Kumihimo, 50 challenge, and the ties in action

A few years back, a challenge went around the arts community in the Society for Creative Anachronism. The group is coming up on its 50th anniversary, and so the arts folks issued a 50/50 challenge. The idea was to do 50 of something before the SCA turned 50. I chose two weaving challenges--one for narrow wares, and one for yardage. The idea was to weave 50 yards of each. I've been kind of distracted, but tonight I finished up the above kumihimo braid, and it came in at 5 1/2 yards long. I looked back at my records, and that pushes me over the top of the narrow wares challenge by 2 1/2 yards. DONE! It may take me awhile, but I keep plugging away at it. Now, to the yardage challenge....hey wait. Checking my records again... Wow!! I was at 43 yards out of 50 before I did the yardage for my Estrella entry this past February. That ended up being just over 8 yards long. So that challenge is done too! That was 50 yards of narrow wares (inkle, card woven, or kumihimo), and 50 yards of fabric from the floor loom, over the course of about 3 years.

If you're wondering about the kumihimo, I used cotton crochet thread. The finished braid was set up just like the new one you see on the disk. I used two threads of dark blue, and 6 threads of variegated light blue. The braiding pattern is the same one as in this tutorial: http://tangibledaydreams.blogspot.com/2009/06/kumihimo-braiding.html .

In other news, I went with my family to the theater today, to see a production of "Hairspray". It was an awesome performance! I do so love live theater. My husband and son both decided to wear silk ties that I had hand painted, to give them a test run. Thumbs up all around. Don't they look spiffy?

The ties do too.

Kumihimo tutorial: flat braid with hearts

I got the pattern for this braid from a friend of mine, who found it here: http://www.qvade.dk/paulette/Swap4.htm . It makes a flat braid, with a heart pattern running up the center. I am using 10/2 Uki red cotton weaving yarn for the background of this braid. The hearts are in an unlabeled cream colored cotton from my stash, that is about twice the thickness of the red. The finished width is about 1/8", which makes for a cute little delicate braid. I'm picturing using this as friendship bracelets, as necklace cording, as drawstrings, or as trim on a little bag.

Here's the finished braid:




And here's the process on my foam disk. This would probably go much faster on the wooden marudai stand, but I like carrying a project along with me, tucked into my purse. Somehow, the wooden stand just doesn't fit!

Here's the starting position. Notice, I've put a pencil mark on the foam at the bottom of the disk. That helps me keep track of which way I'm supposed to be holding this one, on the occasions that I have to put my braiding down.

We'll start with the threads at the top of the disk. The inner two threads will be moved. The outer two threads will stay on top for now.


Take the right hand, inner thread on the top. Move it over to the threads in the 9:00 position, and put it just below them.






Take the left hand, inner thread in the top position. Cross it over to the threads in the 3:00 position on the disk, and put it just below them.






Take the two remaining threads in the 12:00 position, and move them closer together.

That is the end of the first sequence.




Now, we're going to do something similar with the four threads at the bottom of the disk. The left hand inner thread will cross over to the 3:00 threads, and settle in above them.




The right hand inner thread at the bottom crosses over to the 9:00 threads, and settles above them.







Now, move the remaining two threads in the 6:00 position closer to each other.

That is the end of the second sequence. We started with 4 threads at the top and bottom. Now we have 4 threads on the sides.


Starting with the 9:00 threads. Again, we are only really concerned with the inner set of threads. Take the top inner thread on the left side, and move it down to the 6:00 threads. Put it to the left of these threads.



Take the bottom inner thread on the left hand side. Move it to the threads in the 12:00 position, and put it to the left of these threads.






Move the remaining threads closer to each other.

That is the end of the third sequence.





Finally, take the top inner thread at the right of the disk. Move it down to the threads in the 6:00 position, and settle it in to the right of them.






Take the bottom inner thread on the right hand side. Move it up to the threads in the 12:00 position. Put it to the right of these threads.






Move the remaining two threads closer to each other.

That is the end of the 4th sequence, and you have completed one repeat. You again have four threads in the top and bottom position. Start over from the beginning.

Fringe and a New Braid

So close! I finished weaving on the Sea Shawl today. Now I'm down to the finishing work. Tomorrow if I find the time I'll trim and twist the fringe. I'm trimming the warp about 6 inches from the edge of the weaving, then making twisted fringe. That shortens the fringe up to about 4 inches long, and makes sure that my yarn won't unravel itself in the wash. It takes more time, but given the fact that I've put in over 2 years on this project already, one more day won't hurt anything. And I like the look it gives.

The scary part comes after the fringe is ready. I need to toss this in the wash. Eep! But a project isn't finished until it is wet finished. Washing the fabric gives the threads the opportunity to move into their final positions. And since this is wool, things will full and bloom and shrink. I'm kind of nervous. I don't exactly know what I'm going to get. Crossing my fingers.

