Silkewerk - A lace bend brod of 8 bowis

A lace bend brod of 8 bowis

A Cheueron brod of 16 [T32] is a two person version of this braid.

The direction that the loops are given the half-twist matters. It also determines which side of the braid faces upward during the braiding. The manuscripts are vague on this point, but it's clear that the twist was intentionally controlled.

For the sake of consistency, all my directions will form a braid with the more attractive side facing down.

Take eight loops in two colors, and place them on the following fingers:
Color 1: A B C D left
Color 2: A B C D right

Work with the right hand:
A takes through B C D right, and D C B left, the loop of A left unreversed.
High the left loops.
Move the loop from D right onto D left unreversed.
Low the right loops.

[Hook B in the back A loop and pull it over and around the front A loop and onto B - allowing the loop brought up from D to travel through A as previously instructed. This lowering method is explained in Tollemache's Lace Piole [T11].]

Twist all your loops, giving a 180° turn to each loop:
Left hand - Twist the bottom of each loop upward (Counter-clockwise)
Right hand - Twist the top of each loop downward (Counter-clockwise)

Repeat from the beginning.

[If you imagine that your two hands are really one hand with eight fingers arranged A B C D D C B A you can see that this braid takes the far left loop through all the others to the far right, and then shifts everything one to the left. All the loops are twisted identically (counter-clockwise), even though it might feel that each hand is different.]

Source: Tollemache 24

A lace bend broad of 8 bows.
Take 4 bows on one color and set them on A B C D right and 4 bows of another color on thy left hand and then shall A right take through all the bows of both hands the bow of A left unreversed then high thy left bows then shall D left take the bow of D right unreversed then low thy right bows so that that bow that was taken of A left dwell still on A right then reverse all thy bows and so begin again.

Source: Harleian 25

A lace bend broad of eight bows.
Take 4 bows of one color and 4 of another, and work as in the lace endented [H19], save there thou workest first with thy right hand and after with thy left hand, in this lace thou shalt do always with thy right hand. [*]

[* Harlien refers back to the lace endented [H19], and while it's possible to make a braid with these instructions, it makes no sense to believe the odd looking result is what was intended as a "bend broad".

I believe the text meant to refer to the lace vinee [T56], which also features a zig-zag pattern. Following the lace vinee instructions with only the right hand produces a broad bend, like the Harliean title promises. Unfortunately, the Harlien manuscript ends abruptly before getting as far as the lace vinee. Other than the instructions above, there is no single worker "bend" braid in Harleian for comparison. It does have a two-worker version, a cheueron brod of 16 [H32], which produces bends consistent with the Tollemache instructions above.]

Source: Serene 41

A lace bend.
Take eight bows, four bows of one color upon the one hand and four of another color upon the other hand, and then shall A right take through his bows B C D and D C B left, the bow A unreversed of the left hand, and then high thy bows of the left hand, and then shall D left take the bow D right, and then low thy bows right so that the bow that was taken through that other dwell upon A, and that that was upon A be upon B and then reverse all thy bows, and begin again.