I'm new to this whole 'DIY Cable' thing, but I decided to give it a try this past weekend. I needed an interconnect to go between my Schiit Modi and my amplifier, and after browsing quite a few pages from this thread (I gave up after about 250) settled on the following:
I used 16 strands of solid copper that I sheathed individually with #1 paracord in both red and black (that part took the longest) and then weaved them together using a cross-whip weave style I picked up after studying pictures of Jena Labs speaker cables. I began with all the red on one side and the black on another, and ended the same way. I think it turned out pretty good, and it sounds great.
Although, to be honest, this was just a proof-of-concept. I've never woven (or braided, for that matter) anything before this, nor had I ever soldered anything. This one is really just a temporary solution. I learned a lot making this cable, and will probably make another, more permanent solution using silver wire and higher-quality RCA plugs.
My little boy was holding the end of the cable in this picture. He really wanted to help out!
The cables connected to my current setup (I'm a teacher, and this is on the desk in my classroom.)