I was looking at my stash of yarn today,
and a cone of blue caught my eye. It is a sky blue, with white bumps and a metallic sparkle. I got to thinking, and my kumihimo disc just kind of jumped into my hands. And then a batch of smooth white cotton thread just seemed to want to come and play too.

In my mind's eye, I pictured a braid where the blue gives me textured blue diamonds against a smooth white background. While I had the image in my mind, I wound up the bobbins with 4 yards of thread each. It took one false start--I had the bobbins in the wrong starting position--then I was off and running. A couple of inches later, and the braid I pictured was in my hands. Magic!

I like this one. The blue diamonds kind of poof out, but it is subtle. It gives a nice texture, without being as outrageous as the last braid. This will be my take-with project for the next little while. I think I'll enjoy working on this one. The blue and white combination is one of my favorites. (I suppose you could guess that, looking at the pictures.) So clean looking. With this yarn choice, it is peaceful yet playful at the same time. Sounds like a good combination for summer time.

Maroon Confetti braid, and more on the Sea Shawl

Today I finished up the kumihimo braid that I was working on in the tutorial a couple of days ago. This one really tickles me. I am tempted to cut it up, and sew on little googly eyes and sets of itsy bitsy feet. Doesn't it look like it would make cute caterpillars? Maybe put magnets on their bellies, and have them crawl up and down my refrigerator? Either that, or it would be really cute as piping around a throw pillow. I'd have to find the right fabric. Something warm and whimsical. Alternately, I could see finding the right focal pendant, and turning it into a funky necklace. With matching coils of bracelets.

Ah well, I don't really have time for those projects right now. I'll toss this up in the Etsy shop, and see if someone else can come up with plans for it. In the meantime, I got another foot or so done on the Sea Shawl today. The end of the warp is just rounding around the back beam, so I should be able to finish this up in the next day or two. I think I need to get something on the loom again in fairly short order, though. I really get a kick out of the way the loom looks all warped up, especially in the afternoons when the western sun comes streaming through my studio window.

So, what should be next? I'm leaning toward doing another batch of White Scarves, for the SCA rapier folk. That went over well last time, and I have quite a bit more white yarn to work through. Of course, another bout of warp painting would be fun too. Or maybe experiment with the chenille yarn I've got sitting in the stash? Some soft draping chenille scarves might be lovely. Or...

I think I like planning projects even more than I like making them. I love mucking about in the possibilities.

Kumihimo Braiding

I have a hard time with just sitting doing nothing in waiting rooms, in meetings, riding in the car. It seems like my hands should be busy, you know? So I'll bring along a little portable project. Folks are used to seeing knitting or crochet...but I have a tendency to bring my drop spindle, lucet, or kumihimo. Kumihimo is a form of Japanese braiding, and has been my current favorite for a portable project. I get lots of questions on what I'm doing. It looks so complex, but the process itself is so simple. Here...I'll show you the pattern I've been working with recently.

First, you need something to hold the threads as you're working. You can get a braiding stand called a marudai, and real tama (bobbins) for your thread. Or you can make your own cheap and portable substitue. Go get yourself some craft foam from your local craft store. I found some that is thin, but has adhesive already on it. I stuck three layers together, then cut out a circle around 4 1/2" in diameter. I cut 24 half inch slits in the edges, evenly spaced around. Then I punched a hole through the middle. There. Marudai made.

Now, find something to wind your threads around. I use knitting bobbins. You'll also need a weight on your finished cording. I use an old fishing weight, dangling from a paper clip. Measure your threads. This last batch was I think 5 times the distance between the arms of the chair I was sitting on at the time. Wind them on to the bobbins, knot the ends together, and shove the knot through the hole in the middle of the foam. Hang your weight from the knot. Arrange your threads in opposing pairs the way they are in the first picture here. Hold the foam in one hand, and let all your threads dangle below. There! You're ready to braid.

I was taught this particular braiding pattern with the mental reminder, "LEFT UP to me it would be DOWN RIGHT fun". To unpack that a bit: look at the pair of threads that is in the 6 o'clock position in front of you. Take the left most thread, and move it up to left of the pair of threads in the 12 o'clock position on your board. That is the LEFT UP move.

Now, take the right most thread in the 12 o'clock position, and move it down to the right of the thread in the 6 o'clock position. That is the DOWN RIGHT move.



Rotate your work counter clockwise, to bring the next pair of threads into position.


Repeat the sequence. LEFT UP...DOWN RIGHT...ROTATE. Keep repeating.


This pattern gives you a round spiral braid. Experiment with type and color of the thread you use, and the starting position of the colors. The same sequence of moves can give you quite different looking results!







Give it a try sometime! Let me know if you have any questions. There are also some very good books on the subject. I can recommend "Braids" by Rodrick Owen as a good one to start with. Good luck!