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How to Braid Four Strand Braids

A four-strand braid is easy to learn! If you can braid with three strands of hair- you can braid with four- I promise!

This easy 4 strand braiding method works on human hair, horse manes, and even the occasional friendship bracelet! Although braiding 4 strands adds a challenge – It pays off in “wow factor “

Four strand braids are unique and easy to learn

Follow along with my guide to making 4 strand braids to create head-turning braids for people, horses, macrame, or craft projects!

Before you Start Braiding: Setting Expectations

Learning to braid with 4 strands will be really hard at first. But, I promise, if you practice 3-5 minutes a day for a week, you’re going to be a pro at the end of the week.

See. most of us learned to braid with 3 strands so young that braiding is mostly muscle memory! Learning to braid with four strands will challenge our brain flexibility! While there is a technique to learn, the hardest part might just be communicating to your brain!

For your first few tries, you’ll have to remind yourself with each crossed strand of hair, that you are not actually completing a traditional 3-strand braid!

How to Braid a 4-Strands:

This method for braiding a four-strand braid is the easiest to learn, but the hardest to braid on a living model (either horse or human!)

I’ll introduce a few alternate four-strand braiding methods below, but start with this one. This simple four strand braid will help you understand the braid. By spreading strands of string, floss, yarn, or fiber out on flat surface like I have, you can get your brain used to the 4 strand braid construction.

Once you understand how the braid works, you can progress to the wrist twist method of braiding a four-strand braid – which, although more technically difficult, works much better on live hair.

the easiest way to braid a four strand braid is with this learning method

Begin with four strands anchored at the top. I’m using four different color strands to illustrate this braiding method and to make explaining a little easier.

To begin braiding, pick up purple and cross it right over blue. Then pick up pink and cross it right over yellow.

Next, join these two twists together by crossing yellow left over purple, as shown.

the easiest way to braid a four strand braid is with this learning method

Now, cross blue right over yellow, and cross purple to the right, crossing over pink.

Again, join the twists together by crossing the two middle strands, crossing pink left over blue.

the easiest way to braid a four strand braid is with this learning method

Keep repeating this pattern down the braid. The pattern repeats:

  1. outside-left strand right over left-middle,
  2. right-middle over outside-right,
  3. then middle-strand-right left over middle-strand left.

Sound complex? Don’t worry, once you get the hang of it, it’s a simple “right, right, left” rhythm.

Wrist-Twist Method to Braid a 4 Strand Braid

The wrist-twist method is the braiding method you’ll want to use for putting four-strand braids in horse or human hair. It’s better for live models because you’ll keep a grip on all 4 strands the whole time. This method makes it easier to get tidy braids in a wiggling model.

hands braiding a four strand braid

Wrist Twist Method for Braiding Four Strand Braids

Total Time: 5 minutes

Divide Hair or Fiber into 4 Strands

hands braiding a four strand braid

Separating hair into 4 equal strands. Work with freshly brushed hair or finger-combed fiber. A spritz of hairspray before you start can make the hair easier to grip while braiding.

Grasp two strands in each hand and divide with index fingers

hands braiding a four strand braid

Line up the four strands and grasp two in each hand. keep the strands separated with your index finger.

With this method, you’ll always be twisting left, so line up your hands as shown to make wrist rotation easy.

Rotate both hands 180°, twisting strands

hands braiding a four strand braid

Now, twist each wrist 180° to the right. (If your palm is facing down, turn it right to face up, if your palm is facing up, turn it right till it’s facing down). The strands will cross over each other as you twist your wrists, forming the braid.

In this demonstration, purple goes over blue, and pink goes over yellow.

Cross middle strands: right over left

hands braiding a four strand braid

Next, join these two twists together into a braid by crossing the two strands that were placed in the center through the last maneuver. While, for the four strand braid, the wrist twists are always to the right, joining the middle strands together is done by crossing the right-middle strand over the left-middle strand.

In this demonstration, yellow goes over purple.

Return to starting position: 2 strands per hand, divided by index fingers

hands braiding a four strand braid

Now, instead of purple and blue in the left-hand and pink and yellow in the right-hand, now I’m holding blue and yellow strands in the left hand and pink and purple strands in the right-hand.

You’ll likely be working with strands of hair or fiber that are the same color, but note that two of the four strands have traded hands by this step.

Turn each wrist 180°, crossing strands

hands braiding a four strand braid

Again, twist your wrists 180° so that the two strands held in each hand cross over each other. In this demonstration, blue crosses over yellow, and purple crosses over pink.

Cross middle strands: right over left

how to braid a four strand braid

After you’ve completed the wrist twist to the right, cross the middle-right strand over the middle left strand. Now, yellow and pink are in the left hand and purple and blue are in the right-hand.

Notice that by this point, after two braiding cycle repetitions, all the colors have switched hands, and swapped order. Using colored strands while you learn to braid is helpful for double-checking that you are braiding the four-strand braid correctly.

Continue Twisting, then Crossing

how to braid a four strand braid

Continue the cycle of wrist-twist, then middle-cross until you reach the end of the hair or fiber you are braiding. Tie the end of the braid off with a ribbon or place a rubber band around the to keep them from unraveling.

Supply:

  • Practice on colored yarn or rope for the easiest learning

 

Learning this braid takes some practice (and a horse patient enough to remain still while you learn!) You’ll probably want to practice at home on something that can’t move when it gets bored.

The easiest practice material is a soft old t-shirt cut into strips, long felt strips, or- perhaps after practice on fabric strips- a false tail extension borrowed from your barn’s show tack.

A mare with four strand braids in her mane during turnout to prevent long mane from tangling.
A mare with four strand braids in her mane during turnout to prevent long mane from tangling.

Different Braiding Styles

Because the four strand braid is a braiding method, not a style, per se, it can be incorporated any nearly any braiding style that typically uses the traditional three-strand braid.

A four strand braid in between traditional braids on a horse's mane
A four strand braid in between traditional braids on a grey horse’s mane

Four Plait Running Braid

The photo below shows a running braid braiding in a traditional 3-plait braid. Practice the 4 strand braid upside down (crossing strands of hair under, rather than over, each other) to create a dramatic braid that pops like this one- but with four strands instead of three interwoven down the crest of the mane.

Step by step instructions to braid a mane into a running braid

Braiding Hints & Hacks

Young or old, most horse owners get a kick out of braiding manes and tails from time to time.  Whether you are braiding for show, for fun, or as a way to keep necks cool and long manes tidy, it can be helpful to know a few braiding tricks.

At LearningHorses.com we’ve written on running braids, pasture braids, Dutch braids, and 4-plait braids, but there are dozens more braids to experiment with. One of the best resources we’ve found for eye-turning mane braiding styles is actually instruction books for braiding human hair!

The following section may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Our favorite resource, “Twist Me Pretty” has step by step instructions for 45 braiding styles, many of which can be transformed into even more dramatic looks by completing the braid with a four-plait braid instead of a standard 3 strand braid.

Picking up the 4 strand braid can be a challenge at first, but we’ve found this braiding tool– designed to hold four strands, to be the perfect aid to make the learning curve much easier!

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