After making a braid long enough for a keychain in the Kara-kumi diamond pattern, I switched over to a Kyo-Kara braid - a related set of moves but very different look. This is a 32-element variant in rayon; it is braid #2 in the “The Essence” book. #kumihimo

32-element Kara-kumi braid in rayon. There are 8 elements each of purple, blue, yellow, and orange. I used 70g tama and 40% counterweight. This is an expansion of the 24-element braid #104 in Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids, Volume 1 (marudai braids). #kumihimo

Kiku-kara 1 from Tada’s CTB1 (Braid #82). A 16-element braid done in all one color of rayon (royal blue Robison-Anton) using 70g tama and 40% counterweight. This braid would normally have a “good” side and a “bad” side - but both sides look interesting to me in a single color! #kumihimo

A 24-element masu-gumi braid. All of the elements are made up of many strands of fine spun silk: silver and 3 shades of purple. I used 70g tama and 40% counterweight. Some different braid structures will be coming soon - I’m just in love with masu-gumi at the moment! #kumihimo

Some new fibers! This is a very fine yarn (120/2) - a blend of baby alpaca and silk. I used 20 ends (strands) per each of 8 elements (see picture with pen for reference). While somewhat “fuzzy” on its own - when braided it looks very nice! This braid is Yatsu-se, 250g tama and 40% cw. #kumihimo

This is a 24-element Masu-gumi in plied yarn. The yarn is 100% rayon except the purple which is 75% rayon/25% nylon. This is braid #107 in Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids Volume 1. I used 85g tama and 40% counterweight. I really like the sheen of this fiber #kumihimo

A 16-element yurugi braid. The yarn is 6/1 linen, 4 strands per each of the 16 braiding elements. There are 8 navy elements and 8 terra cotta elements. I used 70g tama and 35% counterweight. I use a lower counterweight % because linen is quite stiff and I wanted a tight final braid. #kumihimo

I worked up another 16-element yurugi braid in a variegated yarn. Same setup and tama weights as the purple, pink, yellow, and orange braid - but a slightly different color layout. Both are pictured side by side below. The yarn is Caron All Day Cotton in a colorway named Starling. #kumihimo

16-element kanmuriuchi (aka yurugi, braid #72 from Makiko Tada’s CTB1). This is a cool braid because both sides are interesting and quite different. 70g tama 40% counterweight; 4 elements each of 4 different colors of mercerized 100% cotton yarn. #kumihimo

16-element Kata-sasanami (braid #76 in Tada’s CTB1) in variegated mercerized cotton yarn. I did 4 color-aligned elements in each of the 4 main colors of the yarn. I used 70g tama and 40% counterweight. You can see how the variegated yarn shifts throughout the braid. #kumihimo

This is braid #107 from Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids Volume 1. It is a 24-element braid called masu-gumi completed in 5 gradient colors of 100% mercerized cotton yarn. I used 70g tama and 40% counterweight. Such a fun braid! #kumihiml

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I started this 20-element Masu-gumi in rayon thread. I’m really enjoying this particular braiding structure! #kumihimo

24-element braid called “Masu-gumi” (braid 107 in Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids Volume 1). I used 100g tama, 44% counterweight, and 100% cotton yarn. Very happy with this braid! #kumihimo

A new experiment. Not a braid from a specific book, but I was tinkering around and liked this braid. It is 24-elements of 100% cotton yarn, related to sasanami. I will post more later when I experiment a bit more. #kumihimo

Three 28-element braids adapted from Makiko Tada’s CTB1. The structures are Kotoji (the y-shaped purple pattern), Kara-kumi (purple outlined diamonds), and Kiku-Kara (rounder “chrysanthemum” pattern). All are closely related to sasanami. I used 70g tama and 40% cw, all silk yarns. #kumihimo

Here is a 20-element Kara-kumi braid in various silk yarns. I used 8 elements of a shaded purple yarn (KnitAntics, purple people eater), 8 elements of a matte black yarn (Merinangora Filati), and 4 elements of a plied gold silk yarn (Scalamandre). I used 70g tama and 40% counterweight. #kumihimo

Another 20-element Kyo-Kara - this time in linen. I used my new linen yarns in colors of terracotta (8), navy (4), ochre (4), and black (4). I used 85g tama and 40% counterweight. I haven’t used my purpleheart wood marudai for a while - so the color of the wood is also gorgeous! 😎 #kumihimo

