Uploaded September 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
How to follow a chart for the Nun's Book letterbraid.
loopbraider.com/2014/09/25/solo-nuns-letterbraid
Chart is for the letter U (I made up this chart, in the 17th C. there was no U, only V). See my website for charts for J and Q. The rest of the alphabet/ letter charts are in the Speiser/ Boutrup publication.
This chart is in the format of Joy Boutrup's ORANGE charts, pp 57-59, in Instructions for Letter Braids in 17th Century Manuscripts, by Noemi Speiser and Joy Boutrup, 2009
0:01 Intro
1:25 How to read/ interpret a chart in the format of Joy Boutrup's ORANGE charts for the Nun's letterbraid (pp. 57-59), not her yellow charts.
3:35 Picking up my loops, explaining color set-up.
4:14 How loops are turned while reading the the chart, starting with Row 1. (I turn loops on one hand clockwise, and on the other hand counterclockwise.)
5:48 How to tell which part of the thumb-loop is the "UPPER" shank. This is very important in order to follow the chart.
7:33 Tightening tip. In the video I am braiding around the camera and can't see the fell of the braid well enough to follow my own advice! But for making well-shaped letters, it really helps to watch when tightening and 'fussy-tighten' if necessary if a thread looks loose or if the pattern is starting to slant.
7:52 Do the loop exchange BEFORE turning colors for the next row!
8:13 Reading Row 2.
10:21 How to tell where the loops will be after one row of braiding (demoed @22:07). This is in order to double-check that your colors were correct, OR to help figure out which row you are on if you have forgotten.
12:21 Starting to read row 3
14:01 Pausing to check how the pattern is coming along. Info about delay in seeing the pattern on the braid.
16:02 Reading row 4.
17:28 Reading row 5.
18:34 Pausing to check a possible mistake.
19:21 Reading row 6.
19:56 Noticing that something doesn't look right in the tightening.
How to fussy-tighten one particular strand that is loose in the braid.
21:09 Recovering from "losing my place" in the braiding procedure.
22:07 Oh-oh! What row did I just finish??! Examining the loops to figure this out.
22:37 Reading the last row - row 7. (explained @10:21)
23:55 Letter finished, now doing one or two rows of "space" before starting next letter. Tips about spacing the letters.
27:41 U and following space is done, now checking the letter to see how it turned out (a bit slanted).
Well, I got lazy and never added the letter J on this braid! But the chart for it is available on my website, in my Solo-braider Tutorial for the Nun's letterbraid.
How to follow a chart for the Nun's Book letterbraid.
loopbraider.com/2014/09/25/solo-nuns-letterbraid
Chart is for the letter U (I made up this chart, in the 17th C. there was no U, only V). See my website for charts for J and Q. The rest of the alphabet/ letter charts are in the Speiser/ Boutrup publication.
This chart is in the format of Joy Boutrup's ORANGE charts, pp 57-59, in Instructions for Letter Braids in 17th Century Manuscripts, by Noemi Speiser and Joy Boutrup, 2009
0:01 Intro
1:25 How to read/ interpret a chart in the format of Joy Boutrup's ORANGE charts for the Nun's letterbraid (pp. 57-59), not her yellow charts.
3:35 Picking up my loops, explaining color set-up.
4:14 How loops are turned while reading the the chart, starting with Row 1. (I turn loops on one hand clockwise, and on the other hand counterclockwise.)
5:48 How to tell which part of the thumb-loop is the "UPPER" shank. This is very important in order to follow the chart.
7:33 Tightening tip. In the video I am braiding around the camera and can't see the fell of the braid well enough to follow my own advice! But for making well-shaped letters, it really helps to watch when tightening and 'fussy-tighten' if necessary if a thread looks loose or if the pattern is starting to slant.
7:52 Do the loop exchange BEFORE turning colors for the next row!
8:13 Reading Row 2.
10:21 How to tell where the loops will be after one row of braiding (demoed @22:07). This is in order to double-check that your colors were correct, OR to help figure out which row you are on if you have forgotten.
12:21 Starting to read row 3
14:01 Pausing to check how the pattern is coming along. Info about delay in seeing the pattern on the braid.
16:02 Reading row 4.
17:28 Reading row 5.
18:34 Pausing to check a possible mistake.
19:21 Reading row 6.
19:56 Noticing that something doesn't look right in the tightening.
How to fussy-tighten one particular strand that is loose in the braid.
21:09 Recovering from "losing my place" in the braiding procedure.
22:07 Oh-oh! What row did I just finish??! Examining the loops to figure this out.
22:37 Reading the last row - row 7. (explained @10:21)
23:55 Letter finished, now doing one or two rows of "space" before starting next letter. Tips about spacing the letters.
27:41 U and following space is done, now checking the letter to see how it turned out (a bit slanted).
Well, I got lazy and never added the letter J on this braid! But the chart for it is available on my website, in my Solo-braider Tutorial for the Nun's letterbraid.
