On Monday 14th March JTV in the US will be showing my unique Prumihimo Disk. The wonderful Anne Dilker will demonstrate how to use the disk and has put together a great kit of materials. So I would like to extend a warm welcome to JTV viewers and take this opportunity to say a little bit about my disk.
The Prumihimo Disk came about after several years of experimenting with a particular traditional braid structure. The braid does not spiral in the way that Round Braid on the regular disk does, so it offers great opportunities to explore different bead shapes and ways of using kumihimo. However, it is a bit of a tricky braid and it is very easy to make mistakes. I was keen to teach this braid at workshops, so I devised a way of marking up the regular disk with coloured dots and numbers to help my students to master the braid. This worked really well, but the first half hour of the workshop was used to mark up the disk. It got me thinking about designing a dedicated disk for this braid. I started by cutting up old disks and played with different ideas until I had something which worked well for me. Putting the disk into production was a bit scary because the minimum quantities were huge and I had no idea if people would be interested in my creation. I launched the disk in November 2015 and the reaction was better than I dared hope. Since then I have been battling to keep up with the demand.
In order to support people who buy the disk I am gradually releasing new tutorials for the disk. In the shop on this website you will find tutorials for the Prumihimo Disk, the regular round disk and the square plate, so check before you buy! I have got a wide range of tutorials and I pride myself on creating more unusual designs to take people to the next level with their kumihimo. Click here to browse the shop. Currently this is what is available for the Prumihimo Disk,
The Prumihimo Disk – as well as the disk itself, this includes a very detailed instruction PDF which will help you to get the best out of the disk. It also includes a full tutorial for the very popular Pipalicious Necklace. I also send a link to a short video on how to braid with the disk.
I ship to the US and most other countries. The prices are set in UK Pounds, but PayPal will work out the cost in US $ and you will be able to see that price before you click pay.
Click here for the Prumihimo Disk Package
Spike’n’Sparkle Tutorial PDF – this cute bracelet is wonderfully quick to make up and uses relatively few materials. Once you have made one you will want to make many more!
Click here for the Spike’n’Sparkle tutorial
Windows Tutorial PDF – this is a really ingenious design which requires a small amount of stitching with a beading needle and thread to complete. It has been called addictive by some of my customers!
Click here for the Windows tutorial
Squiggle Pendant PDF – this necklace design is such fun and really striking and makes use of the ever-. Two different ways of adding a focal are included.
Click here for the Squiggle tutorial
I have been writing tutorials for jewellery magazines since 2010 and my work has been published in 5 different publications so far. I have been writing tutorials for my website since 2013 and I have been demonstrating kumihimo jewellery making techniques on the UK TV channel Jewellery Maker for nearly 2 years. I put all that experience into writing the tutorials for my website, so you can be confident that they are well written and comprehensive.
Coming soon …
Replacement disks – I will soon give the opportunity for people to purchase replacement disks, without the instructions and tutorial.
I am working on several new tutorials for the disk, both bracelets and necklaces, and I will gradually release them over the coming weeks, so keep checking the site to see what is new. Alternatively, sign up to a site such as bloglovin.com to receive notifications of my blog posts or visit my Prumihimo Facebook page.
Later this year I will be releasing a Prumihimo Disk book and I am very busy working getting the designs worked out and tested for that. Watch this space!
However, this site is full of free inspiration, ideas and instructions, so take some time to check it all out. Most of the information can be found under 2 tabs. Click on Resources and you will find instructions for different braid structures, how to use the square plate, free mini tutorials and lots more. Click on Gemstone Kumihimo and you will find nearly two years worth of brief instructions and links for the designs I have made for Jewellery Maker, as well as more general advice about using gemstones with kumihimo.
Enjoy!