Claire's web site: macrame, hammocks, gourds, pine needles, clay modeling, baskets, Temari

Kumihimo

Marudai

I took a class at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, taught by Giovanna Imperia. In this class we learned how to prepare silk threads to work on the Maru-Dai, a stand with a round top ("mirror").

This was a very good class that I would recommend. The teacher was very nice and she had really prepared her material. We were given handouts, filled with useful information and patterns. She had also brought several Japanese books.
Warning: this craft is expensive, especially if you want to use silk. In the class I bought and used synthetic silk (shinon), for a beginner like me it looks just the same. The stand (Maru-Dai) and the bobbins (tama) are also expensive, both can be found at the Braider's Hand or Halcyon Yarn.

The basic set contains:

Maru Dai: the stand.
Tama: weighted bobins. I'm using 8 tamas of 70g each. Different patterns call for different weights and more tamas.
bag and weights: to counterbalance the weigth of the tamas. The weight in the bag depend on the combine weight of your tama, basically you want your point of weaving to be at the top of the hole, to get a firm braid. The bag is attached at one end of the braid, and must be moved up when it touches the base of the stand. The weights can be anything : fishing weights, coins, etc.
one chopstick, to hold the braid while the bag is removed. Otherwise the tamas will drop to the floor and the rope will pop out of the stand. (been there, done that...)
silk, synthetic thread, embroidery thread (DMC), satin cord, anything. The left bag (yellow thread) in the picture below is shinon, the right bag (red thread) is silk (notice the 100% in the label if you don't read Japanese characters)

The weaver moves the tamas on top of the Maru-Dai, crossing the threads in a predefined pattern. This is very rhythmic, very peaceful. You can find patterns in books like "Beginner's guide to braiding, the craft of Kumihimo" by Jacqui Carey. This book has very nice pictures, and each pattern in described in details. I would recommend it.

My friends gave me a Maru-Dai for my 30th birthday! I started using it with cords that I have at home, when I get more advanced I'll buy silk or shinon. Here are my first braids:

honeycomb and rounded-flat braid (sewing thread):

sample of braids, the largest uses 16 tamas:

I made two ties for the curtains in my breakfast room. I used 16 bobbins, and one part of the braid is enclosed in a hollow braid:

Takadai

Other types of kumihimo braids can be done on the Takadai, it is a larger wooden stand:

I'm very lucky to have a boyfriend with woodworking skills, he built it for me based on a plan purchased at the Braider's Hand. We also purchased the komas (little wagons with pegs) and the sword, because they would have been too difficult to build. You can also purchase an already-built takadai at their store. The takadai can be dis-assembled for transport. The braids made on the Takadai are usually flats (pod-like 3D structures can be built though). Here is my first braid:

It is not a good example, you can see that it is not regular on the edges. I used cheap yarn that I had at home and it was too stretchy, plus I didn't have the right weight on my tamas.

Here is my second braid, "Kikko" from Rodrick Owen book (brown cotton and white bamboo yarn):

The pattern in Rodrick's book is a for a 2 levels braid. I started like that but it was tedious and very slow so I converted the design to a 1 level braid. The result is exactly the same, front and back, it is just a matter of linking some of the threads in key steps. Once I had the design ready it was much faster. If you are interested in getting the 1 level pattern (free of course) just send me an email.