Measuring and calculating cord

Nearly every failed first project fails on arithmetic rather than technique.

The rule of thumb

These are working figures, not constants. Tight tension uses more; thick cord uses more; a wider piece uses more per centimetre than a narrow one.

Cut long

An extra twenty centimetres per strand costs an offcut. A strand that runs out three knots from the end costs the whole piece, because a join in the middle of a braid is always visible.

Recording

Writing down cord used and length achieved after each project builds a table that is more accurate than any rule of thumb, because it is specific to one pair of hands.