Backstrap Weaving

One version of the 4-strand braid with A-B-A-B strand order

I don’t recall who first taught me to make this 4-strand braid. All I know is that I already knew how to make it when I went to learn to weave in Potosi. When I had finished my pieces on the staked-out ground loom, my weaving teacher offered to teach me to make a 4-strand braid.  I told her that I already knew how to make one and she looked at me in disbelief challenging me to show her. I did and both she and her sister could hardly contain their laughter!

Then Hilda proceeded to show me how they do it by placing the end loops of the warps on their fingers and passing them to and fro from finger to finger from hand to hand. I love it!! This method only works on short braids, say 20 cm maximum length, as it is too hard to keep a good tension on strands any longer than that. It works beautifully to finish the warp ends on bookmarks, key fobs and wall hangings.

Here are two tutorials for the two methods. The first has step-by-step photos of the way the strands move to form the braid. You can experiment with it and see how it best suits you to hold the strands in your hands. I usually work this on the end warps of a bookmark or key fob and so have the woven piece anchored between my knees. If I am just making a long braid on its own, I tie a knot in the end and anchor it under a heavy book or have someone hold it for me. With this first method you can make a braid as long as you like. Just make sure you pause now and then to untangle the free ends.

4-strand braids used to finish keyfobs, as edging and a strap for a small purse and as a zip pull on a coin purse. On the keyfobs I didn't want to finish the braids with bulky knots so I painted the ends with diluted white glue and then pressed the ends together as the glue dried.

I used two colors for the braid in this tutorial – two strands of color A and two of color B. The order of the strands to start braiding is B-A-A-B as shown below.

LEFT: Step1: Arrange the 4 strands in this position. This is the "home "position. RIGHT: Step 2: Cross strand A1 to the right over the top of A2.

LEFT:Step 3:Strand A1 continues moving to the right passing over the top of strand B2. RIGHT: Step 4: Strand A2 continues moving to the left passing under strand B1. Now the two white strands are in the center.

LEFT: Step 5: Strand B2 crosses to the left over the top of strand B1. RIGHT: Step 6: B2 continues moving left over the top of the orange strand while B1 continues moving right under the orange strand. Now the two orange strands are in the middle. This completes the sequence. The orange strands will always cross left over right and the whites right over left.

I have enjoyed teaching this to many weavers in Ecuador who had never seen it before.

Three versions of the 4-strand braid. LEFT: The finished braid from the above tutorial with strand order B-A-A-B. CENTER: The starting order in this braid is B-A-B-A. RIGHT: This braid has three colors and the starting order is B-A-C-B.

The second tutorial is by video so I can show you Hilda and Julia’s method on the end loops of a warp. It is fast and fun! I have been told that the finger-loop method and the method I show above actually produce structurally different braids. I am afraid that when it comes to braids I am not so into structure as I am with pick-up weaving techniques. Both methods produce pretty braids and that’s that!

I hope you find these braids useful for your own projects.