I am very pleased to be able to say that I have been able to restock my cat button bracelet kit for the third time and this time I have both the blue and the red versions available. This adorable bracelet seems to have become my signature kit, but this time I have made a few changes. Originally I designed the kit to accompany my second book, Kumihimo Endings. The kit included materials for one bracelet with additional materials so that a variety of ending could be made. However, I have had many requests for the kit from people who already have the book, so I have now simplified the kit to make one bracelet with two button hole variations and I have removed the book from the package.
The buttons I use are hand made in South Africa by a community organisation, employing local women and using environmentally friendly materials and production processes. Each button has its own individual character and this is where the difficulty in sourcing the buttons lies. Internet shopping does not work for this because I like to be able to select each button, making sure I only take the friendly-looking felines! As the doting owner of two spoilt cats I know what I am looking for!
I have been asked for dog button bracelets and I would love to be able to find some, but so far I have not found anything quite as appealing as my little stripey cats. I will keep looking.
I have also been asked for other colours and I have experimented, but nothing works quite as well as the red and blue, so I do not intend to extend the colour range for these buttons.
One part of the kit building I particularly enjoy is ‘cooking up’ the seed bead mix. I use only Miyuki beads for this so that the finished braid has a regular appearance. The different effects and finishes gives the optical illusion of variances in size, but when you feel the braid you can tell that they are regular in size. I gather together 6-8 different beads and first mix them together in equal quantities. Then I add in more beads of some types to achieve the effect I want. Then I make up a small section of braid to see how it works out and if I am not completely happy I tweak the mix further. It really is like cooking apart from the fact that I can’t actually taste the mixture!
If you are interested in trying one of these adorable little bracelets please click on the links below. I ship internationally and if your country is not listed on the website then you can contact me by email (pru@prumihimo.com) and I can usually ship to your location. I do all the packing myself to keep costs as low as possible and this kit weighs less than 100g, so shipping costs £4 (US$ 5.20 approx). If multiple products are purchased I am often able to make a saving on the shipping cost which I pass back to the customer as a PayPal refund.
