I have been working hard recently to get together some kumihimo designs using the square plate. Over the last year I have had many requests for such designs, but I have been kept so busy with designs for the disk that I just could not find the time. However, it has come clear to me through discussions with fellow designers and kumihimo enthusiasts that many people have invested in a square plate, but have not had much success with it. It has also become clear that there are very few tutorials available for the plate so it seems to be an area of great potential.
One of the problems people seem to have is with tension. Their braids have been coming out irregular or curved. For this reason I played around with several braid structures to decide which was the easiest to control. The thinner, flatter braids are, in my opinion, harder to get right so I opted for a thinner, chunkier structure. I really liked the ribbed texture of my final choice and I felt it should be easy enough to learn.
I always make sure that my tutorials have lots of content. My guideline is that if I can explain a design in a few sentences I am happy to give it away for free. Those designs which make it into the shop need to be more complex, unusual and have taken me more time to work out. This doesn’t mean that they are difficult to complete. I aim to give very clear instructions so that even a complete beginner can make the design (unless the tutorial is marked as intermediate). What it does mean is that it is not easy, or perhaps even possible, for someone to know exactly how the design is made by just looking at it. The internet is full of the easy designs. Mine need to have something more to offer!
If you want to give Jangle Dangles a whirl, look here