LEATHER BRAIDING ADAPTED from the ornate braiding t\ adorning the sword belts of early Spanish conquistadores, these two exam- ples of leatherwork, although seemingly complicated, actually are quite simple and fascinating to braid. The wrist-watch band, Fig. 1, and the belt, Fig. 2, which is of the same braid, only made wider, are but two of the many practical accessories to which this attractive braid is suited. In addition to the procedure given for braiding a strap or belt, instructions also explain how to braid a turk’s-head knot and how to cover a buckle. The wrist-watch band requires a piece of calfskin % in. wide by 8% in. long, three yards of ¥%-in. beveled goatskin lacing and a buckle with a %-in. opening. For tools, you'll need a knife, a thonging chisel, a leather punch, an awl or fid, a lacing nee- dle and a tube of cellulose cement. The end of the lacing is skived, then inserted in the needle and held with a dab of cement. The calfskin strip is cut into five pieces as indicated in Fig. 3. The piece forming the strap end is rounded at one end, punched for the buckle tongue and per- forated with four slits. The slits are made with a thonging chisel held at a 45-deg. angle, Yic in. in from the end. The buckle To braid a belt, you merely weave it twice as wide as the wrist-watch band, as the braiding is the same Wagany aaBraiding Turh's-Mead end, which is the same length as the strap end, has a slot cut in it. This is made by punching a hole at each end of the slot and removing the portion between the holes. Aligning slits in each end of the piece are punched at one time while the strip is folded, finish side out. The two pieces used for the thongs are punched in the same manner, The fifth piece is slotted and fold- ed and the ends are laced together, as shown, to form strap guides. To braid the wrist-watch band, take the strap end and start lacing through the slit at the extreme left as in Fig. 4, step 1. Draw the lacing or thong all the way through except for about an inch. Then come back around and go through the same slit again, step 2, drawing the lacing tight. Contin- uing, the needle is brought forward and pushed through the next slit, step 3, and drawn tight, the end of the thong being underneath. This is repeated as in steps 4 and 5 and then, being sure that the needle passes to the left of the working strand, START bring it to the front and through the right- hand loop, step 6. Pull it through and tighten and then proceed. to come around again and pass through the second loop, step 7, pulling it tight. Keep going back and forth as in steps 8 and 9 until you have about twenty rows braided. Now, take one of the watch-thong pieces and insert the needle through the left- hand slit as in step 10. Then pass the nee- dle through the left-hand loop of the braiding and through the second slit as in step 11. Proceed in the same way, finish- ing by bringing the lacing under the loops as in step 12. Cut off the excess and secure the end with a dab of cement. The same procedure is followed in joining and braid- ing the other parts but, before attaching the braiding to the other thong, check to see if the band is the right size. In deter- mining the size, remember that the braid when first woven stretches and, therefore, it should be made short enough so it will be fastened by the first hole in the strap.VaR AO OE. PRIA CRESS SS ERRORS a fe ee fee i 2 WATCH THONGS sn THONGING CHISEL No. 1-PUNCH HOLES MADE WITH 5 3 3Sth VIEW Ast Ye" GOAT. SKIN. LACING. Tor VIEW Braiding a turk’s-head knot, which ig used to add a finish to the watch band, is done as follows: First, make a paper pat- tern following the diagram in Fig. 5 and form it in a roll so that the ends of the diagram meet and the lines are continu. ous. Place pins at points marked X. Now, starting where indicated, begin following the lines with the lacing, going around the pins and passing under previous strands at points circled, When finished, remove the work from the pattern and place it over the strap where the braiding joins the watch thongs. Tighten the turk’s-head by gradually taking up the slack, going over the knot several times. When tight, place a drop of cellulose ce- ment between the lacing where the ends meet and cut it off. As you become adept at braiding the turk’s-head, it can be formed rapidly on the fingers as shown in the series of progressive steps pictured in photos A to I inclusive. To start, wrap the lacing around the first two fingers of the left hand as in photo A. The part held by the left thumb is called the standing end, the other the working end. Pass the work- ing part over the standing part and com- pletely around the fingers as in B. Now the working part is passed beneath the standing part, C, and around the fingers again. Then continue the working part, in- clining it to the extreme right, photo D. Note that it passes along the right side of the standing part but, when it reaches the tip of the forefinger, it passes over the standing part and along its left side, pass- ing under the diagonal strand just as the standing part does, photo E. Now, bring the working part to the front once more. photo F. From this point on, the sequence will be over one strand and under one. leaving the lacing fairly loose, G. Work- ing on the back of the hand, photo H, the lacing is passed under one of the scallops and over another. Finally, bring the working part alongside the standing part once more as in photo I. Covering a belt buckle is shown in Fig. 6. Starting with a yard of %-in. goatskin lacing, and holding the buckle with the heel upward, begin as in step 1. Then pass the lacing around and bring it to the front as in step 2. Go around again as in steps 3 and 4. Now, closely following the top view, step 5, open the lacing with an aw! and insert the needle between the first and second strands, pulling the lacing tight, step 6. Repeat the same procedure. inserting the needle this time between the second and third strands, step 7. Continu- ing as in step 8, pass the lacing around the buckle, pulling each loop tight to produce the braid shown in step 9. The finished buckle is shown in the photo.