Earlier this week I picked up some of the new solo beads from my local beadshop. They are made by the Czech company Preciosa and are a short, blunt dagger shape with the hole at one end. They are the same shape and size as the twin bead, but with one less hole! They come in a lovely range of …
I was surprised, delighted and honoured to find that I had been chosen as Blogger of the Week by Jewellery Maker. I try to post every week, but now I might be encouraged to write far more frequently! Since last appearing on Jewellery Maker I have been recovering and working on tutorials. I have just sent off a tutorial for …
It is easy to make a 2-colour beaded spiral with Round Braid, but it is much trickier to work out how to do it with 4 different colours. There was a question in the Kumihimo Facebook Group about how to do this and although I have done it before and I knew it involved alternating the beads on the cords, …
I have finally finished loading on the free instructions for the designs I showed on Jewellery Maker TV on 14.5.14. I hope this will be useful to people who bought the kit, but I also hope that they will have a wider appeal. The designs are very versatile and can be adapted to accomodate many different sizes and shapes …
This pretty bracelet can be found in the latest issue of Digital Beading. The spikey rizo beads are offset by the ultra-feminine bow. It is quick and easy to make up and the huge range of colours and surface finishes available in this grain of rice shaped bead means it can be adapted to suit any colour scheme or theme. …
After such a wet winter it is wonderful that spring has arrived with such gusto! The gardens and parks have been transformed with vibrant displays of fresh spring colours, so I have decided to do the same thing to the pages of my blog. I took lots of photos in my garden, but I found that I got by far …
The tutorial for this natty, knotty bracelet is about to go into the shop. The design was originally launched as Nautical Knots in Digital Beading magazine. It has now been rewritten, renamed and expanded and will soon be available as Charming Knots. Why do I make so many changes to a tutorial before I put it on my site? One …
Last month’s challenge over on the Kumihimo Challenge Group was to create a design using 16 cords (or warps if you prefer). By using 16 slots on the disk a whole new area of design possibilities open up and there are several websites offering pattern generators. Flowers, strawberries, cupcakes, watermelons can all be depicted in the braid, to name just …
I picked up some of this super shiny waxed cord at the Knitting Show on Thursday. Regular waxed cord is great to use with kumihimo. It works up into a tight, regular braid with a casual, natural texture. This new cord works up just as well, but has a lovely glossy surface, which gives a more ‘finished’ effect and is …
One of the great aspects about jewellery making is the constant development of new bead shapes and sizes. Experimentation with new products is the greatest fun. However, most new glass beads are developed for the bead weaving and bead embroidery market, so they are not all suitable for kumihimo. The size of the hole is of particular importance in kumihimo. …
