Club Obi Wan

I don't normally come into the whip section, not my forte, but I have a question that I'm hoping one of the whip makers or aficionados can help me with. I'm working on a costume that has a braided leather bracelet and I can't figure out what type of braid it is to find instructions on how to do it. All I've got is this picture:



Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Look in "More Bush Leatherwork" by Ron Edwards on page 85. He calls it "Anette's Braid." It consists of 2 laces. One of them shorter and doubled the finished length of the bracelet and the other longer that is woven around the first.
~Joe

Thanks! Any idea where I could find that book maybe in ebook form so that it doesn't cost $80? Or better yet, just an online description/instructions?

Hi Risu,
in that photo I see that there are three individual bracelets joined together like links in a chain.
What I can explain it is how to braid each bracelet.
Sorry about the inelegant aspect of this scheme, but I think it will work anyway.
The bracelet is made ​​from a single strand. I have marked in red the part of the working strand.
The movement of the working strands (red) will wrap up and under the two strands (black) forming a kind of "S" but in the horizontal.
Gio

Aaaaaahhhh. That makes sense.

Oh, but it isn't actually multiple links, it's one continuous bracelet. In the movie he wears it wrapped around his wrist a few times, but on the mannequin in this picture it's been tied on so that it does a 180 twice and loops through itself when it switches direction.

So I gave the braiding a shot and bombed terribly. Is there a pegboard or something that you're supposed to use to hold all the strands in place as you're working, because I can't hold onto that many pieces of lace at once. Not exactly the most coordinated person ever.

well unfortunately I could not see the photo, but the important thing is to learn how to braid

I gave it another shot with the top loop wrapped around a nail and it's working out much better now. Any tips to get the red end of the lace to bunch up evenly without gaps?

EDIT: And a new question, I did my test with cheap suede lace so didn't realize it, but the lace flips over with each pass, but with the good lace I'll be using the backside looks completely different from the front, like the lace on the original. How can I make it so the good side faces out on both sides?

Risu wrote: How can I make it so the good side faces out on both sides?

When you put your working strand (red) between the 2 black strands, you will have the working strand twisting. in this way you will always see the good side faces out on Both Sides.

Yea, the lace I've got is too skinny and doesn't twist either. I need to track down something closer to the actual stuff used. Preferably a lace that won't break, either. I got all the way to the end, about 13 inches of braid, and tried to tighten it by pulling the black strand and it snapped right off.

a strands of good cowhide 4 or 5 mm wide and about 1mm thick will work

Yea, unfortunately Tandy doesn't sell anything like that. Heck, you need 3 meters of the stuff to make the bracelet the correct length, which is larger than most hides. Even cutting it yourself wouldn't work.

http://cgi.ebay.it/TANDY-LEATHER-TEJAS- ... 2ea2c5d216" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That stuff is only 3mm wide, you can get that anywhere for way less. If I was going to pay that kind of money it would have to be perfect.

it's just only an examples. you can buy pre - cut laces in different wide (from 3 to 5 mm)

I've only found one usable 5 mm lace for sale anywhere online, and I'm looking into buying some of that, but it's more expensive than I'd like. Haven't had any luck tracking down any 8 mm lace for a different part of the same costume.

Risu wrote:Yea, unfortunately Tandy doesn't sell anything like that. Heck, you need 3 meters of the stuff to make the bracelet the correct length, which is larger than most hides. Even cutting it yourself wouldn't work.

When making leather lace, you cut around the outside of the hide, in a kind of spiral (that's how whip makers do it). You would probably only use less than 1 square foot of hide to make a bracelet like that.

Pick up some hide and an Aussie Strander and you will have more lace than you'll ever need.
If you don't want a full hide, there are a couple of guys on eBay that will sell vegetable tanned tooling cowhide in different weights by the square foot.

I don't know if this is any good, but here's the widest lace tandy sells ( that I know of )

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-u ... 06-02.aspx

kwad wrote:

Risu wrote:Yea, unfortunately Tandy doesn't sell anything like that. Heck, you need 3 meters of the stuff to make the bracelet the correct length, which is larger than most hides. Even cutting it yourself wouldn't work.

When making leather lace, you cut around the outside of the hide, in a kind of spiral (that's how whip makers do it). You would probably only use less than 1 square foot of hide to make a bracelet like that.

Pick up some hide and an Aussie Strander and you will have more lace than you'll ever need.
If you don't want a full hide, there are a couple of guys on eBay that will sell vegetable tanned tooling cowhide in different weights by the square foot.

Probably the cheapest way to make yourself some lace would be to do the following:

Get one of these, watch the how to video:

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-u ... 84-00.aspx

and use a small piece of tooling hide with it, if you need wider, buy an aussie strander :

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-u ... 82-00.aspx

just make sure if you're using the strander that you pull the strand in the opposing direction you're cutting.

If you're cutting < way then you pull the strand > way. Around a corner you pull it as straight as you can with the cut.

I managed to track down some good lace for the bracelet, but I'll get one of those lace cutters for some trim lace. Can it be used on garment leather, though? The perfect hide for that lace would be some 3 oz. deer skin I just got, but it's really floppy.

Risu wrote:I managed to track down some good lace for the bracelet, but I'll get one of those lace cutters for some trim lace. Can it be used on garment leather, though? The perfect hide for that lace would be some 3 oz. deer skin I just got, but it's really floppy.

You probably can use it, you'll have to be careful not to let it fold up while you're cutting though as it'll mess up.