Take twenty four strands, seventy hairs in a strand, and arrange like pattern. Commence at A, take Nos. 1 and lay them in the place of Nos. 1 at B, and bring back Nos. 1 from B to A; then take Nos. 2 at C and lay in the place of Nos. 2 at D and bring back Nos. 2 from D to C. Then take the Nos. 3 from H and lay between the Nos. 3 at G, and bring back the Nos. 3 from G to H; then take the Nos. 4 at H and place between the Nos. 4 at G, and bring back the Nos. 4 from G to H; then take Nos. 5 at E and place between Nos. 5 at F, and bring back the Nos. 5 from F to E; then take the Nos. 6 at E and place them inside of Nos. 6 at F, and bring back the Nos. 6 from F to E. Commence at A as at first, and repeat until the braid is finished.
Braid this over a small wire, with a hole in one end like the eye of a needle, so as to draw a small cord in the place of the wire. When you have it braided, take off your weights, tie the ends fast on the wire and push the braid together on the wire; then boil in water about ten minutes; then take it out and put in an oven as hot as it will bear without burning, until it is quite dry; then take it out and slip it off of the wire on to the cord, and sew the ends of the braid so it will not slip on the cord, and put a little shellac on the end to keep it fast. If you want it elastic, use elastic cord. To vary the size of the braid, vary the number of hairs in a strand.
Take twenty-four strands, and place on table like pattern. Commence at A, take Nos. 1 and place between Nos. 1 at B, and bring back Nos. 1 from B and lay in place of Nos. 1 at A; then change the Nos. 2 at A, and B the same way; then change the succeeding numbers, 3, 4, 5 and 6, all the same way. Then you are through the braid, ready to commence at Nos. 1 again, as at first, and repeat until the braid is the desired length.
Braid this over a small wire, with a hole in one end like the eye of a needle, so as to draw a small cord in the place of the wire. When you have it braided, take off your weights, tie the ends fast on the wire, and push the braid close together; then boil in water about ten minutes, and take it out and put it in an oven as hot as it will bear without burning, until it is quite dry; then take it out and slip it off the wire on to the cord, sew the ends of the braid so it will not slip, and put a little shellac on the ends to keep it fast. If you want it elastic, use elastic cord. To vary the size of the braid, vary the number of hairs in a strand.