"Strands" is the annual journal published by the Braid Society

A subscription to "Strands" accompanies membership,
Society members may also purchase extra copies and back issues.
For availability and prices, contact backissues@braidsociety.com

To give you some idea of the contents and the contributors to Strands, the current edition is summarized below. A full cumulative index and errata can be viewed here.

Strands welcomes contributions from both society members and non members. If you are interested in writing for us, please take a look at our Guidelines for Authors.


Strands Issue 18 - 2011 edition

This year, we published 6 articles. We open with a guest author - Des Pawson - a world authority on rope work and one of the founders of the International Guild of Knot Tiers. His subject is the treatise on 18th century rope making by Duhamel.

We then have an article by Noemi Spieser, exporing the cramming / spacing effect found in free end braiding.

Next, we have an article by Susan Foulkes, who ran a tutorial for this group earlier this year. She gives more detail about the cultural background of the Sami bands, and provides patterns for four  15 pattern thread bands.

This is followed by an article by Jacqui Carey, who explores the theme of embroidery work that looks like a braid. She provides detailed instructions for three examples, from Japanese, Miao and Elizabethan English cultures.

Strands has never before published an article on Sprang - this year we make good on that omission with two articles. The first is by Kathryn Rousso, and looks at how Sprang is incorporated into Guatemalan textiles. This is followed by an article on Sprang in North America by Carol James. It describes how she came to be interested in sprang, and hoow this led to the writing of her new book, "Sprang Unsprung". The article includes practical instruction for making a Pueblo style interlaced belt.

Note that anyone joining the society in the 2011-12 membership year will receive a copy of this issue of Strands, as well as Strands 2012, which will be published in October 2012.