Gaucho Bracelet

[KnotHead]

This one here sold before I actually had it done. I just can never seem to make anything for myself. LOL...

The findings are silver end caps.

[entiendo]

Love it! Does the gaucho braid need to have a core to stay round? Your braid is so slender it almost looks like you don't have a core. I love the pattern as well!

[Aggiebraider]

Hey Brian,

That bracelet looks great. I dont have any experience attaching a clasp like that and was wondering how it was done. Also, what pattern is that? I think it looks great but cant get it straight in my head how you would originally lay out the strings to produce that pattern.

Looks great

[megabit]

Looks great Brian.

[KnotHead]

Entiendo;

The core is some wire that I twisted. I twisted up two pieces as you would in making rope. The wire was bought at the local bead store. It's just craft wire for jewelery or beading. That's how the braid maintains its structure.

Aggiebraider;

Here's how to make it. The findings are bought at my local bead store. I had to bring the braid with me to match up the end caps to the size I needed to go over the ends of the braid.

Thanks Megabit and to all for your kind comments.

[megabit]

So basically you start out o1u1 and change to o2u2 after the first row?

[KnotHead]

On step 4, the very last one is where the over 2, under 2 kicks off. Steps 5-8 are the setup process for the over 2, under 2. Steps 9-12 are the building parts to get the repetitive over 2, under 2 going. Once you get to step 16 just repeat steps 13 - 16 till you get the length you desire and tie off, or end the braid by back braiding every other end that is going to your right leaving the other end just hanging there. Once the back braid is completed then you can take the loose ends and pull them tight and cut off to hide. It gets easier as you do it more.

[leatheroo]

nice bracelet...now i know how mine should have looked...i think my core was way too big.

[KnotHead]

nice bracelet...now i know how mine should have looked...i think my core was way too big.

You should post a photo of your bracelet. I would like to see it. Thanks for the kind comments.

Brian...

[leatheroo]

hi brian, mine was actually a necklace...its here http://leatherworker...showtopic=23526

Edited April 8, 2010 by leatheroo

[Hollywood]

Nice braiding Brian...

Do you have a contact name for the store that you purchased the Sterling Silver end clasps from?

They are difficult to find !

John

[KnotHead]

hi brian, mine was actually a necklace...its here http://leatherworker...showtopic=23526

Nice work on your necklace. When I first took glance at it, I was thinking that it was a bolo tie instead of a necklace. My mistake, sorry about that. The problem with the gaucho braid is that the core you braid around has to be just right, or you will get the gaps. For the lace you were using, I would've used some twisted wire to give it a core to keep structure on.

Your knots look good too. No gaps and the chevrons in your knots all line up good.

Nice braiding Brian...

Do you have a contact name for the store that you purchased the Sterling Silver end clasps from?

They are difficult to find !

John

Hey John. They have a website that has there phone number and possible email.

The Bead Factory

Thanks all for your kind comments. It does wonders for encouragement.

Brian...

[HorsehairBraider]

Nice bracelet! And Leatheroo, nice necklace!

This is a braid I use every day in my work. Depending on what you braid it from it is intrinsically a round braid. That makes it perfect for horsehair - Even with no core it comes out round. I am so happy to see others using it!

This is what it looks like in horsehair:

No core of course. Horsehair has quite a lot of "life" all on its own.

[KnotHead]

I guess my old eyes can't see it that well. Could you possibly take a closer shot of one of them?

Brian...

[HorsehairBraider]

I guess my old eyes can't see it that well. Could you possibly take a closer shot of one of them?

Brian...

Now, come on! We all know it's not your eyes, it's my photography... See if this is better, I don't usually take them this close up:

Not the same bracelet but the same braid. It looks different in horsehair from this close. But hopefully this is close enough that you can see how the strands went. I thought this color might be easier to see; my standard colors are black, white and "sorrel" (which is a pretty variable color, but basically a reddish brown) and I think black and white are sort of hard to see the details.

Anyway I really love this braid, and I'm thrilled to see it in leather braided over a core - it just looks terrific. If you look at my avatar the base braid the knot is tied over is a gaucho also but it's a 12 strand not an 8. One of these days when I have a little time I want to sit down and work out a 16.

