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.
Take sixteen strands, eighty hairs in a strand, and place them on table like pattern. Commence at A and B with Nos. 1, passing them around table to the right, and leave No. 1 from A at B, and No. 1 from B at A. Then take Nos. 7 at A and B, and pass around table to right, and leave the one from A at B, and the one from B at A. Then take Nos. 2 at A and B, changing places with them; then take Nos. 8 and change as before; then take Nos. 3 at A and B and change them as before; then take Nos. 1 at A and B and change as at first; then take Nos. 4 and change as before; then take Nos. 2 and change as before; then take Nos. 5 and change as before, so on until the braid is finished, all the time taking the third strand to the right, or forward, and the second one to the left, or backward.
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.
