Braiding was for the summer, for me. Mom liked a more formal do for school. Geez...haven’t thought about this for years, but I remember her using long, thin rags to tie my wet hair tightly to get pipe curls.
http://www.wikihow.com/Curl-Hair-with-Rags
The results look good, as a teen I pin curled my hair with bobbie pins....but hard to sleep on. Rag curls look easier for nighttime...I never braided my daughters hair, it brought back too many memories...LOL
I wanted long hair and braids so much, but never had them -—— real ones, that is. One time I used my Mother’s old nylon stockings, and made long braids — then pinned them to my short hair. I just wanted to feel what it was like to take a brain and throw it over my shoulder! Felt sooooo good! (Still have short hair!)