Through my braiding journey this semester I have gathered a good pool of resources that have helped me go from mostly hopeless to somewhat proficient at braiding long hair! It was a great journey that felt like a mix between fun and work because of course I wanted to challenge myself a bit to see how much better I could really get.

If I could give it a number I would say I started at a 2 out of 10 for my braiding skills and am now sitting comfortably at a 6 out of 10! All in all I would call that a success.

 

These two videos were really the foundation for my braiding practice throughout the semester. I was lucky to have found them first week but it was after a search through youtube and instagram so a little persistence also paid off.
Both of these videos have clear instructions, visuals to match, and a clear explanation of what to do. I think for anybody trying to learn how to braid from almost scratch, they would find these videos to be exactly what they were looking for from a teacher. I referred back to them each week as I practiced and used the 4 basic braids for beginners video to help guide me trying to do a two strand braid near the end of the semester.

Another useful resource was the aiirprofessional.com blog called “How To Braid Hair: The Ultimate Guide For Beginners”

Complete with videos, step by step instructions and many styles to try out, the website had some handy tips for beginners.

  1. Practice as much as you can
  2. Always prep the hair (slightly damp hair/combed)
  3. Create neat, even sections when making your three strands
  4. Find a rhythm: find a pattern that works for you when weaving the braid and repeat it
  5. Maintain a solid grip on each section, especially the center section

For me number the only ones I was getting right was 1 and 4, but the rest I found I had to work at. Keeping the hair neat was the bane of my existence for a few weeks and still is. But these tips were a big help for sure.

My braiding trailer using Imovie was one of my best creations of the semester

As someone who had never used Imovie before it was a fun, new experience that showed me how user friendly Imovie is. Those pre made templates really are amazing and now I can show others this easy to learn way to make cool visual representations.

My last resource I wanted to share was The Animated Knots website. This resource has instuctions and animations on how to different types of braids and knots.

Three Strand Braid or Plait (One), Step-by-Step Animation

While the instructions and visuals are all done with rope, the basic idea is still the same so it fit well with my learning project.

These resources provided a solid foundation for my learning project this semester and I encourage anyone looking to learn braiding to use one or more of them because they are easy to understand and encourage you to work on the basics.