The leash is about four and a half feet long when finished, and is washable (just remove the hook). While it is lightweight, the 4-strand braid is strong. I made a training rope for a friend who trains draft horses. He used it for a colt who was throwing his head around when in harness, and the braid worked beautifully. Since the braids also have a bit of 'give' in them, the leash has a bit of a shock-absorber property which is really nice if Fido jerks around too. 

Supplies: 2 pieces 5 yards long of pre-folded cotton strip (double-fold to hide the raw edges).   A large safety pin A lacing needle A sewing needle, scissors and thread A snap-hook (available at hardware stores for about 75 cents for a small size suitable for cats, to $1.25 for larger hooks suitable for dog leashes).

Directions: 1. Choose contrasting colors or shades for the "V" pattern to show off the best. In these directions, I'll refer to one color as dark, and the other color as light. Find the center of the two cotton strips. At the center, twist the two strips around each other for about 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Fold the twisted section in half. With the safety pin, secure the folded section so that the dark strip ends are at the outside, and the light strips are on the inside. The safety pin should go through each one of the four pieces of strip. 

2. Take the twisted section, and close it in a drawer to hold it securely, or tie a string through it and to a door knob or something similar. This will give you something to pull against to keep the braid tight and even.

3. Making the braid.
Separate the strands so that on the left there is one dark and one light strand, and on the right are also one light and dark strand. Hold the strands in order in your left and right hands. 

With the dark strand at the outside on the right, bring the strand up and over the light strand, and pass it to your left hand. Remember to keep the strands in order.

With the dark strand at the outside on the left, bring it up and over both the other two strands in the left hand, and pass it to your right hand. 

Now with the light strand on the outer right, bring it up and over the dark strand and pass it to your left hand. 

With the light strand on the outer left, bring it up and over both strands in your left hand, and pass it to your right hand. Notice that the braid strands are now back to their original positions with both dark strands on the outside. 
 

The braid continues by repeating this process. The outer strand on the right always goes over 1 strand and passes to the left side. The outer strand on the left always goes over 2 strands and passes to the right side.

Try to keep an even tension on the braid, and every few braids, run your hands down the strands to untangle the ends. When there are only 4 to 6 inches of cotton strip left unbraided, stop braiding, and secure the ends with a bit of string or a rubber band. 

4. Attaching the hook. Take the safety pin out of the twisted section from the very start. 

Pull the twisted loop through the hole at the back end of the snap hook. 

Then pull the rest of the leash through the twisted loop. 

Pull the leash snug around the snap hook. (Note: for washing the leash, reverse the process to remove the hook before washing.) 

5. Making the handle. If you're really lazy, you can just tie a large knot in the end of the braid to hold onto, but the leash is much neater with a loop handle. Fold over the braid about 8 inches. Thread the end of a strip through the lacing needle, and insert the tip of the needle into the braid at a matching color. Lace the strip, following the pattern of the braid for at least 3 turns around the leash. Pull up the end of the strip snugly. When all four strands have been laced back into the leash, use the needle and thread (or Mom can sew across it with a sewing machine) to keep the strands from pulling back out. Clip off the extra bits of strip, and you're done!

Variations.
There are other 4- 5- and 6- strand braids which make wonderful leashes, including the 4-strand flat braid which makes a striped pattern and is quite showy. (See the book "Multi-strand Braids for Flat Braided Rugs" in the catalog.) Other materials, such as macrame cord can also be used, but the ends of the strands will need to be secured with wrapping to hold them without fraying out. A small, short version of this leash can also be used to attach to a key ring, or as a handle for other small objects you don't want to lose. 

Supplies:
For 12" X 22" placemat: 50 yards total of pre-folded cotton strip in a hit-and-miss selection of colors cut into 20 pieces, each 2-1/2 yards long . 
For 12" X 66" table runner: 150 yards total of pre-folded cotton strip in a hit-and-miss selection of colors cut into 60 pieces, each 2-1/2 yards long 

A large safety pin 
A few rubber bands 
A lacing needle 
A sewing needle, scissors and thread 
Crochet thread or heavy cotton thread for lacing the braids together. 

Directions: If you are using a 4-strand braid, select 4 pieces, each 2-1/2 yards long of pre-folded cotton strip. If you are using a 5-strand braid, select 5 pieces. Secure one end of each strip with the safety pin. Close the safety pin in a snug drawer, or tie it to a doorknob or other fixed place, so you can pull a bit on the braid as you work to keep it snug and even. 

Braid the entire length of the strands, and secure the ends with a rubber band. Make a total of 5 braids if you are using a 4-strand braid. Make a total of 4 braids if you are using a 5-strand braid. (For the table runner, you will make 3 times as many braids, depending on which braiding pattern you are using.) The finished sections of braiding will be 66+ inches long.

For a placemat: Mark each braid at 22 inches, 44 inches and 66 inches. Baste across the braid about ½ inch from the mark, on both sides of the mark. Cut the braid on the mark. Lay the braids side by side, matching up the braid loops, and the direction of the braids (all of the "V"'s in the 4-strand braid should point the same direction). Thread the lacing needle with the crochet thread or heavy cotton thread, using a doubled length. Then work in and out of the braids, from end to end, lacing back and forth to hold each of the braids together. 

For a table runner: Lay the braids side by side, matching up the braid loops, and the direction of the braids (all of the "V"'s in the 4-strand braid should point the same direction). Thread the lacing needle with the crochet thread or heavy cotton thread, using a doubled length. Then work in and out of the braids, from end to end, lacing back and forth to hold each of the braids together. 

For both: Once the braids are all laced together, adjust the lacings if necessary, so that the braids all lay evenly. Then use the sewing needle to sew the loose ends of the lacings into the braids, and knot securely, clipping off any excess. 

To finish: By hand or with a sewing machine, sew across the ends of all of the braids, leaving about an inch for fringes. Pull out the basting stitches in the placemat. Unravel the ends of the braids and trim them evenly. 

Variations. Patterned flat braids make really stunning placemats and table runners, and of course you can just keep adding braids to the table runner and end up with a rug instead. This same procedure can be used with wool strips for a wool rug!