[KnotHead]

It is an awsome braid and when one is used to how it is started and done, it goes decently quick if you have a long braid to do. However, when first learning the Gaucho braid it can be a bit tedious and time consuming. But over all if I were to have to rate the Gaucho round braid, I would give it a 9 out of 10 for the look and medium complexity to the braid. I would however, consider this braid as a candy store braid for any braider looking for a classy look to their braiding. For any braider that is serious about adding more braids to their arsenal of braids, this is the one to have in your barn. However, if you plan on turning the braid around something small, you will have gaps. But if the shape is a gradual turn you should not have a problem with it.

This braid is a braid well worth the time to learn and practice. I have found the more you do this braid the easier it is to do. The transitions between 4 & 8 and 8 & 4 are fairly easy and pretty much seamless. But like with any other braid and transitioning you will need to find the sweet spot to do the transitions at in order to get a really good transition that wont require another knot to be placed over the transition points. I know that a good transition point will not be noticeable to the untrained eye and with a trained eye a very good transition will be somewhat difficult to see. Making the transition with any braid should be that way and should look like the transition belongs there as a normal part of the braid process. I myself still have difficulty with transitions in any braid. But I keep at it and will some day have that mastered, I repeat some day. LOL...

Brian...

[KnotHead]

It is an awsome braid and when one is used to how it is started and done, it goes decently quick if you have a long braid to do. However, when first learning the Gaucho braid it can be a bit tedious and time consuming. But over all if I were to have to rate the Gaucho round braid, I would give it a 9 out of 10 for the look and medium complexity to the braid. I would however, consider this braid as a candy store braid for any braider looking for a classy look to their braiding. For any braider that is serious about adding more braids to their arsenal of braids, this is the one to have in your barn. However, if you plan on turning the braid around something small, you will have gaps. But if the shape is a gradual turn you should not have a problem with it.

This braid is a braid well worth the time to learn and practice. I have found the more you do this braid the easier it is to do. The transitions between 4 & 8 and 8 & 4 are fairly easy and pretty much seamless. But like with any other braid and transitioning you will need to find the sweet spot to do the transitions at in order to get a really good transition that wont require another knot to be placed over the transition points. I know that a good transition point will not be noticeable to the untrained eye and with a trained eye a very good transition will be somewhat difficult to see. Making the transition with any braid should be that way and should look like the transition belongs there as a normal part of the braid process. I myself still have difficulty with transitions in any braid. But I keep at it and will some day have that mastered, I repeat some day. LOL...

Brian...

[Hollywood]

Thanks Brian for the Info

All my projects are listed within Gallery / Hollywood

John

Hey John. They have a website that has there phone number and possible email.

The Bead Factory

Thanks all for your kind comments. It does wonders for encouragement.

Brian...

[KnotHead]

You have some nice projects there Hollywood. Nice work.

Brian...

[rcsaddles]

Now, come on! We all know it's not your eyes, it's my photography... See if this is better, I don't usually take them this close up:

Not the same bracelet but the same braid. It looks different in horsehair from this close. But hopefully this is close enough that you can see how the strands went. I thought this color might be easier to see; my standard colors are black, white and "sorrel" (which is a pretty variable color, but basically a reddish brown) and I think black and white are sort of hard to see the details.

Anyway I really love this braid, and I'm thrilled to see it in leather braided over a core - it just looks terrific. If you look at my avatar the base braid the knot is tied over is a gaucho also but it's a 12 strand not an 8. One of these days when I have a little time I want to sit down and work out a 16.

Very nice. Can you tell us how you do the horsehair and keep it from unraveling while braiding your buttons? As far as that goes, while braiding the horeshair too. I have had people ask in the past if I braid horehair but have never tried.

[HorsehairBraider]

Very nice. Can you tell us how you do the horsehair and keep it from unraveling while braiding your buttons? As far as that goes, while braiding the horeshair too. I have had people ask in the past if I braid horehair but have never tried.

Hi Joe - I don't want to derail this nice thread about Gaucho braids so I'll just keep it very brief.

I tie knots in the end of the bundles! I use a needle but one end of the hairs is loose and it *will* come unraveled if I am not careful. I can't just stop in the middle of tying a knot. Also I have to be careful because unlike leather, where each piece stays separate, all the hairs crowd together so you can't tell which hair is in which bundle and where it is going. So I can't use those "quick start" methods for example, where you lay a whole bunch of passes together before starting an interweave. It just turns into one big mass of hair and you can't tell if you should go over it or under it.

I did a pictorial step by step (it's not meant to be instructions - there are lots of better writers out there, people should get instructions from them) so you can see - Braided horsehair bracelet one step at a time.