Romal Reins (again)

[FlatWaterCowboy]

Ok, here's the situation. I'm braiding the reins portion of the Romal. I have exactly 100' of string. I want to braid an 8 strand braid. (100/8=12.5) Will this be enough to make the 90 inches of braided reins I am going for? I am just having nightmares that I won't have enough. Please help!

[rgerbitz]

Should be enough. Unless you break a string then your up a creek.

[rawhide1]

As in life if that's all ya got to work with then that's all ya got to work with. When braiding long stuff like reins I always like to take my finished length and double the length of my strands. Like Rob said it should be enough but the thickness of your strings and your braiding style will make a difference. Also it will take longer strands to achieve the same length if ya use a core. Nothing to do but braid it and find out. If nothing else it will be good practice.

Have fun, Mike

[gbsbullet]

You should have enough. For myself I have always used the rule of 1.5 times the desired finished length, per strand, and it had never failed me (this came from Gail Hought's books). However, this will also vary depending upon your pattern. Ultimately, if it were my project I would add about two feet to each strand just for variation, but I wouldn't worry. Good Luck.

Garrett

[HorsehairBraider]

When you are worried about not having enough length, you can sometimes get that last few inches out of your strings in this way: tie your ending knot first, don't wait until you are done braiding. By tying that knot first, you can work it all the way down to the very tippy end of your strings. Then you start braiding and go to the end. (Obviously this will not work if you middle the strings and start in the center.) This way your ending knot is tied with a ridiculously small amount of length, none of your length gets wasted by having enough string to tie a knot and then cut off the excess.

But I agree with the others, I think you probably have enough.