Thank you!

 After 2 years of no new posts it probably won't come as a surprise that I'm quitting this blog. I still love braiding and trying out new hairstyles, but since my little boy was born, I just don't have that much time for braiding anymore.
I want to thank all of you for reading my blog posts and hopefully I've been able to inspire you. If you ever have a question about braiding, feel free to leave a comment here!

Thank you all and please continue trying out new braids!

x Miriam

How to: French braid with ribbon

Helpful tutorials:
3 strand braid
French braid

You'll need:
2 elastics
3 ribbons (about the length of the hair, longer is fine)

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Comb all of the hair backwards. Lift up a top section of hair en take a small strand of hair beneath this. Put the elastic with the three ribbons attached to it around this small strand.
2. Now take the top section again and divide it into three. Add 1 ribbon to each strand.
3. Cross the left strand (along with the ribbon) over the middle strand and then cross the right strand (along with the ribbon) over the middle strand.
4. Now put the ribbon from the left strand to the side for a moment. Add some hair to the left strand.
5. Cross the left strand over the middle on.
6. Now take the ribbon you've put aside and put it on top of the middle strand (this should be your only strand without a ribbon).
7. Put the ribbon from the right strand to the side for a moment. Add some hair to the right strand.
8. Cross the right strand over the middle on.
9. Now take the ribbon you've put aside and put it on top of the middle strand (which was your only strand without a ribbon).
10. Keep repeating steps 4 through 9 until you've added in all of the hair.
11. Now continue a regular 3 strand braid, but make sure the ribbon always stays visible. The best way to do this is to take the ribbon from the strand you're gonna cross over and put it to the side. Then cross the strand over. Take the ribbon and add it to the middle strand. This way you can always see the ribbon.
12. When you've reached the end of the hair, finish off with an elastic. If you have leftover ribbon, you can either tie it into a bow or simply cut it off.

Good luck!

4 strand Dutch braid

A 'normal' 4 strand braid with hair added in is a French / Dutch braid. But there's also a technique to do a completely Dutch version of this braid. To do so, you have to add in the hair to the strand you cross over when it crosses under. This means it's important to master the regular 4 strand braid first and I would also advise to practice the French/Dutch version before trying this braid.

The technique:
4 strand Dutch braid tutorial

Ideas:

The 4 strand Dutch braid, as explained in my tutorial.

A simple variation: a diagonal 4 strand Dutch braid.

The same diagonal 4 strand Dutch as the photo above, only now a looser version for a more relaxed look

Instead of braiding until the end of the hair you can also finish off the style with a messy bun.

Also a fun variation: the 4 strand Dutch braid as headband braid.

4 strand French / Dutch braid

When you've mastered the 4 strand braid, you can try adding in hair. You'll get a French / Dutch braid, because you're adding in hair and crossing it over on one side (like a French braid) and under on the other side (like a Dutch braid).
There's also a way to do a full Dutch braided version, but I'll explain that in another article.

The technique:
4 strand French / Dutch braid tutorial

Ideas:

The 4 strand French / Dutch braid, as explained in my tutorial. The French braided section is on the left, the Dutch braided section on the right.

A variation, in which not all of the hair has been added. Great to combine with a bun.

The same variation as above, only pancaked. The braid has been finished as a fishtail.

In this variation the strand you don't add hair to (the third strand, counted from the side where you start braiding) has been turned into a rope braid before doing the 4 strand French / Dutch braid. Of course, instead of a rope braid you can also use loads of different braiding techniques...

... like a 4 strand ribbon braid!

3D split braid

A 3D split braid is a fun and easy variation on the regular 3 strand braid. Before you cross your strand over another, you split the strand in two and then you cross one section over and one section under the next strand. This creates an almost square looking braid.
Up for a challenge by adding in hair? Make sure to check out the video tutorial linked below. Important: always first split the strand and cross it over and under the next strand before adding in hair. This new hair gets added to the middle strand, which is the strand you've just split.

The technique:
3D split braid tutorial (with adding in hair)

Ideas:

The Dutch 3D split braid, as explained in my tutorial.

A variation on the Dutch 3D split braid: Dutch braid a small part, then create a ponytail and braid the hair from this ponytail. Then turn it into a bun.

The regular 3D split braid, started in a ponytail.

The first 3D split braid I've ever done myself, started without a ponytail, with a flower accent braid in Christmas colors.

A variation on the regular 3D split braid: two small 3D split braids, brought together at the back of the head.

How to: Yelena's hairstyle from Frozen 2

Helpful tutorials:
3 strand braid

You'll need:
9 small elastics (or 18, if you're using double elastics)

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Part the hair off centre, about in the middle of the eyebrow.
2. Create a second part on the other side of the centre, also about in the middle of the eyebrow.
3. Now create a third part from the left to the right part, about 5 centimeters away from the forehead. This is the hair for your first ponytail.
4. Put an elastic around this ponytail. In the movie, Yelena has white hair and uses dark elastics - because I have dark hair, I've used white elastics.
5. Now create on each side of this ponytail three smaller ponytails. Try to make nice and straight parts every time. Tip: start the part at the top and then go down (starting at the middle ponytail you have) before going to the front.
6. Once you've created all seven ponytails, comb the hair from these ponytails back and put an elastic around them.
7. Lastly, take a strand of hair on the left side of the head. The strand starts at the back of the neck.
8. Divide the hair from this strand into three and do a regular 3 strand braid. Finish off with an elastic. Be careful: Yelena wears this braid to the front, so make sure your braid stays there.

Good luck!

How to: Dutch 3D round braid with 4 strand woven braid

Helpful tutorials:
Dutch 3D round braid

You'll need:
1 elastic
1 ribbon
1 small elastic
Topsy tail (if you wish to hide the elastic with hair - an alternative is to use a flower clip or bow)

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Attach the ribbon to the big elastic.
2. Part the hair off centre.
3. Take a small section of hair on the side with the most hair and divide this into four equal parts.
4. Start a Dutch 3D round braid with these four strands. Angel your braid towards the ear.
5. Continue until you've added in all of the hair. Finish on the side of the head.
6. Use your elastic with the ribbon attached to it to finish off your Dutch 3D round braid.
7. Take your topsy tail and put it point down through the elastic. Take a small strand of hair, wrap it around the elastic and then put the end of the strand through the opening of the topsy tail. Pull the topsy tail down. You've now done a hair wrapped ponytail, your elastic is hidden. You could also choose to hide your elastic with a flower clip or a bow. If you want to do that, skip this step and add the flower clip or bow once you've finished braiding.
8. Divide the hair from your ponytail into three equal strands. The ribbon is your fourth strands. The start position of the ribbon doesn't matter for the braid.
9. Now do a 4 strand woven braid: take the far left strand and cross it over the strand next to it, under the next strand and over the last strand (where 'strand' is written, you can also read 'ribbon').
10. Repeat step 9 all the way down the hair. Finish off with a small elastic.

Good luck!