Round six strand braid.
The one-up one-down way to braid round with six strands.

Here I try to give a 3 dimension braid in just 2 dimension drawings. Imagion the drawings are cilinders and the string disappearing on the left and apearing on the right goes round the back. Keep your strings tight, they will make a nice braid.
It works easiest if you hold your strings divided in two, three strings in each hand.

Tie your strings together, and to a sturdy point and arrange like this. Begin with braiding a triangle in the front. Take the right string of each pair and let it jump over the string on its left. Now skip one string and count, take the left string of each pair and let it jump over the string on its right. Just cross the middle pair this time. Now cross the out most right with the outmost left, behind the work. Keeping the string from the right on the outside, this is, going over.

Now take the new leftmost string and cross it under the string to its right. And go on to the right, now crossing over the next string. Next take the new rightmost string and work it to the left, fisrt crossing over. Next under. And at last going over the string coming from the left.

Repeat, first cross the outmost strings behind the work, keeping the over-one, under-one structure, than braiding one string to the middle. And next braiding the other outmost one to the middle till it has crossed with the string from the other side.

Note that some strings twist to the left and some twist to the right, they keep going the same directon all the time. In my drawings the darker colours go one way, the lighter colours go the other way round.
They never change direction. This is one of the caracteristics of a round braid.
Braiding a round baid with more strings works the same way as long as you use an even number of strings. First braid a triangle in the top across the whole width of the strings. Next take the outmost string on both sides and cross them behind the work, keeping in the same over-one under-one structure. Then work your strings to the middle, at last crossing them in front.
Be aware that with any number of strings higher than 6 you will get a tube that needs a core to be a firm braid.

©Willeke 2005

Here I try to give a 3 dimension braid in just 2 dimension drawings. Imagion the drawings are cilinders and the string disappearing on the left and apearing on the right goes round the back. Keep your strings tight, they will make a nice braid. It works easiest if you hold your strings divided in two, three strings in each hand.


Tie your strings together, and to a sturdy point and arrange like this. Begin with braiding a triangle in the front.	Take the right string of each pair and let it jump over the string on its left.	Now skip one string and count, take the left string of each pair and let it jump over the string on its right.	Just cross the middle pair this time.	Now cross the out most right with the outmost left, behind the work. Keeping the string from the right on the outside, this is, going over.


Now take the new leftmost string and cross it under the string to its right.	And go on to the right, now crossing over the next string.	Next take the new rightmost string and work it to the left, fisrt crossing over.	Next under.	And at last going over the string coming from the left.



Repeat, first cross the outmost strings behind the work, keeping the over-one, under-one structure, than braiding one string to the middle.			And next braiding the other outmost one to the middle till it has crossed with the string from the other side.

Note that some strings twist to the left and some twist to the right, they keep going the same directon all the time. In my drawings the darker colours go one way, the lighter colours go the other way round. They never change direction. This is one of the caracteristics of a round braid. Braiding a round baid with more strings works the same way as long as you use an even number of strings. First braid a triangle in the top across the whole width of the strings. Next take the outmost string on both sides and cross them behind the work, keeping in the same over-one under-one structure. Then work your strings to the middle, at last crossing them in front. Be aware that with any number of strings higher than 6 you will get a tube that needs a core to be a firm braid.

©Willeke 2005