Technique
It is possible for anyone to learn the technique in just a couple of minutes when demonstrated by a skilled braider, although slightly harder to convey the process using just words and pictures. However, with a little experience and once a basic rythym has been established, a 600mm braid can be completed in about twenty minutes with two-ply silks. The resultant piece of work is suprisingly strong and, if different coloured silks are used, finely detailed.
The first part of making a braid is to form the loops. The best method for a single colour braid is to use a continuous length of thread passed around two points (sticks, thumbs, whatever) until the correct number of loops is established. Multiple colour braids simply require laying-off enough thread of each colour to make up the chosen total.
For ease of braiding, it is very important to have loops that are all the same length, and so drawing one hand down the threads from one end of the completed loop bundle to gently tension and equal out all the threads is a good idea. Near the other end of the loop bundle, all the threads can be tied together with a simple overhand knot, ensuring that enough of a small loop at this end is left free to pass over a tie-down point - for this, a post, tent peg or big toe all work well.
The braider should securely fix the short loop to the tie-down point and then place each of the long loops onto each finger in turn, sharing the loops between the hands and starting from the index fingers downwards.
For the basic pattern using seven loops, obviously four will end up on one hand and three on the other.