Loop Braiding Workshop

The Kansas City Public Library is hosting a Loop Braiding Workshop at the Plaza Branch on Saturday, October 10, from 10 AM to 12 PM. It's a two-hour session in the Large Meeting Room, and you'll need to RSVP to get a spot.

Loop braiding is a textile technique that the Library describes as a highly developed art from the Middle Ages, with hundreds of patterns and variations. The workshop covers the basics: you'll learn a couple of braiding patterns for solid and partially divided braids, and you'll make colorful multi-string braids that can be used as bookmarks, bracelets, or as edging for a neckline. All the materials and instruction are provided, so you just need to show up.

The session is in person, and the Plaza Branch is at 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112. It opened at Brookside Boulevard and Main Street in 1967 as the first branch the city's board of education built outside a high school facility, and it's now the busiest in the Library system. Its floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the Country Club Plaza and Brush Creek, and it houses the Good As Gold sculpture, which is made of books.

If you've never braided before, this is a good place to start. You'll walk away with a few finished pieces and the knowledge to keep going on your own. The workshop runs from 10 AM to 12 PM on Saturday, October 10, at the Plaza Branch.