How to Weave a Military Braid

Make Your Own Military Braids for Your Mum

You can buy love chains for your homecoming mums or weave your own. The military braid weave shown above looks very complicated but it's amazingly simple.

All you need is two lengths of 5/8-inch wide ribbon in your school colors, a stapler and about fifteen minutes.

Cut the ribbon three times longer than you want the finished chain. For example, if you want a 36-inch chain, cut the ribbons 3 yards long.

Following the pictures, we'll call red "color 1" and gold "color 2". Write down your school colors for reference. For example if they're blue and white, write color 1 = blue and color 2 = white. So when I say color 1, you'll see red but think blue. Get it?

How to Weave the Military Braid

Step 1

Lay an end of color 2 on top of an end of color 1 at a right angle and staple.

Step 2

Make a 5/8-inch loop with color 1 and staple. These staples will be hidden by the weave.

Step 3

Push the color 2 ribbon up through the loop you just made to form another 5/8-inch loop.

Step 4

Push color 1 ribbon up through the loop you just made as in Step 3.

Step Five

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the chain is the length you desire.

Step Six

Staple the loose ends and trim the tails. This is the top of the chain and these staples will be hidden between the backplates of your homecoming mum.