Checkerboard Braid Hairstyle

 A 5 Strand Braid With Ribbon

This fun "checkerboard braid" is actually just a standard 5 strand braid with ribbon strategically placed to form a woven checkerboard pattern. This reminds me of a princess hair style you might see at a Renaissance Faire!  And, although this hairstyle is quite intricate looking... it's really not that time consuming.  It will take a bit of practice to get the pattern of the braid down, but after the initial struggle, this braid can be formed quite quickly and easily.  I'm thinking this would be a darling back to school hairstyle. Many many cute hairstyles could be created using this unique braid. The Princess received sooo many comments and compliments the day she wore this out.  I'm guessing you will too!   ;)

You will need ribbon with a "stiffer" finish to create the flat woven look we are going for here.  Also, the width of the ribbon you use will make a big difference in how the braid turns out.  (You don't want the ribbon to be too thin or too wide.)  I would suggest finding ribbon that is about 1/2 inch wide and rigid (or unflexible.)

This plait can also be made into a french braid/dutch braid by bringing sections of hair in with the outer strands as you are braiding.  We have already had quite a few comments under this video on our Youtube Hairstyling Channel asking for the french braided version of this braid, so we created one here:  Five strand french braid with ribbon.

How to 5 strand braid with ribbon tutorial: Click here to watch the video directly on YouTube.

PS: One thing I noticed while creating this hairstyle, is that this braid seems to "eat up" quite a bit of hair as you are plaiting.  (Meaning that you will need fairly long hair to make a braid of decent length.)  This is a great hairstyle for long hair but probably not the best one for our short haired gals.  If your hair is on the shorter side, you might try the french braid version though.  Since you are continually adding new hair to the braid while french braiding, you could make the length go a little further that way.