LBbyJ

I to learned to bevel by hand before buying a string cutter. Like others have said, secure one end well, wrap your finger in some leather to protect it and give some slide and hold a very sharp knife at a 45 degree angle to the edge of the leather as you walk backwards keeping the lace taunt. It is fairly easy to pick up once you do a string or two. 3 colors in a 4 strand braid is a little bit of a challenge, you would have to either tie off the ends with some sinew or tie a terminal knot but that would require four loose ends. When I do lanyards 1 or 2 colors I use a length of 4 strand and make the loops of the lanyard and bring the ends together and tie them together with sinew and cover with a fancy knot. One other thought would be to cut your strands an inch or two long and fold them over and braid around the extra inch, you could even trim the lace down a little to 3/32. Nice work on the lead!! John

Congratulations on taking the big leap, when people ask if I teach braiding I always say "I can show you how to braid but only time can teach you". Stay patient, keep with it and have fun. I use some of the Springfield leather in bigger pieces and it is a lot different then some of the other kangaroo out there, I think it is the tanning process used on the leather Springfield sells. It is still nice leather just not top quality. Hitchin Post Supply here in the states sells pre cut lace for $1.00 a yard and it is as nice to work with as the lace I get from down under. Here's the link: http://www.hitchingpostsupply.com/group.asp?grp=446 Give us a post if you questions, John

BRAVO Maeve, beautiful looking piece. you must have 100 times more patience then myself. Again a beautiful piece, John

I've bought small hanks from Hitchin Post Supply in Washington state. Customer service is a bit lacking but their products are always good.

I've been looking for this book also and found it on Alibris book seller site for $36: http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?binding=...5&hs=Submit Still waiting its arrival but will post once I have a chance to look through it. There was a smaller book also, Manual De Trenzado Ilustrado, that is about 60 pages, roughly a dozen projects. There is one terminal knot that looked interesting but the rest is braiding and knot tying that is already in other books. Of course these are all in Spanish so I could be missing something.

The hatband is a 10 strand braid and is only about a 1/2 inch wide. I work with 2 strands on a side then 2 strands on the other side, the setup would be to have 6 strands on one side and 4 on the other. Then the first strand (6 strand side) goes over 2, under 2 and over one. The second strand (same side) goes under 2 over 2. Switch over to the other side and repeat. I like the scalloped edge that the braid produces. Would like to see it in rawhide so if you do one be sure to post pictures.

That's a really nice hatband, the Trenza Patria has become my new favorite flat braid. Here's a photo of a hatband I made a few weeks ago in the style of Broken Heart Trading Co work.

Couple of things can cause this, but usually you can roll it out to be round. The strands could be a different thickness or sometimes a strand or two will be stretchy and be thinner then the rest. Are you tying off an end so you can keep tension on the piece as you braid it? I'm tending to braid around cores lately since anything over a 6 strand braid tends to oval or flatten, just the way it is. Hope you figured it out!!

Thank you for the welcome. I'm not sure about "talent", once you make a few hundred of these you get them down. Keep trying till you get it right!! HorsehairBraider, you do marvelous work, I love the 25-strand Double Flat Braid Horsehair Bracelet. I tried Horse Hair but my patience is limited so haven't gotten very far. I'm originally from Farmington, NM so good to see a fellow NM'er online. Thanks all

It's an Aztec Button Knot from the Bruce Grant Encyclopedia book. I was wondering why I had some many views on this bracelet today, thanks all for the look!!