This past February I was introduced to Kumihimo braiding. It fascinates me. How multiple strands of any kind of fiber you can think of can be braided together in such an easy process but yield such a complex, elegant cord.Kumihimo is the Japanese name for the art of cord-making via braiding. The literal translation being "coming together." They provide the most lovely display for even your finest art beads.
Since Kumihimo has been brought to my attention I have seen multiple ways that it can be done. From foam rubber disks and squares to wooden floor models, with accompanying bobbins. You can achieve anything from nice thick cords of funky fibers and beads to thin flat bands that look loom woven the sky is the limit.
Here is just one example, Fall in Rome, by Giovanna Imperia. Be sure to click the 'more' link on the bottom of that page to see many more examples of gorgeous kumihimo work.Lori Greenberg is a glass bead maker who blogs from her studio in Cave Creek, Arizona.
3 comments:
I have always wanted to learn to do this! Thanks for reminding me!
I love kumihimo! I learned it last year at a bead retreat and was hooked. I use the foam disk like in the picture here.
Last week I was at JoAnn's and I saw that in the kid's department, they had some sort of lanyard cordmaking kit that had the same kind of disk, only smaller, for a lot cheaper than I've seen the Japanese disks. I thought it might be a good way to get a friend or a kid started :)
Thanks for the resource AJ! I haven't tried it myself but as soon as I get a few free minutes that is the first thing on my list. It just amazes me.
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