My first task was to braid the wires together. I purchased 20 feet of wire to make an approximate 5 ft cable.
I tried braiding some junk wire by hand and I don't have the dexterity for it. I kept losing track of the wires as well. I purchased a Kumihimo disk from a Michael's store for four bucks, it's a foam disk with numbered slots that hold and keep track of the wires for you. I attached two zip ties to hold the bundle of wires in place. You need some weight on the bundle while you're braiding, I just hung a pair of scissors on the end.
The process was pretty easy. I used these instructions:
3. With the number side of the disc facing up, place the fold through the
center of the Kumihimo Braiding Disc so the free ends extend toward you.
Attach the wires to a work surface to maintain even tension as you braid.
4. Turn the disc so #32 is at the top and #16 is at the bottom.
5. Adjust the wires so there is one wire on each side of a dotted number. (A)
6. Braid the wires together according to one of the patterns below.
Basic Round Braid
A pretty, braided cable to string your favorite pendants and large-hole beads.
1. Follow “Getting Started” to prepare four strands that are two and a half times
longer than the desired braid length. (40” for a 16” braid)
2. Remove the strand between 16 & 17 and insert it between 30 & 31. (B)
3. Remove the strand between 1 & 32 and insert it between 14 & 15. (C)
4. Turn the disc counterclockwise to the next dot (#8 on top, #24 on bottom).
Now the wires are at new numbers but their positions on the disc look the
same. (D)
5. Repeat the braiding pattern: Bring the lower left strand up and across the
disc to insert it to the left of the two upper strands. Bring the upper right
strand down and across the disc to insert it to the right of the lower strand.
(E)
6. Turn the disc counterclockwise one quarter-turn, then repeat the braiding
pattern. Repeat this step until the braid reaches the desired length
The mantra I kept repeating in my head was 'bottom to top, top to bottom, pull some slack, turn'. You want to keep some slack on the wires so they're arched a little and not totally taut. I didn't keep track of numbers, just followed that basic routine. You want to do this in a distraction-free environment so you don't lose your place.
Here's a poor photo of the process part-way in.
When I had the length I wanted I held the top end with another couple zip ties and then slipped the Y splitter on. I put in some cotton fabric pieces to take up space inside the splitter and finished it off with some adhesive as DHC recommends.
