Seven strand braid

It is amazing how things get misplaced or forgotten. On Sunday I will be going to Alexander Palace in north London to visit the Stitching and Knitting Exhibition where I will be meeting up with my friend Lynne to enjoy a little gossip, shopping and lunch. This for me is a yearly visit and earlier this week I was going through the fabrics and yarns I bought last year. Most of my purchases have been sewn or knitted up but one, my Dresden Plate wall hanging is a work in progress. Whilst checking my progress I went all the way to the bottom of the project box and there I found a little kit I had purchased last year to make a seven strand braid. It cost me all of £2.50 which at today's exchange rate is about 4 US dollars.

I had intended trying this kit out to see if we could use it with my Brownie unit as part of our Christmas crafts. It had unfortunately got lost with other bits and pieces. So I decided to have a go and make the braid. The kit came with full instructions and you only need to be able to count to 2 to make it. The braid is based on straw work which produces a lovely range of patterns that can be worked with yarn.

The end product is really pretty and could be used as a friendship bracelet or as an embellishment.

Having found the kit and tried it out I have now given myself another job. I need to cut cards and collect a good variety of threads in different colour ways so that after half term we can use this as part of this years Christmas Crafts. This will be perfect for all the units, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides, so 5 to 15 year old girls. It is easy to make and grows quickly.

I will post a tutorial over the weekend as this is a fun project for young children. So this is my try new things for this week. Very quick, easy and effective.