Hi everyone, after lasts weeks post on how to do a basic 8 cord kumihimo braid I thought I would show you how to add beads to your braid. Also after making a keyring last weekend I thought I would make one with beads for my other set of keys in the hope it makes it easier to pull the correct set of keys from my pocket!

Set Up

The set up is almost as same as in the basic tutorial. You need:

  • A kumihimo disk
  • Cord
  • And beads

When you cut your cords and have them set up on the disk you can thread your beads on. You can add them where ever you want so completely randomly, on only a few selected cords or on all of them. Once you have threaded them tie a knot in the end of the cord to stop them falling off. Here I have added them to two cords; the top right and bottom left.

How To…

The braid works up in exactly the same way described in the first tutorial. When you get to a point you want to add a bead:

  1. Bring a single bead up to the top of the cord
  2. Tuck the bead UNDERNEATH the cord horizontal across the disk
  3. And carry on…

Once you have finished the cord you can tie it off as normal and make whatever you want with it! As you can (hopefully) tell the most important bit is to make sure the bead is tucked in. This is what keeps the braid nice and neat.

If you have any problems or questions let me know and I will try and help. You can also send me photos of anything you make and I will feature them in a post with a link to your blog! You should definitely give this technique a go!

 

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