Kew Gardens in West London is one of my favourite places in the whole world. I may have totally lost count of the times I have been there, but each visit is different. The changing seasons and the skill of the botanists and gardeners mean that there is always something new to delight the senses. Sometimes it is more a …
I am finally getting round to putting into action my long-promised plan of showing some of the work I admire from different designers. I hope that by showing a wide selection of different styles I will be able to both inspire and show how wonderfully varied jewellery made with kumihimo can be. The choice of designers will be totally random …
Perhaps most people would not consider a difference of 0.6mm as going from one extreme to another, but that is exactly what it is in beaded kumihimo! The second kit I demonstrated on Jewellery Maker this week contained 4 reels of the thick S-Lon (Tex 400), which at approximately 0.9mm diameter is a full 0.6mm wider than the cord used …
I have just finished putting the instructions for the first kit I demonstrated yesterday JM onto this site. This kit was all about fine cords, so it was a great opportunity for me to explore the potential of finer cords in kumihimo. The most obvious advantage of the S-Lon Tex 135 is that it will fit through most gemstones and …
There is often a considerable amount of confusion about which cords or threads are suitable for beaded kumihimo, which is a shame because using the correct cord is one of the keys to maintaining the necessary tension to keep the beads in place. S-Lon and C-Lon beading cord are identical products and are perfect for most applications. However, both of …
It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year since I had my screen test at Jewellery Maker. What a year it has been! Working with such a wide range of gemstones has often pushed me right out of my comfort zone and forced me to develop new techniques. It has been a two-way process. I would …
If I could only work with one type of bead for the rest of my braiding career it would have to be the Long Magatama! Although they were developed for the bead weaving community, it seems as if they could have been designed specifically for beaded kumihimo. They are a quirky sort of shape with their angular teardrop profile and …
Here are the lovely, hardworking ladies who attended my Introduction to Kumihimo workshop, which was hosted by Spoilt Rotten Beads in the pretty village of Haddenham in Cambridgeshire. My aim was to introduce the basic skills of kumihimo braiding and to add to them the tricks and tips I have learnt along the way, which ensure consistent results. I wanted …
I am a little bit behind schedule this week because of all the excitement about the DVD last week and my preparations for my second workshop at the weekend, but finally here are the mini instructions for designs shown on the Jewellery Maker show last week. I have no hand in deciding what is in the kits, beyond giving a …
It has been a very busy week or so for me because on Thursday my new DVD was launched on Jewellery Maker. It has been titled Micro Kumihimo to differentiate it from other kumihimo DVDs and it concentrates on making more delicate and intricate jewellery using kumihimo braiding techniques. The materials are finer cords and smaller gemstones, with a few …
