This exercise called for making a series of braids, exploring texture, structure, materials and composition.
I created a series of twisted cords using a hair braiding tool that I picked up at a car boot sale!
I tried differing numbers of threads in each braid to give finer and thicker cords. I used different combinations of colours of wool in the first 4 (left to right) to see how colour blending could be achieved. The fuzzy cord (3rd from right) is a wool yarn witha loopy boucle acrylic. The thicker cords are pure wool. The thicker cords using more threads gave a really nice, rounded cord.
I experimented further by working a number of braids using finger knitting (top and middle) and French knitting (bottom). These produced almost squared braids. The finger knitted braids were open, stretchy and flexible. The French knitted braid (also called knitting Nancy, knitting dolly or cork knitting) was a much firmer braid - still quite stretchy but this could be reduced by using a stiffer yarn or twine.
I had the opportunity to try Kumihimo Japanese braiding using a traditional marudai. I made two round braids in soft cotton and one flat braid from fine, pure silk. I incorporated different pattern structures by changing the colour sequence. It was quite challenging and time-consuming but the results are very satisfying.
I also produced a number of small skeins of handspun yarn. A ply of yarn was spun from hand-dyed roving or fleece, then plied with a second ply to create a 2-ply yarn.
One of the samples was further plied with a third ply to create a crepe or 3-ply yarn. The 3-ply produced a firmer, more rounded yarn.
The final sample was a braided roving. This had been hand-dyed using natural dyes (madder and old fustic). The braid was a simple looped chain.
