Today we will get acquainted with such an original handicraft art form as kumihimo. The word “kumihimo” literally translates as “rope weaving. Thus, kumihimo is nothing other than a colorful Japanese string woven from thread.
The art of kumihimo dates back to the 6th century, and not from needlewomen, but from the harsh samurai. Kumihimo cords woven from leather strips or silk were used by brutal fighters for a variety of purposes, from gartering kimono, to creating sophisticated and durable garters for all kinds of male purposes.
What is needed to weave kumihimo?
Traditionally, special looms are used to weave kumihimo. You need a bagel-like loom with legs for round weaving, and a square loom for flat weaving. But in principle, you can do quite well without a loom.
The round kumihimo, as we have already said, is made on a loom, resembling a bagel. However, modern needlewomen have adapted to weave a spiral cord on a circle with a hole in the center. It is not difficult to make it yourself. For a circle you need to take something solid – a rigid cardboard, plywood, a sheet of plastic. On a circle (usually 10-15 cm in diameter) along the edge make 32 slits, and in the center a small hole.
Kumihimo flat is made on a square machine, which can also be replaced by a homemade cardboard, plastic or plywood. A square with a side of 15 centimeters is somewhat similar to a round machine – the same dimensions, the same hole in the center. Only his notches are arranged differently – eight on opposite sides and one on each of the other two.
In addition, to weave kumihimo cord, you need threads. Fine for this purpose and thin yarn for knitting, and leather cord.
How to weave kumihimo?
Here we come close to the main question: how to weave kumihimo? Let’s consider sequentially the technique for the round and square loom, and take three simple master classes on how to weave laces of different kinds.
Traditionally, kumihimo is braided with 16 threads. Since you and I are not yet such great connoisseurs, let’s not deviate from tradition. It is easier to weave your first kumihimo jewelry according to the scheme. And so that the bracelet weaving did not turn into a torture, you can immediately paint the template in the right colors with felt-tip pens. Put also the letter C on the sector of the pattern indicated in the scheme – it is Start.
How much thread to weave kumihimo? You can calculate according to the beading scheme – three girths of the wrist. Plus on the ties. In total, 40-50 cm is enough. Let’s gather our threads together, tie a knot, leaving a tail of about 10 cm for the tie. Having straightened the tail in the central hole of the loom, we will tuck the long ends of threads in it according to the color.
The threads are tucked in. You can begin. How to weave kumihimo on a loom? Not as difficult as it seems. Find the thread on the letter C. Take it, and move it to the opposite side of the circle, securing it to the right of the colored sector. Now the thread that ended up on the left in this group at the bottom, move it to the free slot at the top. Turn the machine clockwise and do this operation each time. In one turn of the circle, this operation will become habitual. You see, the patterns are already becoming visible!
In an hour and a half or two hours you can weave a 16-18 cm long kumihimo. But it is better to do it with breaks, so as not to tire your eyes.
Ties can be made in three ways – you can braid the ends with a flagellum, plaits or made into a buttonhole.
Now let’s see how to weave on a square kumihimo. As you remember, on such a loom weave a flat cord. Contrary to logic, it is more difficult to weave flat cord. Today we will look at how to make kumihimo in 2 colors. For the embellishment, we will need two meters of thread and 15 half-meters of thread.
The beginning of weaving a flat kumihimo is not different from weaving a volumetric shoelace – we find a scheme and paint our loom according to it. Weaving usually starts with the upper left slot. As usual, we tie the threads with a knot, leaving a tail of about 10 cm, and tuck the threads into the loom according to the color scheme.
So, you can see that only one slit is left empty. This is where we will move the thread from the first slot. Now take the thread to the right of this slot, and attach it to the vacant slot at the top. Go this way all the way to the end of the loom. Now take the warp threads, and just swap them around a little tighter. Now turn the loom – the bottom left slot is empty, just like at the beginning of the weaving. Again take the thread from the upper left slot, move it down, and, each time selecting the neighboring thread on the right, again go to the end of the row.
Weave the cord to the desired length, then remove it from the loom, and make the ties in any of the three ways.