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- 1). Cut three strands of your opaque colors approximately 14 inches long. Cut a length of your transparent color around 60 inches in length.
- 2). Tie the ends of all of the strands of gimp together in an overhand knot. Leave around an inch and a half of the ends free above the knot.
- 3). Take the transparent strand and wrap it once around the opaque strands. Cross the transparent strand over itself to make a loop, then pass the end back up through the loop to make a knot around the opaque strands. Pull the knot tight and push it up against the overhand knot holding the strands together.
- 4). Make another knot with the transparent strand in the same way. Push this up against the previous knot. Continue making knots in the same way, covering the opaque strands. Make sure you knot the gimp in the same direction each time. Each knot lies slightly further along than the previous one. As you work, the knots will naturally form a raised spiral down the length of your gimp braid. Keep working in this way until you have around two or three inches of gimp left.
- 5). Arrange the four strands of gimp in an X-shape. Take the lower right strand (strand A) and fold it over, making a loop. Hold it in place. Fold the upper right strand (strand B) over strand A and hold it in place. Fold the upper left strand (strand C) over strand B and hold it. Fold the lower left strand (strand D) over strand C. Push the end of strand D through the loop you made in strand A. Pull all the strands of gimp taut. This is called a square stitch.
- 6). Work two or three more square stitches. Leave the loops of the final square stitch loose. Take the end of any of your four strands and pass it through the loop to its left. Do this with all of your strands. Pull them taut. This is the completion knot, which will secure your braid and stop it from unraveling.
- 7). Untie the overhand knot at the other end of the gimp braid. Secure the ends of the strands with square stitch and a completion stitch as you did for the other end of the braid. Snip off the excess gimp, leaving a fraction of an inch proud so that they do not unravel. If you wish, you can melt the end of the braid slightly using a heat source -- this will prevent it from unraveling.
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