The
Diamond Braid Stitch |
Usually used when making lanyards, the Diamond Braid stitch is also created
using 4 strands of scoubidou. It's cousin, the Spiral Braid, is actually the EXACT SAME
STITCH. Only the initial placement of the strands differs. While lanyards
usually require yards of scoubidou, a couple feet of scoubidou can be used to
create bracelets, key chains, and just about anything else you can imagine.
This was one of the toughest stitches to SHOW YOU ALL how to make, as it
required me to think quite creatively when I was videoing the segments used to
create the snapshots you see below. It is for this reason that the initial
stitch may not look as good as you should be able to make it look, as I had to
leave stitches loose, and move my hands out of the way, so you could see what I
was doing. Please see the Spiral Braid page in addition to this page, so hopefully by using BOTH pages, you'll be able
to figure this one out.
You'll need a
couple additional items before making this stitch:
- Two
strands of scoubidou:
- 3-4
yards each, if making a lanyard.
- 4-6
feet each, if making smaller projects.
- An
8-10 inch strand of scoubidou <OR> a safety-pin <OR> a
push-pin.
- A
lanyard hook <OR> a swivel hook.
- A
paper-clip.
If you've ever made a friendship bracelet using needlepoint floss you'll be
familiar with the first step in doing this stitch. The Diamond and Spiral Braids both need to be ANCHORED at one
end, while you are doing the stitch. If you're near a desk, chair, tree root,
or something else made of wood, use the Push-Pin to create your anchor. If
you're without these, and are wearing a pair of pants, sit Indian Style on the
ground and pin a safety-pin to your pant cuff and use that as your anchor. If
you're wearing shorts, then tie the 8-10 inch strand of scoubidou around your
ankle and use that as your anchor. Whichever method you choose, you want to
create a place where you can pull the strands tight to keep the Braid looking
uniform from start to finish. This is a tough stitch to successfully make LOOK
good from beginning to end, but if you take your time and PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE, you'll get the hang of it.
If this is your first time making this stitch, I'd suggest starting with
strands that are about 4-feet long, which will fold in half to 2-feet. This
way, you'll have enough to practice with and if you decide this one is too
tough, or it isn't what you wanted to do, you won't have wasted all that scoubidou!
All right, without further adieu, here's how to do the most requested stitch I've
been asked for!
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Note the
TOP of this shot shows a lanyard hook, through which our two strands of scoubidou
are placed. I pushed a push-pin into my computer desk, and then used the 8-10
inch loop of scoubidou to create a loop through the top of the lanyard hook
and around the push-pin. By pulling the four strands of scoubidou, I was able
to pull this loop taught against the push-pin and use that as the anchor
while doing this stitch. |
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After
finding the centers of both strands of scoubidou, I placed the lanyard hook
at the center. For the Diamond Braid, you need to arrange the strands as seen
in this and the above shot. Note how the LEFT-most red and yellow strands
come from UNDER the hook, while the RIGHT-most strands come from OVER the
hook. Also note that both RED strands are together and both YELLOW strands
are together. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Do NOT continue unless your strands
look this way as well! |
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Starting
with your RIGHT-most strand, a yellow one here, take it AROUND BEHIND the two
center strands... |
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...and
then AROUND and ON TOP OF the LEFT-MOST center strand, the red one in this
shot. |
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Now work
with the LEFT-most strand, a red one here. Take it AROUND BEHIND the two
center strands... |
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...and
then AROUND and ON TOP OF the RIGHT-MOST center strand, a yellow one in this
shot. |
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After
tightening, it should look similar to this shot. Can you see what we'll do
next? Hint: you've already done it once. Take the RIGHT-most yellow strand... |
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...and
bend it AROUND BEHIND the two center strands... |
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...and
then bend it AROUND and ON TOP OF the LEFT-most center strand, which is red
in this shot. |
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That's the
second time I used the word BEND. Do NOT twist the scoubidou, like the red
strand in the shot two above this one. Keep your fingers close to the work
area and use them to bend the strands AROUND and ON TOP of the farthest
center strand. |
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After
taking the LEFT-most red strand, shown above, I've gone BEHIND the two center
strands and OVER and ON TOP OF the RIGHT-most, or farthest central strand,
which is yellow in this instance. |
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After
completing about an inch of braid, take a second and check out your work. If
you look at how the red portions lie above each other, you'll see why they
call this the Diamond Braid, as it looks like a series of red diamonds
stacked atop one another... |
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...and if
you turn the work a bit, you'll see the yellow diamonds that have been
created as well. Time for a break! This is where the paper-clip comes in... |
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Use a
paper-clip to hold the positions of your strands, so they won't fall apart on
you. Don't let the work sit TOO long, or else the paper-clip will alter the
look of the strands and make them hard to work with. |
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After my
break, I'm ready to continue. Note how I flipped the work over, simply as a
way of showing you I took a break! hehe! Look at the red and yellow strands a
second. Can you see how the red strand on the LEFT is ABOVE the yellow strand
on the RIGHT? This is how you can tell which strand you need to work with when
you begin the braid after your break. Always start with the HIGHEST loose
strand of scoubidou when you're looking at it like this. |
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So, we
take this red strand BEHIND the two center strands... |
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...and
then AROUND and ON TOP OF the RIGHT-MOST center strand, which is yellow! |
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Finish the
stitch by taking the strand on the other side, the YELLOW one, BEHIND the two
in the center... |
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...and
then AROUND and ON TOP OF the left-most center strand. Continue until you've
created as much as you need! For now, when you're done, tie a granny knot
using the two UPPERMOST strands, one red, and one yellow, to complete the
work. I'll show you a better way to end this stitch in a while. Remember to
also check out the Spiral Braid page as well! ;-) |
The Diamond Braid Stitch!
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