french braid pattern
 

Has anyone done the french braid using the small half hexi ruler. I saw this idea on Missouri Star. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dn_4vTxwfk
It makes the cutest little braid, but I dont have a pattern for a quilt. The braid is only 5 inches wide, and no matter how I arrange the braids, it doesn't look balanced. They look so long and skinny. Any ideas?
I have Googled french braid, watched Ellen do a Braid in a Day, but they all look wider. I'm stuck!

If you're looking for some ideas, check out Marcia's pattern for the braid, you can click on a few sample pictures there.
http://www.quilterscache.com/B/BraidBlock.html

I think the ruler used in the MSQ tutorial is the binding tool ruler?

My avatar is a friendship braid quilt I made from Pam Lintott's Jellyroll Book.

I'm wondering if you could just make several really big blocks of a series of shorter narrow braids to create a sort of woven type design - or would that be too busy?

I bought a book filled with French Braid Quilts. I think that's the way to go. They are lovely. You can find many books on Amazon that are used and quite cheap.

thimblebug, that's just what I needed. thanks

I have used Eleanor Burns braid template, the half hexie from MSQC, the binding tool and just strips cut with a regular ruler. They all worked just fine. You have to make sure you are consistent with your seams with any of the methods. :)

I made a french braid quilt, easy to put together, but my advice is to stay stitch around the sides before you trim it up. Mine stretched a lot and I'll stay stitch next time.

Did you put the hexies together the long way instead of the wide way? ? ? Why was the braid so narrow?

I have those templates but haven't tried it yet.

What I have seen that is really pretty is to put sashing inbetween the columns of braids. But, my favorite is when they use it as a border.

I think it would be great to use the small half hexi and make a small border around a center pieced block or panel, then some plain border, then use the large half hexi for a final, larger border.

or doll quilts

Thanks for the link.

I made the french braid friendship quilt as a baby quilt just using two 2 1/2" jelly roles and a photo. I cut the strips into 7" pieces. The chevrons IMHO look more balanced if you use the same fabric for the touching pieces. I loved the baby quilt. Here is a photo. First photo pieces on design wall. Second finished quilt.

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I took a class last fall at our quilt guild and made one. We measured and marked each strip and quilted it as we went along. Did not use a tool of any kind.
It turned out well but I would not make another any time soon.

I have made several French braids without a ruler or pattern. Just remember to keep in mind the ratio is 1 to 3. In other words, if you cut your piece 2 inches wide then it must be 6 inches long. if you do 2.5 then the length must be 7.5 I like this because you can make any size you want as long as you remember the 1 to 3 ratio. Hope this helps.

I also bought the book at Hobby Lobby with the coupon and it has the most beautiful patterns.

I think this is good advice. I'll try to remember this when I make mine (it's on my bucket list). A friend of mine had the same problem when she made a tablerunner from French braids. Thanks for the reminder!

This is what I came up with for a solution. Because I was using the mini half hexi, the braids were only 6 inches wide. They looked too long and skinny to run from one end of the quilt to the other. I still would like a way to make a bigger quilt, as I have many, many scraps to use up. Thanks for all you help
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Yes, it is and I am getting ready to try it out.

Oh I really like that! Came out wonderful!

Another option is to try a 60 degree braid from Fons and Porter. I cut my template from sandpaper, cut the strips, marked them and cut the braid pieces. It went together really easily. Here is the link:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...47534661,d.cGE


and BTW - when I googled 60 Degree braid quilt to get the link, the images came up and much to my surprise, mine is there!

I have a set of 4 different sizes of 1/2 hexagons. I found it addictive and I didn't waste much fabric at all due to using the smaller sizes as I cut. I put each size in a separate shoe box. I will say the one thing I didn't do carefully enough was cutting on the bias. This did lead to some distortion so I highly recommend spray starching the fabric before cutting.

I think you came up with a stunning solution to your problem. Congratulations!

I have made to table runners...I used the binding tool to make it...It works good...fast and easy...

I am making a French braid quilt with batiks. I was going to use either the half hexagon or the binding tool, but found that either way made cuts on the bias and I really did not want to do that. I cut a jelly roll into 8" strips and used a 12.5" block cut into triangles for the top. It is going well, no stretching. When I am done I will post the photo.