Variation on 4-strand Rope Braid

[AprilElf]

Preamble ...

Today I had a go at Elainehali's Four Strand Rope Braid (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=5314) instructions.
The results were good, although I found it hard to see/feel which 'groove' the 3rd and 4th strand were supposed to fit into at the base of the braid - since it was at the back of my head! :rolleyes: I don't think I got it quite right ...
Also, I would recommend that those with a pony circumference of 4" or more make the first rope braid looser than you normally would. Then you should be able to fit the other two strands in easier. Well, that's what I found, at least. ;)


http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?pictureid=13549&albumid=145&dl=1212198448&thumb=1 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=145&pictureid=13549) http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?pictureid=13550&albumid=145&dl=1212198448&thumb=1 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=145&pictureid=13550)




Then I had a go at a style I have done before, back in the days when I was only wrapping the hair and didn't know how to do a proper rope braid. Now the style is much more stable! :cheese:
This variation gives a box-type effect.

Instructions:
* Make two identical rope braids from the same pony tail. They must be identical in the direction you twist and wrap the hair.
* Wrap the braids together in the opposite direction to the way you made them. For example, for a rope braid I twist hair clockwise and wrap strands together anti-clockwise, so I would wrap the two braids together clockwise.


http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=145&pictureid=13544 http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=145&pictureid=13545


:Star:

[CurlyNinja]

Wow!!! Your variation is way cool AprilElf! I'm still working on mastering the original rope braid :o but I can't wait to try your spin, it looks extremely complicated and interesting.

[Morag]

That is really beautiful, AprilElf! I'm copying your instructions in the hope that someday my hair will be long enough to try it.

[Saranne772]

That is GORGEOUS :D

[AprilElf]

Thanks for the comments, guys! :)


... it looks extremely complicated and interesting.CurlyNinja, the key word there is 'looks' - once you have the rope braid down, it's really very easy. :p

[Ylliria]

Simply gorgeous!

[Mary <><]

Absolutely GORGEOUS! ***Off to rope my hair*** :D

[Isilya]

Yay, a new style to try!

Thank you for sharing, it looks amazing :)

[Phalaenopsis]

Ooh, it looks complicated :) Very nice! So the ones with thick hair should first make two a bit looser rope braids, so they would fit better to get one final rope braid?

[tuuli]

It's beautiful, AprilElf! :heart:
It does look more complicated.
Thanks for sharing! :flower:

[lilalong]

This looks awesome.
I like the rope braid as it is, but this one looks so much more elegant and elaborate.

[Elainehali]

I love what you did with your version! From some angles it looks just like a linked chain.

[AprilElf]

Thank you all! 8)

Phalaenopsis - I didn't need to make the two rope braids any looser for my variation. I just did them as normal, let them fall as they will, and then wrap them together without any extra twisting. You should find the 'links' fit together naturally.
Good luck! :)

[spidermom]

Stunning! I mean it; totally fabulous.

[Wavelength]

That's seriously gorgeous! Do you find because it's "linked" that the rope braid gets less fuzzy? That's one of the things I don't like about rope braids -- on me they go fuzzy very fast.

[AprilElf]

Thanks spidermom and Wavelength! :)
I don't honestly know if this gets less fuzzy than a two-strand rope braid. Sounds like a worthwhile scientific experiment though ... ;)

[sahiba]

It is so very beautiful. Gotta try it fast. Thanks for the idea.

[Amnell]

it looks great! and so thick

[AprilElf]

Thank you for the comments sahiba and Amnell. :)

Further to Wavelength's question about 'fuzzines', I wore rope braids on two days this week as an experiment - one 4-strand and one regular 2-strand. I wore them both for 9+ hours on a regular work day. They suffered quite a bit of friction rubbing on my clothes, poor things ... :(
I have a lot of little sticky-out bits in my braids anyway, but my impression is that the 4-strand did stay less fuzzy. I wouldn't say this is because it is 'linked', but because the 'segments' are smaller. I would equate it to small (thin) braids staying neater for longer than one big braid.

[MemSahib]

That's simple enough and is gorgeous in your thick hair, April. I'm not so sure it would do for my super-fine locks, though. Thanks for posting these wonderful pictures!

[heidihug]

Awesome - I am going to try this next week! I love rope braids, and they really do work well with fine straight hair, I have found.

[Magdalene]

Reminds me of those friendship bracelettes we used to make- it's a friendship ponytail!

[Delenn]

Love it! :)

[JKRBeloved]

Wow! This is great. I love the fact that it really looks different. Plan to try it tomorrow. Thanks for posting.

[Alia]

That is one awesome rope! :cheese:

[steph in tx]

That is just beautiful! I don't have long enough hair to do it yet, but I can assure you my 8-year-old will be sporting this "friendship ponytail" (LOVE that!) this week. Thank you for the beautiful pictures. Your hair is lovely.

[AprilElf]

Thank you very much, most recent posters! :D
Since starting this thread I've learned from eresh that this is called a Hawser Braid. Also, I believe that Torrin Paige has a video for this style among her great collection on You Tube.

[JamieLeigh]

Wow!!! You always do such cool hair stuff! That variation looks amazing. :agape:

[KajiKodomo]

Wow! That's gorgeous! :D It looks so complicated!

[sahiba]

Absolutely stunning

[Rentlle]

BEAUTIFUL!!!
i realy realy love it!

[unaspenser]

This is so lovely! When spinning yarn, this technique is called cabling, so maybe this should be called a cabled braid?

[Jean Stuart]

looks fantastic!

[LoveMyLongHair]

Just stunning, completely thudworthy. :thudpile:

[Alvrodul]

I must try this - I love rope braids!:D

[lacefrost]

Absolutely lovely. Can't wait to try it when my hair gets longer.