20-element Kyo-Kara. Each element is 10 strands of weight 40 rayon thread. The colors are platinum (4), turquoise (4), green (4), and deep purple (8). I used 100g tama and 40% counterweight. The braid is from “Kumihimo: the Essence of Japanese Braiding” by Saiko and Tada (2004). #kumihimo

I added 4 gold elements into the mix and switched over to Kyo-Kara. The yarn is a bit fuzzy - but it looks super in person. I’ll try to capture it better when finished. #kumihimo

16-element oimatsu (old pine tree). 8 elements of black, 4 of peacock, and 4 of royal purple. All are silk. This is a nice tight round braid with a knobby surface. Hard to capture with these dark jewel tone colors, but hopefully you can see a bit. 70g tama and 42% counterweight. #kumihimo

24-element Hira-genji in Knit Picks Luminance silk yarn in gold (12) and royal purple (12). I used 2 strands of yarn for each of the 24 elements, 70g tama, and 40% counterweight. This variant has a contrasting color (gold) that changes positions as you braid & makes a diamond pattern! 😎 #kumihimo

A 24-element braid in silk. The 16 pink elements are one end (strand) of Scalamandre plied silk, and the 8 elements of white silk are one end (strand) of a weaving silk. This is a variant on Hira-Genji that creates the interesting leaf/floret pattern. 70g tama and 43% counterweight. #kumihimo

9-element shigeuchi in silk yarn (8 elements purple, 1 element sky blue). I used 100g tama and 40% counterweight. The purple yarn is hand-painted (dyed) and is called Araucania “Mana”. It has variation in the purple shading which I really like. The blue is an Italian weaving yarn. #kumihimo

Did a quick 8-element kongō-gumi braid in silk so that I could learn this omamori knot. It took about 3 feet of braided cord to make the knot and I still need to finish the ends with tassels. #kumihimo

24-element Matsugae in 100% cotton. This braid is similar to Yoshiwara-tsunagi but gives an equal treatment of all three colors (with no clear background color). I used 100g tama and 45% counterweight. Shoutout to Shotaro Okuno (kumihimo.nikki on Instagram) for sharing this braid. #kumihimo

I decided on a final design for the most recent braid. The main braid can be used as a triple wrap bracelet or combined with the resin pendant component and worn as a necklace. 😎 I made the pendant with a random assortment of complimentary colored size 11 seed beads and UV-cure resin. #kumihimo

16-element Keiruko-no-himo in Italian silk. I used 100g tama and 40% counterweight - 8 purple and 8 ivory elements. This particular color layout creates clusters of 4 ivory stitches outlined with purple. This will become a double wrap bracelet for a dear friend. #kumihimo

24-mitake in a southwest color palette of all silk. The turquoise and burnt orange are Scalamandré silk, and the beige is a thinner weaving silk. I used 1 strand for each of the turquoise and orange elements, and 2 strands for each of the beige elements. 100g tama and 30% counterweight. #kumihimo

Yoshiwara-tsunagi, 24-elements from Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids: Volume 1 Marudai braids (braid #108). This is done in 100% mercerized cotton Lion Brand 24/7 yarn, one strand/end of yarn on each 100g tama and 44% counterweight. #kumihimo

This is the 13-element flat braid from the Campbell Hair Work book, page 99 (1875 edition from Lacis). I used 100g tama, 40% counterweight. The fiber is 1mm rattail (nylon), and in 7 colors: red (2), orange (2), yellow (2), green (2), blue (2), purple (2), and black (1). #kumihiml

In the Victorian era, braiding human hair became popular to create mementos for (or of) loved ones. Mark Campbell’s book “The Art of Hair Work” is a treasure of various braid instructions. This 13-element, under-2/over-2 structure works well on marudai. 100g tama, 40% cw, 2mm rattail. #kumihimo

Finally had a chance to figure out the interesting 18-mitake braid that I had seen posted on Instagram several times. It turned out to be less complicated than I thought! This is done in satin rattail, 6 elements each of purple, green-gold, and black. 100g tama and 40% counterweight. #kumihimo

This is lace weight 100% mulberry silk yarn, 6 strands (ends) per braiding element in deep teal (4) and ecru (4). The braid is yatsu-se and I used 100g tama and 40% counterweight. Though this isn’t the fine kumihimo braiding silk, it’s very luxurious. #kumihimo

I realized I usually only post a picture of the top of the Japanese marudai (round braiding stand; maru=round, dai=stand). Here is an angled view to show the process. Cords are tied to weighted bobbins (called tama), and a counterweight bag is attached to the braid through the center hole…

