The BraidBuddi Butt
Butting the beginning and end of a braid together opens up a world of different design possibilities for your braided projects, but it’s not an easy task. It’s best to learn it while sitting next to a patient teacher (for hours), however, that’s just not an option for many.
I’ve tried to do the next best thing: a downloadable video tutorial of butting. This butting technique is somewhat of a cross between Norma Sturges and Barbara Fisher’s techniques, with my own unique (and hopefully simpler) way of joining the three strands so that the seams do not show. I take it step by step, showing how it’s done both off the rug, and then attached to the rug, so you can follow along. I discuss how, where, and why to do butting on the outside rows of an oval rug, from the beginning all the way through lacing on the completed row.
Once you learn to butt, you can use this technique around circles, squares, octagons, etc. (but it will not enable you to make an all-butted shape – the center must still be a spiral braid, with the butted rows encircling it).
Your video purchase also includes a downloadable page that shows the pinning and cutting diagrams, which you can print and reference if you just need to refresh your memory at a later time. The video is made for left-opening braiders, although I have included the diagrams for right-opening braiders who feel confident enough to follow along ‘in mirror image’. I hope to make a right-opening video tutorial soon.
The link above will open a window from a site called Gumroad, where I have a ‘store’. It’s a platform much like Etsy, or Amazon, in that individual sellers offer things for sale, but Gumroad is designed for the large file sizes required for videos.
You will also find several free videos from my YouTube channel on my Gumroad Homepage, simply for your convenience of having them all in one place, but Gumroad requires me to put a price on them. You can keep your videos in your own ‘library’ on the site, or download them to your device, and not need to be online to view them.
Frankly, I’d much rather be braiding than struggling through computer issues, and we’re both better off with capable professionals handling the technical end of instant downloads, security, payments, etc. Gumroad also offers support if there is any trouble, so please let them know if you have any difficulties.