesting to see. Good luck & hang in there, your work looks great so far & there is a wealth of knowledge on this site. Buck

[Tucker6591]

After fiddling with it a few times I finally got it, thanks both for your help

[Tucker6591]

If you're interested here is the pictures of the finished part. I ended up splitting the 8 strand braid into two 4 strand round braids and then made a doubled diamond stopper knot to end each. This is going to be the lead rope part of a halter I'm making.