Finnish 17 strand braid

This first display I was able to present in person at the Coronation of TRM Cuan and Adelheit. ​April 2022.

See this book? This booklet is on the Perniö costume, and unlike Sarks (a well known book on Iron Age Finland which is readily available by digital copy) THIS booklet is REALLY hard to get a hold of in the States.
I had seen snippets of parts of it, but never the whole thing. It is a treasure of explaining in detail how specifically the Perniö costume was recreated.

One caveat for me... I don't read or speak Finnish.

Well I'm not letting that stop me! /toot a trumpet
Google translate and research to the rescue!

Also, amazing pictures and drawings are incorporated; those helped me later with completing the bronze coil temple ornaments, and that's a later blog.

I'm getting ahead of myself... It took 4 years?,  misunderstandings, an unnecessary invention, and apologies to students I had taught incorrect information for me to actually learn this braid and ways it is believed to be used.

Seriously, it is 17 strands

I originally, come to find out incorrectly, believed the braid used for temple ornaments was 9 strands... but yep. It's seriously 17. And honestly I found the 17 strand plait easier to braid!

Now there are places that a 9 strand braid is used, like the Perniö veil/hood and necklace, ... or even 33 for a belt!... but it isn't the band for temple ornaments and those are depicted using a different plait pattern. And I believe others may call these 8 strand braids or 16 strands, but for example for me it's easier to say 17 instead of 16+1.

So Rikissa, how do you make this thing?
Um, well... ok I'm not going to teach that in *this* blog post, but I will in a different one. In Finnish there is a term that translates to "thumbing", it's "peukaloida". Thanks to Mervi Pasanen for teaching me this term. In English I think most people will best recognize the term "Finger weaving."

The warp strands (that's the length of your strands of yarn), well, they are plaited to create a diagonal pattern and the outer strands become your warp (the crossing strands). It creates a diagonal lattice pattern and is quite beautiful. It looks deceptively simple. But once you can wrap your brain around it there is a flow and rhythm.

My plan is to create a video and/or picture tutorial on how to use the plaiting techniques. And then you all can learn how to plait it too.

Also, Mervi Pasanen has posted a video on, I believe, the Finnish Iron Age Facebook group of her plaiting. This was very helpful to me to solidify the information I had gathered and learned, and relearned, was correct.

I've finished this plait and others now... now the temple ornaments go on the ends! or maybe braid sock garters and end them in plaited tassels! And again, like a belt, or anywhere one could use a flat braid.