Friday, February 22, 2008

KUMIBEADO- remember, you heard it here, first!




I picked up kumihimo, thanks to a friend, Kimber. She took a few seconds, literally, to show me how on the whirlwind bead trip last weekend, while at Honor Band with Kurt's students. After a few false starts, it went along swimmingly without a hitch, taking only about an hour and a half from beginning to end of this bracelet.

Had I even attempted it with bead crochet, that would have been an hour and a half of cursing, just to try to get the first section of beads on.

I name this kumibeado, as writing kumihimo with beads is just too long! Maybe it will stick!

Anyhow, this is the finished product, showing the ends with just the thread braided ( my all-time beloved thread- Stealth Spiderwire 10#), then closeup of the knots (which I then re-knotted closer to the beads, as I realized that was needed to attach the clasp) and finally, the end result.

I think my friend, Patty B, will be most happy with this birthday gift!

I will add another post later, giving the details of doing this with the little cheap disk you can purchase in a 4 pack, through AC Moore, online.

2 comments:

Marilynart said...

Beautiful bracelet! Would you elaborate on how you added the clasp, please. Is that an open bead cap?
Blessings,
Marilyn

Gypsy said...

yes, it is an open bead cap, so you attach the loop end of a headpin to the knot end of the kumi, pull it through the beadcap, snugging the beadwork up inside as much as possible. That's why the knot needs to be as close to the beads as can be. Then make a loop outside the beadcap, which can be used for the end loop of the bracelet, or to attach a part of the clasp itself. do the same on the other side...I think newer posts on this showed how to do it. Email me privately if you need more help....Aryd'ell