Small braided headphones holder

[motocouture]

I just made a small braided headphones holder as a gift. Figured I’d post more detailed pics of the process here, as knots can sometimes be hard to follow (for me at least) just from diagrams in a book. The piece starts as a simple flat three plait, which is then folded in half and tied off with scrap thread to form the loop at one end. 

Two strands are then thinned down to make the core for a round four braid.  The start of the round braid doesn’t have to be super neat, as it’ll be covered later by a knot. I then braid for about 6 inches (can be longer but wouldn’t recommend any shorter), then tie off with scrap thread (will also be covered by a knot). 

I then roll the braid under a bread board to stretch it out and smooth down the texture.

Edited December 24, 2017 by motocouture

[motocouture]

The next step is to tie a gaucho knot button.  I used the instructions from Bruce Grant’s Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding, p281 (pictured below). The following pics then show (as best I can) the main steps. 

[motocouture]

These ones show the first couple of steps (Figures 1 and 2 from the book), quoting Grant, a crown knot then a wall knot. The first crown knot will become the top of the finished button, so I leave some room between it and the tied off portion of the round braid.

The two strands up the center are the core of the round braid; left them in here just to give some stability until the knot’s finished.

[ChasCS]

I agree about the Bruce Grant books. Very informative.

You do nice braiding. Very good job.

 

Chas

Edited December 24, 2017 by ChasCS

[motocouture]

1 hour ago, ChasCS said:

I agree about the Bruce Grant books. Very informative.

You do nice braiding. Very good job.

 

Chas

Absolutely! And thank you  

[ChasCS]

Just now, motocouture said:

Absolutely! And thank you  

Thank you, for sharing your work, and participating on the forum. ;-)

Hope to see much more, from you. Good stuff.

 

Chas

[motocouture]

On that note, @ChasCS, here are some more pics : )

Once the crown and wall knots are done, next is to weave the strands under as shown in figure 3. I find it helps to set up the knot and strands so that they look exactly like the drawing, and to tie a small scrap of thread around the first strand you work (green star strand). This really helps when you get back to the start and need to figure out where the fourth strand works in (which is where I usually make mistakes ).

The green star strand works in under the red star strand. To work the next one, I rotate the knot 90 degrees, so it looks the same as the image again, and work the next strand. 

Edited December 25, 2017 by motocouture

[ChasCS]

Just now, motocouture said:

On that note, @ChasCS, here are some more pics : )

Once the crown and wall knots are done, next is to weave the strands under as shown in figure 3. I find it helps to set up the knot and strands so that they look exactly like the drawing, and to tie a small scrap of thread around the first strand you work (green star strand). This really helps when you get back to the start and need to figure out where the fourth strand works in. 

The pics aren't showing... But perhaps you can upload them once again. Thanks.

 

 

Chas

[motocouture]

3 minutes ago, ChasCS said:

The pics aren't showing... But perhaps you can upload them once again. Thanks.

 

 

Chas

Accidentally posted too early lol. They should be up now!

[ChasCS]

6 minutes ago, motocouture said:

Accidentally posted too early lol. They should be up now!

Yes, there you go. Gosh, I think I know of a device, which would help with this complicated braiding. ;-)

It's normally used for small soldering jobs. But gives the extra holding ability.

 

Chas