Lovely Kumihimo!

In my last post, I mentioned that I have become obsessed with Kumihimocordsding.

Gold & Black rattail Kumihimo necklace with focal piece - from http://blog.johnbead.com

During the Ottawa Bead Bop in May, McBead and some of the other stores had demos of Kumihimo braiding. It is really simple but makes really nice base necklaces for pendants or beautiful braided beaded strands that look like bead crochet.

These are so easy to set up and something you can even do while watching tv. Once you get the momentum going, they go really fast.

Kumihimo earring with beads from http://www.beadoholique.net

I have a lot of "work in progress" braids - I've done the braiding, I just need to decide if they need a pendant or charm and to finish off the ends.

Satin Cord Necklaces:

These use Satin Cord, known as Rattail. There are also smaller versions called Mousetail or Bugtail. I've tried some different patterns but most are two colour basic twist. There is a great 8-strand Kumi Planner at http://www.lythastudios.com where you can place your colours to see how the braid will look or how to set up your wheel.

Satin cord necklaces - ready for a pendant and ends!

Bracelets:

I've been trying different fibres and patterns with these. The embroidery floss (top) made a nice braid but is more like a friendship bracelet. I didn't like the results with the suede (middle), its a bit too bulky but my daughter loves it. My youngest daughter did the diamond pattern on the bottom - it uses a 12-strand pattern and 4 colours - I really liked this one.

(Top to bottom) - Pink embroidery thread, Yellow & brown hemp cord, Blue & teal satin cord, Red & Black suede, Orange & cream satin cord, 4-colour satin cord with diamond pattern

Beaded Bracelets:

Made with the Super-Lon cord strung with beads. About a 1/4 inch is done without beads on each end which will be covered with a bead cap. I love the look of these!

Size 6/0 seed beads on S-Lon cord, bottom necklace is mix of S-Lon with beads and Grey satin cord

One of my Christmas projects - Size 8/0 sead bead mix on S-Lon cord

I've been thinking of new styles of pendants to go with the necklace cords. I have a couple done, just need to finish off the ends.

Pics to come!