Never quit a project.
You may have a difficult time doing it, someone may do it better, but practice makes perfect. Don't give up on something because you don't get it right away. All good things, hobbies, relationships, take time and patience. Everything has another way of being done which may end up being the way that works best for you. Find it! You will get better.
Yesterday was quite a day. As I said last week, I wanted to make the Square Braid Bracelet. I used the video from our website. This weave didn't look terribly hard, but as I very quickly found out...it is. I thought this bracelet looked fun to make (very un-"square") and I had yet to make a bracelet where I took the guts out (which I was very much looking forward to doing).
So I gathered my two different colored paracords, lighter, fid, buckle, and scissors. I put my headphones in and set to make my bracelet.
Or so I thought.
I instantly got stuck on the first knot. After about 10 minutes and 20 tries (remember, I'm still a newbie with big dreams) I finally had the first knot done and was very proud of myself. After I got 2 more "braids" done I knew it wasn't looking right and took them out. I did another 20 minutes of who knows how many attempts and was unsuccessful. I couldn't follow the video very well. Everybody learns different, and videos are definitely NOT the way I learn best. I tried without looking at the video, I tried finding other videos online, which surprisingly, I was also unsuccessful at.
I decided to put it down for 5 minutes go give my mind and fingers a rest. Hoping that would be all it takes to get this braid to "click" in my head. Back at it, tried for another 10 minutes still unsuccessfully. I took the headphones off my head - forcefully - and declared out loud that I quit. I then had to clarify I wasn't quitting Paracord Planet, I was just quitting the bracelet :)
At that point my manager turned around to see what I was doing. He worked at it for about 60 seconds before he figured out the braid. Finally, I had someone in front of me showing me how to do this "impossible" braid. He made it look so much easier and did it a tad different than the video which helped me immensely!
Finally, I went back to my desk, put on my music and finished the braid with very little issue. And fun was had by all.
Back to my original point. Never quit a project (especially a paracord project since they're awesome) because you don't get it right away. Ask for help. Find a different way of looking at it. There are infinite resources out there of finding an answer. Find it. Work at it. Be proud of it.
For those of you interested in the easier way (for me) to do this braid, this is it. The video I watched had loops on top of loops and I couldn't figure out which to have on top and which end to put through which loop and on top or under which loop side. What I found easiest was to (after your first square braid on the buckle is done) simply lay each strand on top of the first one in a clockwise or counterclockwise (it doesn't matter which) manner. That way, you only have to do one loop and its very easy to see which strand to put the 4th strand under. then pull tight. Note: your fingers will be a little sore after this one, but I promise it's worth it!
For those of you interested in my finished bracelet here it is:
If I had given up and not tried it the new way, I wouldn't have this awesome bracelet that I'm really proud of (and subsequently showed everyone in the office). Practice makes perfect.
What projects have you guys made that were hard for you but you trudged through and are proud of your final result? Share with us in the comment section.
As always, please feel free to contact me on any of our social media avenues- Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+.
Paracord Love,
Lauri
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