When braiding kangaroo items, there are different braiding patterns available when using multiple colors. The number of lace strands also changes the appearance of your lead. Every design is not shown here - as the possibilities are endless, with anywhere from 1 to 8 colors of leather!
How many strands do you need?
All kangaroo products can be ordered with 4, 6, or 8 braided strands. The fewer the strands, the narrower the item. Larger dogs may require greater strands for strength and safety. Or, more sensitive dogs may require a collar that is wider than 1/8 inch (4 strands). Also, think about the comfort of the leash in your hand and what the collar or lead will be used for. Leather is braided around a very strong, sinew core. We can also double the cores for the large dogs.
Below pictures are NOT to scale.
4 strands - approximately 1/8" wide
8 strands - approximately 1/4" wide
6 strands - approximately 3/16" wide
BRAIDING PATTERNS
4 strand design choices
Spiral pattern 1 - 2 colors
2 strands of each color
Spiral pattern 2 - 3 colors
2 strands of one color, 1 strand each of two other colors
Stripe pattern 1 - 2 colors
2 strands of each color
Stripe pattern 2 - 3 colors
2 strands of one color, 1 strand each of two other colors. (In this example, the three colors are black, grey and white. It is a little hard to see the color difference in the picture.)
Spot pattern - 2 colors
1 strand of one color, 3 strands of the other
6 strand design choices
Spiral pattern 1 - 2 colors
4 strands of one color, 2 strands of the other color
Spiral pattern 2 - 3 colors
4 strands of one color and 1 strand each of two other colors. This example shows hazel as the dominant color, with red and black as the spiral.
Spiral pattern 3 - 3 colors
2 strands of each color
Spot pattern - 5 strands of one color and 1 strand of a second color. On this particular lead, the blue spot was braided in the larger spot position.
Stripe pattern - 2 colors
3 strands of each color. The two pictures are different views of the same lead. The red stripe is wider than the turquoise stripe. Stripe size and comparison may vary slightly depending on the lace used, but one colored stripe will always be slightly wider than the second color.
Multi-colored spots or Multi-colored stripes
8 strand design choices
Multitude of options - spiral, stripe, snake or random. With 1 to 8 color choices, the possibilities are endless!
Spiral pattern 1 - 2 colors
Shown with 4 strands of green and 4 strands of ochre. This is 2 pictures of the same lead, as you can not get a "perfect" spiral when braiding 8 strands.
Spiral pattern 2 - 3 colors
Example above is braided with 5 strands of ochre, 2 strands of brandy and 1 strand of white. This gives you more of a nicer spiral pattern (in my opinion) and it also gives you a dominant color in the lead.
Spiral pattern 3 - 2 colors
5 strands of one color and 3 strands of a second color.
Stripe pattern 1 - 2 colors
4 strands of each color
Stripe pattern 2 - 3 colors
4 strands of one color, 2 strands of the other two (2 stripes of black, 2 stripes of red/white)
Stripe pattern 3 - 3 colors
4 strands of one color, 2 strands of the others (2 stripes of dark brown, 2 stripes of hazel/blueberry)
Snake pattern - 2 colors
4 strands of each color. This will give you a "layered" pattern.
Snake pattern 2 - 3 colors
4 strands of one color and 2 strands of 2 other colors.
V pattern 1 - 2 colors
6 strands of one color, 2 strands of a different color
V pattern 2 - 3 colors
6 strands of one color, 1 strand of two different colors
If the two single color strands are on different sides, it will ALWAYS result in a V pattern.
Spot pattern 1 - 2 colors
7 strands of one color and 1 strand of a second color.
Spotted pattern 2 - 3 colors
6 strands of one color (black) and 1 strand of two other colors (hazel and white)
Spot pattern 3 - 2 colors
6 strands of one color (blue) and 2 strands of a different color (white)