Take thirty-two strands, or any number that can be divided by four, twelve hairs in a strand, and sixty strands for usual size; place them on table like pattern. Commence at A, lift No. 2 in your right hand, and put your left under your right hand and take up No. 3 and bring it back of No. 1, and lay them both down; then take No. 4 up and lay it between Nos. 1 and 2, then take the next four to the right, and so on till you get around the table; then commence and braid back around the table to the left, but reverse the braid by braiding it this way: lift No. 3 with your left hand, pass your right under and take No. 2 and bring it back over No. 4, and lay them both down; then take No. 1 and lift it over in between Nos. 3 and 4, and so on, till you get around the table. Then commence as at first, braid one way, then the other, till you have it as long as required. Braid it over wood or brass wire the size and length you wish your chain; when braided take off your weights, tie the ends fast, and boil and dry them; take out the mold and put a cord through with some cotton wrapped around it so that it will be soft and pliable. This is called the Snake Chain Braid.
Take sixteen strands, eighty hairs in a strand, and place them on the table like pattern. Commence at A, take Nos. 1 strands, lift across the table and lay down inside of Nos. 1 at B, and bring back Nos. 1 from B to A, then lift Nos. 2 at A over inside Nos. 2 at B and bring Nos. 2 from B to A, then lift Nos. 3 from A to B, and bring back Nos. 3 from B to A, then lift Nos. 4 from A to B and bring back Nos. 4 from B to A, then commence at Nos. 1 again and repeat until the chain is completed.
Braid this over a small wire, with a hole in one end like the eye of an 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.