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Showing posts from March, 2012

Demystifying 16-Strand Kumihimo: How to Read Complex Flower Patterns Without Going Crazy

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You’ve mastered the basic 8-strand round braid. Your hands move automatically, your muscle memory is locked in, and your tension is perfectly even. But the moment you decide to level up your craft and open a diagram for a 16-strand flower pattern, your confidence hits a wall. The chart looks less like a fun craft tutorial and more like advanced ancient hieroglyphics. Trying to track 16 distinct strings crossing back and forth across a foam disk is enough to make any crafter want to put their supplies away. But here is the good news: you do not need a degree in geometry to build gorgeous floral braids. You just need to change how your brain interprets the chart. How to Read a 16-Strand Pattern (Featured Snippet Target): To decode a 16-strand Kumihimo flower pattern easily, stop tracking individual strands and focus entirely on slot pairings and quadrants . Instead of following single threads across the wheel, organize your 16 strands into four direct...
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Kumihimo Braids - Seven Strand Braid

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This is a great introductory braid. You can make your own disk by cutting a circle out of cardboard or craft foam. For this braid, you will need 8 slits cut around the edge of the disk (evenly spaced) and seven strands of yarn cut to your desired length. Also cut a hole in the center of the disk (shaded area shown at right.) For fun, experiment with using different color & texture yarns. Tie an overhand knot in one end of the strands and place it through the hole in the center of the disk. NOTE: If you want to make a bracelet, use three long strands folded in half plus one strand (half the length of the others) to make your seven strands. Fold them in half before tying the overhand knot so that it forms a loop that can be used as a clasp. Place one strand in each of the slits (1-7), leaving slit 8 open. Hold the card with the empty slit towards you. (You don’t need to keep track of the slit numbers, I just wrote them here to help with the initial set-up.) From the empty sl...
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Constructing Kumihimo Tama for Kumihimo Braiding

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Materials needed for eight tama: (The wood parts for these bobbins are manufactured by Lara’s Crafts and can be purchased at most craft stores. The weights can be found in most fishing supply stores) �� 8 Wood Spools 7/8” x 1-1/8” (part # U10018, 3 per pkg) �� 16 Wood Circles 3/4” (part # U10817, 6 per pkg) �� 16 Bullet Weights 1/8 oz.(part # BW18, 12 per pkg) �� White Glue Assembly instructions: Step 1: Cover one side of 1 wooden circle with white glue Press it firmly onto one end of one of the spools. Make sure that it is centered and even. Wipe off any excess glue. Repeat for the rest of your bobbins and set them aside to dry for a few hours. Step 2: Turn one bobbin open end up and drip four or five drops of white glue into the hole. Drop in one weight (point down) into the hole. Add two or three more drops of glue. Drop in the last weight (wide end down) and finish with several more drops of glue. Finally, secure a wooden circle over the hole as you did in Step 1. Repe...
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Kumihimo Patterns for the Kongo Gumi Braid

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Kumihimo is the ancient Japanese art of braiding cord (“kumi”= to braid, “himo” = cord). Over the centuries, these cords have been used for religious ceremonies, lacing samurai armor, securing the kimono sash (obi) and other decorative uses. There are hundreds of braiding structures, ranging from simple to very complex, and requiring from 4 to over 100 threads. The braid described here is traditionally made on a round braiding stand (marudai) which uses weighted bobbins to produce a balanced tension and manage long threads. However, some of the more simple braids such as this one can also be done as short samples using a portable diskshaped card, which you can make yourself out of cardboard or craft foam, or purchase in kit form. These instructions are for one of the simplest braiding structures called kongo gumi (= hard braid), which produces a solid cord with a round crosssection (as opposed to a shoe lacestyle hollow cord or a flat braid). The braiding movements can be made with 8...
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