Braid #5 from Catherine Martin’s kumihimo book that she calls “yattsu rai” (most other books call it yatsu-se). I used 20 strands (ends) of wt40 Rayon thread for each of the 8 braiding elements, 4 red and 4 silver. 100g tama and 40% counterweight. This makes a lovely tight, flat braid. #kumihimo

Working through the Catherine Martin book, this is braid #4 (she calls it maru yattsu, but most other books call it edo yattsu). I chose a variegated cotton and set up the elements to create a “stained glass window” type design. A very fun easy braid. 100g tama, 40% counterweight. #kumihimo

A 24-mitake braid done in Korean “waxed” polyester cord. All elements are the same color which highlights the braid structure. I used 100g tama and 30% counterweight - such a small amount of counterweight makes a really tight final braid. This will probably end up as a few keychains. #kumihimo

Sometimes you just want to do a braid all in one color to bring out the texture of the braid surface. Here is a simple 8-element Yatsu-se braid. There are 10 strands (ends) of coral-colored 8/2 rayon per each of the 8 moveable braiding elements. I used 250g tama and 45% counterweight. #kumihimo

Trying out some of my metallic YENMET Japanese embroidery thread. I used 15 strands of thread for each of the 16 braiding elements (240 total strands). Elements are black (8), copper (4), and silver (4). This will be made into 2 bracelets. 70g tama, 40% counterweight. #kumihimo

Shoelaces finished!! Each lace is 52” long. I finished them by binding the ends tightly in thread and then sliding on a heat shrink tube. They turned out pretty cool and compliment my wild shoes. 😎 #kumihimo

This is a small 9-element shigeuchi braid . I use 3 strands of Aunt Lydia’s mercerized #10 cotton in each of 3 color elements (Mexicana variegated color-way; aligned so colors transition together) and one strand of #3 black for the other 6 elements. These are going to be shoelaces! #kumihimo

This is the 8-element braid structure of kusari-tsunagi done on a Prumihimo™️ disk with one end of 100% plied beige silk yarn per element. This is more of a test piece to see how the silk looks. It’s about 1 foot final length and super soft! #kumihimo

I have another Kara-kumi (diamond) braid on the marudai. This one is in linen, colors of the #MinnesotaLynx (WNBA), and is being worked up with 20 tama of 70g and 40% counterweight. I dig my new 5/2 linen yarn (white and navy) and I paired it with the bright green 16/2 Bockens Lingarn. #kumihimo

This was a quick braid. Kawari yatsu gumi (also sometimes called 2xEdo yatsu). This positioning of the elements creates 4-petal white blossoms on a black background. I used 6 ends (strands) of 8/2 rayon per each of the 8 elements (4 black, 4 white). 100g tama, 42% counterweight. #kumihimo

Wanted to play around with gradient braiding a bit, so I did this 24-mitake in 6 colors (white, cream, yellow, lilac, eggplant, black). Each element is one end of Lion Brand 24/7 100% cotton yarn, 85g tama, and 40% counterweight. This is a very fast braid once you get in rhythm! #kumihimo

I started a 20-element Kara-kumi braid in 100% viscose (rayon) Jaeger yarn in 4 colors (white, pink, burgundy, and deep blue). I used one end of yarn per element, 100g tama, and 40% counterweight. The braid has a final width of about 11mm. #kumihimo

I decided to try a 16-element version of Kara-kumi in 16/2 Bockens Swedish Linen. I used one end of linen per element, 70g tama, and 40% counterweight. This braid has a final width of about 6mm. It will become an eyeglasses cord when completed - a planned 66cm final length. #kumihimo #linen

This braid is called Kara-Kumi, and is braid #104 in Makiko Tada’s Comprehensive Treatise of Braids Vol. 1. I’m using the exact same setup as the 24-sasanami braid posted a few days ago. The braid reverses sasanami every 6 sets of moves - and creates diamonds. It’s a fun variant! #kumihimo

I am trying to get a few braids off of marudai - so here is a work in progress. 24-sasanami with one end of 100% cotton in each element (12 white and 12 eggplant). 85g tama and 43% counterweight. This is my first time trying this braid with 24 ends and cotton - it’s not awful 🤣 🤷🏻‍♂️ #kumihimo

16-element maru-genji from Catherine Martin’s book (braid #3). It is made with mercerized cotton yarn, Lion Brand 24/7. Tama used were 70g each, and 48% counterweight. Starting lengths were 60 inches for each element - the final length of the braided cord is 38 inches. #kumihimo