When I start to work with a new bead shape I like to be able to try it out in all sorts of designs. I particularly like to see how I can use it in existing designs to breathe new life into them. Here I have used Rizos in my Delightful Drops bracelet. I subsituted the drops for Rizos and …
Rizo beads are a relatively new bead shape, designed for the bead weavers and embroiderers. However, it is a great shape for use in kumihimo and the colours and special finishes are amazing. I decided to try using them in my Sitting Pretty design. With a couple of modifications it has worked out really well and produced a lively, spiky …
There has been renewed interest in my other wire kumihimo designs, so I thought the time was right to publish this one. It first appeared in Beads & Beyond magazine in the summer and much to my delight it made it to the front cover. I have rewritten the tutorial to include much more detail than can be accommodated by …
I have recently become the proud owner of a set of Gator weights, aka Kumi weights. Up to now I have been using a tablecloth weight. It is a smooth stone attached to a clip and works pretty well. When I need something lighter I can use a tablecloth weight from a different set, which happens to be lighter. When …
I seem to be very busy with several different projects, which need to stay secret for the time being! I really wanted to find something to post, so I hunted through my old files and found this little darling. I made it for a challenge in 2011 for the now defunct Australian Beading Forum. It was for a challenge titled …
We may not have had any snow here in London yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer to post this frosty, snowflake bracelet. I made it for the Kumihimo Challenge group last month. The challenge is monthly and is great fun, so I would highly recommend it to anyone. The braid is made using one of my favourite ingredients, ribbon …
I have seen some gorgeous designs recently using hairy yarns, so I though it was time to dig out one of my own. I love to use textured yarns as they produce very individual braids. They can be a bit tickly to wear, so I like to wear them over clothing, such as a turtle neck top or a shirt …
This is the front page of my latest tutorial for Digital Beading. It is called Nautical Knots. The brief was to make something summery, so I went for a nautical theme and got the chance to use these adorable sea charms. Writing tutorials for a fully digital magazine is interesting because they do not have to work to the same …
Thank you very much for the great reaction to my latest tutorial, Treasure Nets. It means a lot to me to know that people like what I am doing and it encourages me to work hard and experiment to get the next design together! For this design I felt I needed to return to explore Round Braid because the two …
I have been working on this for quite a few weeks and I am finally ready to publish the tutorial. As an experiment I have also produced a 2 minute video clip to support the tutorial. The idea is that it is short enough to email to anyone who buys the tutorial. In 2 minutes I am just able to …
