Braids on a disk.
Here you find ways to braid on a disk.

Whenever I say I am not going to do something, I find a reason to do it. Often I resist, but now I gave in. So here is a page with braiding on a disk paterns.

To make a disk you can cut a circle out of any kind of cardboard. If you want a big disk and your cardboard is not strong enough, glue two layers together and let dry before you cut. Or use a sturdy foam to make a disk. The disk does not need to be a circle, it can be a square, oval or a near circle too. How big your disk needs to be depends on the amount of strings and the size of you hands. Man with big hands like a bigger disk than children do. If you can get enough slots in the edge for your patern, 10 cm (4") diameter will do for small hands and 20 cm (8") for big hands. When you have made your first braid, you can decide to make the next disk bigger or smaller.
Cut slots round the edge of the disk. A single cut with a pair of scissors is very effective, try to get them no closer than 1 cm (1/2") apart. If you use a weak kind of board they may need to be farther apart and some strudy kinds accept them nearer each other. And cut a hole in the middle of the card. This can be round but any shape will do. It needs to be a little bigger than the diameter of the braid you are going to make. I think for most cardboard a maximum of 2.5 cm (1") will do.
Or buy a ready made braiding disk. (Google for "braiding disk" and you find several supliers.)

Tie your strands together and if your strands do not have a long tail, tie a bit of string to them to hold the starting braid. Feed this tail through the hole in the card and arange the strings round the edge of the card as the patern asks for. If you have more slots than needed for the patern, try to get the extras divided evenly. Some paterns have groupings of strings, you can then adjust by leaving more (or sometimes less,) slots empty between groups. If the patern is using all slots of the card, (like the skip 2 patern,) it might be easier to make a new disk with as many slots as the patern asks for. If you have just 1 or 2 extra, you can code the slots not to use, by colouring it or by putting a piece of string in the slot so it does not look empty.

Now hold the card in one hand, (for right handers the left,) and hold the tail of the strands against the underside of the disk with the fingers of the same hand, and use you other hand to move the strand.
Now you rotate the card so the next string to move is again in the starting position.
Some paterns let you to hold the card in one position and not turn it round, you will find them when working.

There are many different braids done on cardboads disks or braiding stools, (also called Maru Dai). A lot of those can also be made on a disk, so look for more paterns on the websites on Japanese, Chinese and South American braiding.

Smal is beautifull! A 7 string disk braid, needs 8 slots.
A bit bigger. A 11 string disk braid, needs 12 slots.
With pictures. A 10 string disk braid, needs at least 14 slots.
Bigger, better? A 16 string disk braid, needs at least 20 slots.
 
Back to start. one step backwards.
©Willeke 2005