Fig. 135.
Fig. 136.
My little teacher forgot to show me how to piece the strips, and I was obliged to work out the problem for myself and for you. When one of the strips had dwindled down and grown too narrow, I cut it off, leaving a little over an inch below the loop. I then inserted another strip over B, pushing it under A, as in Fig. 136, bringing it over the B loop and again under A on the other side, pulling it down until the two short ends were even. After that I continued to braid as before, the first two B loops being double, of course.
It is not well to have the piecing of both strips come together, therefore one should be longer than the other at the start, and the strips should be always of the same width in order to make the braid uniform and even.
This is regular hat braid you have learned to make, and perhaps having done so much you will feel inspired to continue the work and make a hat, if not a large one, at least one for your own or your younger sister’s doll. Or you can make it into a basket by sewing the braid together, lapping one edge over the other.
The braid should be back-stitched for both hats and baskets.
Most materials require damping before they are braided, for even when soft and pliable they are apt to separate when dry, unless they have first been soaked for a while in water.
