Just a couple of comments. This took me far longer than 10 minutes to do, more like a couple of hours. I also cut the thread much longer than the suggested 18 inches, I used 7 British standard arm lengths - a term widely recognised amongst lace makers! This made a rug about 3 1/2 inches across which was a little smaller than I'd hoped for. I also didn't need the was paper or the weight. It lay perfectly flat without that.
For various reasons I also wanted to use 4 colours so I made a 4 thread braid rather than the suggested 3 braid. Long lengths of stranded cotton are horrible to cope with; from long experience I know that if they can twist and tangle they will. Time to press some of my lace bobbins into use. I made a couple of inches on the pillow then tied a loop of the braid around a chair leg to act as a giant pin as the pillow was obviously much too small to make the braid on and constantly moving it up every couple of inches just ruins the tension and make the braid uneven. It meant that I had to keep moving backwards myself but it worked!
Once the braid was made I cut a circle of pale pink felt and started gluing the braid into place. This was much easier said than done and despite the aid of a darning needle as a laying tool, was a long, sticky and frustrating process. Covering the whole piece of felt with glue was a mistake. It was much easier to just apply glue to a small section at a time and to turn the felt rather than try and turn the braid.
Don't think I can do it in 10 minutes though!
