Bill’s Excellent Kumihimo Adventure
I generally write about sewing and quilting but I don’t think I’ll be stepping on anyone’s toes if I include a post about kumihimo will I? Kumihimo is a form of Japanese braiding that my husband and business partner, Bill Kerr, has fallen in love with. Traditionally it required very complicated devices to weave beautiful patterns into cords. That is until Bill discovered the revolutionary kumihimo disc sold by our quilting supply wholesaler Quilters Resource www.quiltersresource.com for US$12.
Despite several requests to Quilters’ Resource for the English instructions that were advertised to come with it, we have been unable to get our hands on them. Although Bill has a wife (me) who is fluent in Japanese and can actually read the instructions that come with it, he insisted on figuring it out without my help and he did. Whatever, honey…So if you’re adventurous or have a Japanese reader in your midst you might want to give it a try.
This thing uses regular embroidery floss and is wonderfully portable for those of us who spend a lot of time in what Dr. Seuss refers to as The Waiting Place—waiting for gymnastics, swimming, Chinese dance or Tae Kwon Do to be over, waiting for the school bell to ring, waiting for doctors. Like knitting, kumihimo is also acceptable busy work for the daughter who wants us to watch, at least occasionally, as she masters the cartwheel or the roundhouse kick.
So what do you do with these braids once their done? Traditionally they were used as ties for jackets worn over kimono, but I plan to use mine as evening bag handles or insanely elegant drawstrings for other types of bags. I may use them for a jacket one day. One 11-year-old boy we have turned on to kumihimo is making friendship bracelets with them. Bill, being less goal-oriented than I (and I mean that as a compliment… I think), insists that you don’t have to do anything with them. It’s just about making something beautiful. Very Zen, don’t you think?
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May 6th, 2006 at 2:03 am
Cool! I want one! Can the kumihimo disc be ordered on-line from someone other than Quilter’s Resource (because they’re wholesale only)??
May 6th, 2006 at 2:24 am
kumihimo is strangely addictive. you can do it with even simpler gadgets, too. i teach kids all the time using a circle of cardboard cut from a cereal box, some yarn and away you go.
May 6th, 2006 at 4:01 am
Your blog is really amazing!
May 6th, 2006 at 9:08 am
Roderick Owens’ Kumihimo book has instructions/layout patterns for using a slotted disk (or square) as well as the traditional marudai and bobbins. His book is probably the easiest to obtain, and an excellent primer.
May 6th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Yes I have done the same thing - ie teaching children using a ring of card - its an ideal project as any sort of yarn can be used - or even thin ribbons - and you can weave beads into the braid - it is portable cheap and they love it
May 6th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
I bought a couple of those exact disks (actually, one is a square) last year. Yesterday, I actually found a kit that contained kumihimo silk in three colors. I can’t wait to try it out. I live in Japan, and was surprised by how hard (meaning impossible) it was to find kumihimo silk locally. Now that I know what brand makes it, I may be able to track it down. Of course, I really want a nice marudai!
Cheers!
Maura
May 6th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
i would love a tutorial on how to actually do it with a ring of card
May 6th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
I found this squidoo lense that has links for materials and how to’s to make your own card:
http://www.squidoo.com/kumihimo
May 6th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Cyn - check out http://www.braidershand.com to buy the disks and other kumihimo supplies. Not affiliated, just a very happy customer.
May 7th, 2006 at 8:06 am
yes, i think it is the entire purpose or objective of creating anything is to embrace the process. the product which occurs occasionally from this form of creating is most satisfying …
lovely post and amazing looking cords!
May 8th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
In the UK you can get these disks (and the square plate) from Rainbow Silks, they come with English instructions (again, not affliated just a happy customer). I have a long car journey next weekend so will be getting my disk out for that. Thanks for the extra links and info.
May 9th, 2006 at 12:16 am
Joann fabric sells kumihimo disks for just 3 dollars. They call it Lanyard maker, http://www.tonerplastics.com is printed on the disk. It is in the kid’s craft section under Kid’s camp for busy kids. There are instructions in English to make 4 different braids. The disk is smaller then the one pictured above. You may want to check it out, too. I tried to find direct link, but failed, sorry.
May 9th, 2006 at 4:39 am
Weeks — Thanks for posting about this! I have been wanting to try Kumihimo for a while now, but didn’t want to have to invest in the expensive equipment. I saw these discs (I believe there is a square one too, maybe?) but wasn’t sure if it would work or just be frustrating to use. I’m so glad to hear that they work! I’ll definitely be giving this a try now!
May 10th, 2006 at 7:26 am
When I was litte we used to make simpler versions of this in summer camp. All the girls would make like twenty of them while we watched and flirted with the boys and play sports. We made crude versions with thick foam, a really ruler and a college student. I didn’t know it was call Kumihimo.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:53 am
I love kumihimo, and yes it’s extremely addicting. My mom got me some of those foam Hamanaka disks for Christmas and they’re wonderful. Its so portable you can take it with you and work on it whenever you’re bored and have some time to spare (like standing in lines or waiting in waiting rooms, etc). Just be careful if you’re using very thick “threads” to not leave them all in their notches when you’ve got to put it down for a while or the notches will get stretched out too much. I use Kumihimo to make necklaces around beads and focal pendants. One day I will get around to posting some pictures of the stuff I’ve done.
By the way, I’m the person who set up the Squidoo Kumihimo lense! Glad someone is actually looking at it and I hope it’s helpful!
July 3rd, 2006 at 1:17 am
It kind of reminds me of the knitting spools everyone had when I was a kid( a long time ago). We used them to make coasters and stuff.
February 15th, 2007 at 8:14 am
A friend who does SCA gave me a disc that she made out of foam.
This is less damaging on the thread/yarn. It is also fairly easy to make more of them. Just glue a couple of sheets together. Then cut out your circle or square. Add the hole. And you have it. You can also make some cheap bobbins at the same time for the threads.
March 5th, 2007 at 12:50 am
How to make kumihimo?
March 14th, 2007 at 3:28 am
I was wondering how tight the braid really is and how you keep it tight? it seems that the braid dangling there wouldn’t do mcuh to help the tension.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
This isn’t really a comment. I have just started a webring for Kumihimo braiders, although as I’m the only member yet I’m not sure that 1 makes a ring. If you or Bill are interested just click on the button on my site and follow the steps.