Kumihimo Demo

At the Sept meeting Corienne did a hands on demo of "Kumihimo" Japanese braiding. She had prepared kits for all of us, with an octagonal cut out with slots on each side, and a set of 7 threads. The braiding was already started about a half inch, so we did not have to struggle with getting started. She gave us several handouts, and showed us how to do a braid called "Fill the Gap" I'm sure it has a traditional fancy Japanese name. She said laughingly "kids catch on quiet easy," lets see how much of a challenge it will be for us. Everyone caught on pretty easily, but I went backwards and undid the first inch she had done for me.

Corienne also had several larger forms/stands called "Marudai" which will hold many more threads and enable you to do more complicated braids. There is a book on Kumihimo, that had a lot of different techniques in it. We used multiple strands of different weight yarns, in a variety of colors. We each got several inches done by the end of the meeting, and several people said this is FUN! It can easily be done in front of a TV. She gave me 6 extra kits to take for some girls on my school bus, when we have a 20 minute break, and they all loved it too, and made anklets and bracelets overnight and wanted more yarns. It will be interesting to see what everyone does with their braids.