Braided Kiku Challenge Ball

I have completed the ball for TC's current challenge. I used cream, light and medium pink, lavender and deep purple. There are two sequences from light to dark stitched on both poles. The obi is made of many rows of purple Nordic Gold then secured with silver. Here it is.

I really like how it formed a stacked flower effect.  At the beginning I thought of trying to stitch an obi of interlocked diamonds so I planned on just one sequence, but as the pole design emerged I thought it needed a more simple obi. This meant I should have done two rows in each colour as there would be too much room at the equator.  Solution? Run the exact sequence again.

I found this stitch interesting .  Tension is definitely something to keep an eye on. I wonder how it would look starting further out from the pole? I like the lattice look created.  Most other braids I have seen are more tightly stitched (maybe it is because they are stitched with double thread or maybe they are just nudged up more closely than mine) but I like the openness of the weave.

This ball is the last one from my recent experiments with dryer lint. I found it at the bottom of a bunch of stitched balls... yippie! Ok it was purple but at least I didn't have to make a base.