Hi all!  Sorry I didn’t get this post up yesterday, it was a busy one with errands and such. I did start a project yesterday, but just didn’t have time to take pics and blog about it.

In my shopping travels I picked up this crazy looking thing.

It’s  a kumihimo braiding disk.

I’ve been aware of the kumihimo trend over the past few years, but was never impressed enough with the look to get on board.

(This link will bring you to a page with many photo examples of what kumihimo braiding looks like.)

To me it’s just ok, but… if you add beading to your strands, well, then you get quite a different thing.  I’ve been fascinated by the use of unusually shaped beads or an interesting variety of beads, and so got an IDEA.

If you’d like to see what I mean, this Etsy shop has some great examples of kumihimo with beading.

Thus, the purchase of said braiding disk and my first attempt at braiding using yarns I had on hand pictured above. (I really, really wanted to jump right into using beads, but knew it would be wiser to start simple.) 🙂

I like the way the ripply white yarn kinda looks like beads as it stands proud of the rest of the cord.

Here’s an example  from the February 2014 issue of Bead and Button Magazine. Love the use of flower shaped beads!

By the way, this is a great bring-it-along-with-you kind of project, perfect for doing in the doctor’s office or while watching something you don’t need to pay strict attention to. It’s quite simple and nearly mindless.

My next attempt will be to make a cord for this pendant a friend bought for me years ago. I think these green, gold & blue beads will compliment it nicely.

If that works out, then I’ll move on to my IDEA.In the meantime, Happy Creating!

P. S. Here’s a YouTube video an introduction to doing kumihimo and this video shows how to add beads to your braiding.

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