Please take pity on me and HELP....

[entiendo]

How in the world can I mess up a whole pass??? What I'm going to do is make a smaller one using Gail Hought's directions. Hopefully I will figure out what I'm doing wrong. It is after all the same button just smaller. I'll let you all know what I come up with.

And I believe that is an 8 bite, 6 didn't cover it. If I have to take out all the string again I will take a picture of the foundation button.

Both strings seem to be in pretty good shape so I'm going to hold off cutting them...for the moment. The black has got some abuse but it's an "A" cut.

I can't imagine I messed up on the first pass because it's the easy one, just a couple of parallels to split, but you know I might back out the first pass and see if there is anything to see, cause that would be easy to fix...well I think.

Thank so much everyone, if anything else comes to you let me know.

[HorsehairBraider]

No no- don't back out the *first* pass! Start by taking out the very last one you made, and go from there. You never know. At some point you might say, "well that much is OK" and then you can start going forwards not backwards. Also, write down what you take out! Maybe when you see on paper what you did, it will make sense that it was not the right move.

[entiendo]

Well I have good news and bad news...good new is I do have the right idea. I just made a perfect 6 bite gaucho with no left over parallels, with Gail's instructions of course. Course that doesn't help me with my large gaucho, because I didn't have a light bulb moment. I bet I followed the wrong string for one of those passes, because the parallels are consistent....

AWWWWWW!!! I just want to scream...

Well off to see if I can figure it out.

[entiendo]

Ok guys, I cut the button off started completely over from scratch and I made the exact same mistakes! HELP!!! Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? Please!!!

[TwinOaks]

You're holding your tongue wrong?.....

Edited December 28, 2008 by TwinOaks

[rawhide1]

entiendo

I've looked at that knot until my eyes hurt!! I just can't tell were ya went wrong. Maybe if ya start over and take a picture of the foundation and then one when you build your parallels and so on. So we can see the knot as it progress's. Just a idea. Keep after it we'll eventually get it figured out. I know I've spent days on a knot I've been stuck on and finally a light will click on.

Mike

[entiendo]

entiendo

I've looked at that knot until my eyes hurt!! I just can't tell were ya went wrong. Maybe if ya start over and take a picture of the foundation and then one when you build your parallels and so on. So we can see the knot as it progress's. Just a idea. Keep after it we'll eventually get it figured out. I know I've spent days on a knot I've been stuck on and finally a light will click on.

Mike

All right mike, that does seem the next logical step, thank you very much. That's a lot of pictures though. I'll post them on my photobucket account so I don't slow down the loading of this thread and the board. They should be good pictures so nothing is missed. How often should I take a picture? At each whole pass or every time I make a turn? Not sure.

Again, everyone thank you so much for trying to help me out. I know most of you have been in in this same position. It just seems so easy, I can figure out why in the heck it isn't coming out right. I'm about to throw this darn thing at a wall, course it won't break so a lot of good that will do...

[Alan Bell]

Entiendo, I guess it can be tough living up to your name. (little inside joke) Well, it is hard judging from the pics to see where things went wrong but I notice times where you are not consistent in your pattern and go under or over the wrong number of strings. If you are thinking O1, U2, O2, U1 ETC. and trying to remember the full sequence and then trying to remember the next sequence whether it is the same as the previous one or the enlargement then things can get very confusing. I tend to watch the full pattern build and know that I need to split pairs as I go along. I may "trace ahead" and imagine where my strings need to end up to complete the pattern I am trying to make BEFORE I run the string, this is especially helpful when starting up or down for the next pass to make sure you are getting your string under the correct number to come out in the right spot. The other thing is to know that you are in good company and you should save any knots you cut off. They will be something to look back on and realize how far you've come and also to show others that come after you EXACTLY what it takes to become a good braider! I have a little bucket full of cut off knots and quite a few braiders I know have kept theirs also. I have little doubt that you WILL get this sorted out and WILL go on to be a great braider! Struggling through these things is the best teacher I know of! Mi, entiendes?

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell aka Alonso Campana

[HorsehairBraider]

I've got one more suggestion: Black is very hard to see. Change color in the knot to something MUCH lighter. If you are indeed following the string down on the wrong side (and it looks like you are) you'll be able to tell a lot easier in a lighter color.

And remember, you're doing this for FUN....

[entiendo]

Yes, this is my Internet name and I do tend to make it fit me. Ha, ha....

I do not think over and under, I simply follow a string, in this case I follow the original standing string from beginning to end, passing over it at each turn.

Oh yeah Horsehair...lots of fun...ya see me smiling don't ya!

I haven't kept my messed up knots, I reuse all my string and on the occasions when I have cut one I've given them to my cockatoo to play with. I did keep the turk's head from this knot though.

Here are the first pictures though...Maybe they can shed some light.