Beautiful Horses

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 Braided Horsehair Bracelet, Part 2

On to the finish!

In part 1, you saw how the hair looked when it arrived, how it was washed and counted, and how the braid was set up and started. Now you will see what it takes to finish the bracelet.

The Braid Contiues

The braided part of the horsehair bracelet is now about 3 inches long.

The braided part of the bracelet is now about 3 inches long. It has taken me two days to get to this point. I must be very careful as I braid, because I don't want to twist any of the bundles of horsehair out of place. This would not only make a very bad product, but in this case, it would mess up the pattern you can see that is beginning to emerge. This is what the entire thing looks like, and as you can see, those wild ends are starting to behave a little:

The entire braided horsehair bracelet, with the 3" of braid at the top. The ends are still very wild.

The Length of Braid is Achieved

At last, the whole length of the braided horsehair bracelet is now braided. But there is still work to be done.

At last, the braid is as long as it needs to be. But there is still a lot of work to be done! It looks a lot better than the messy pile of hair I started with, but it still has a ways to go.

The Bracelet has been Formed

The braid has been split, the other ends have been tied into a kot, and now it finally looks like it might become a braided horsehair bracelet.

Now the braid has been split in half, passed around itself, braided back together and the ends tied into the final terminal turk's head. It's finally starting to look ike a braided horsehair bracelet.

The End Knots Are Tied

The pineapple knots have been braided over the ends.

I have tied the covering pineapple knots over the turk's heads. The final knot has a sequence of over and under 3, and it has staggered ends so as to cover this nearly round base. I've used a different contrasting color so you can see the pattern in the braided horsehair knot. Here is a close up of the top of the knot, showing the pattern of braid on the end:

The star shape clearly shows on the end of the knot, braided in black and white.

The Adjusting Knots Are Tied

The adjusting knots are white, shown very close up.

The adjusting knots, tied in white, make the braided horsehair bracelet adjustable. As I tie them I must be extra cautious - if I catch up any of the hairs in the underlying bracelet, the knot won't slide.

Finished!

The finished bracelet - a handsome pattern of the white and darker hairs, with white knots that have dark zig-zags in them.

At last, the braided horsehair bracelet is finished! It has been 3 days since I started. But it was well worth the effort, as I now have a beautiful memento of two different horses. This braided horsehair bracelet should bring a lot of happiness to the owner for years to come.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a little of the proces that goes into braiding a horsehair bracelet. As you can see it is tedious and exacting work. However I am quite pleased to be preserving a little part of our braiding heritage.

© Copyright Jacquee' Gillespie

All Rights Reserved No image or design may be reproduced in any way or for any purpose without express written permission from Jacquee' Gillespie

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Jacquee' Gillespie    Beautiful Horses    PO Box 482    Mora, NM  87732    (575)387-6675

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