My newest obsession? Kumihimo, Japanese Cord Braiding. I tried the normal means of over under braiding, and caught on pretty quickly...but I had a hard time keeping the braids braided, they just loosen up, and my hand got cramped attempting to keep them tight and continue braiding.
Well, I am a firm believer in "work smarter, not harder!" so I turned to my googling ability, and here are some of the results:
This is a great 6 page PDF tutorial. It gives 8 and 16 strand examples with several color variations. Save this to your hard drive!!!
There are many books available about kumihimo, but there are so many web resources available, as well, that I haven't purchased a book, yet!
Apparently, there are only a few free patterns online, but for my purposes, they will work fine!
I had to share this new technique because so many falconers have tried, failed, and abandoned round braiding because it seems to take someone with a natural ability to weave! This should prove to be SO much easier, I think even an 8 year old could pick up the technique quickly. I was very impressed with the results of my braids using this method, over freehand fingerweaving. I hope to make a photo tutorial soon, for the falconer's forums, and for this blog.
I hope this helps anyone out there that was getting frustrated with round braiding, to give it another try. It could save a fortune on purchasing leashes and jesses....
more soon....I have a few links for end knots, but I have yet to master that part of the process!
;)
