200 Braids to Loop, Knot, Weave & Twist [Paperback]

Not the obvious choice of books to pick up off the shelf, 200 Braids might just surprise you. This book is full of clear coloured photographs of achievable decorative braids, from the simplest to the most complex designs and easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Braids can be a useful skill for sewers and jewellery makers alike to incorporate into necklaces, bag handles and other decorative details, and this book also shows how a design can be altered when using different materials which will be very useful to visualise the finished result. It is very accessible and could even be followed by a mature child - you just want to get stuck in!-Popular Crafts Braids have a vast number of uses from trimming clothing and accessories to soft furnishings and even greetings cards. You can buy them commercially of course, but how much better to make your own and have exactly what you want for the task in hand. This is a title in what I think of as Search Press' 200 SeriesA" where that number of questions, stitches or whatever is explained. I live not far from this author and it was she who started me off on my own braiding adventure some years ago so you are in safe and sagacious hands. My braids are made using a marudai as are many in here, but there are many other ways to make them. These include the type of knitting nancyA" or dolly bobbin you might have had as a child to lucets, lace pillows, looms and even your own hands. All of these and more are covered with plenty of staged photographs and lots of inspiring examples to make. Maybe this all sounds daunting but I can assure you it is not; if you can plait hair or made a long woolly tube on a spool knitter as a child then you can see how easy it can be, and a lot of fun. When you have learned the basics of how to make the type of braid you need the second half of the book is filled with pages of inspiring braids and lists of the materials you need to make them. If you live in the UK there is a list of suppliers but you will soon discover that braids can be made of just about anything including yarns, floss, strings of beads and even thinner braids. This is a very user-friendly and useful book.-Myshelf.com The title tells you all you need to know about this book. The introduction says 'Everyone needs a braid at some time in their life - whether to finish off a beautifully hand-crafted project, or just to tie things together' and that is what I thought about when I was reading it. It has just about every type of braid that you could imagine and they all look fantastic. On first appearance, especially when the basics are being discussed, there are photos of the equipment you could use (that would basically make life a bit easier) such as a cord winder and winding rods, which might make you think that it is too specialist. But you are told that these are not essential, and there are alternative suggestions on how to get round a lack of tools. Once past this, you can focus on all the different ways of creating braid, all of which are described clearly and illustrated with diagrams and pictures, and none of them look prohibitively difficult. Then the catalogue of braids are ordered in terms of the technique but interestingly, show the braids made the same way but with different yarns, so you can appreciate how to get different looks. Even though there are 200 braids shown, they follow the core of basic techniques described earlier in the book, so once you have mastered those, you'll be laughing.-Workshop on the Web Choose from over 200 designs and give the perfect finishing touch to clothing, soft furnishings, accessories, greetings cards and gift boxes, or make beaded braid jewellery. The main directory is a sumptuous collection of designs, organised according to structure and moving from twisted and knotted braids to more elaborate looped and woven pieces. Each braid features a close up photograph, a list of requirements and step-by-step instructions and unlike shop-bought versions, yours can be custom designed to perfectly match your own unique craft project.-Fabrications

Experiment with texture and colour to create gilded, beaded braids. Unlike shop-bought versions, yours can be custom designed to perfectly match your own unique craft projects. The main directory is a sumptuous collection of designs, organized according to structure, from twisted and knotted braids to more elaborate looped and woven pieces. Each braid features a close-up photograph, a recipe of materials and step-by-step instructions. All core techniques are clearly demonstrated with easy-to-follow photographs, and little or no equipment is needed. Previously published as The Braider's Bible, ISBN 9781844481965