These photos represent a weekend of finger loop braiding with the expert, Ingrid Crickmore.
This was the collection of work that I produced and was willing to show. Some of them didn't make the photo. And I do wish that I would have taken photos of some of the stuff that others made.
There were 11 willing students in a home in Redwood City, CA for two days learning
multiple variations on this most amazing ancient technique.
Some braids were done with 5 or 7 loops, some with even numbers of 6, 8, or 10.
Lots of fancy hand switching was going on, each one of us working to her ability. I got stuck on the 5 loop braids and didn't want to go farther. Ingrid patiently coaxed me into further experiments with 7 loops. I liked the way the patterns got more interesting with this number of strands and eventually caught on.
My brain twisted up somehow on the even numbers. Others, however, got amazing and intricate patterns going in these braids. The finger movements were interesting to me; I enjoyed how it felt.
What a great way to travel with fiber and produce useful and colorful small bands.
It's even more convenient than an inkle loom. No equipment necessary. Just fingers.
The loop braiding method makes it super easy to hold onto your strands. Much different than the 3 strand "pigtail braids" that we all know how to do
On Ingrid's website she offers great instruction with diagrams and video here on the tutorials page.
This page offers some possible patterns and the way to plan your colors for different results.
Thank you, Ingrid!
Lovely! I too prefer the odd numbered ones. I learned fingerloop braiding back in highschool before I knew what it was. We used to make friendship bracelets with it. It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered it had a name and there were actual patterns besides the simple 5 or 7 strand braid.
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