News — braiding

Here at ECHQ we are only a stone's throw from Norfolk and all those beautiful lavender fields.  Our latest Seven Wives braided bracelet kit is inspired by that landscape and is called Lavender Garden.  This is going to be a limited edition kit as our bead manufacturer has ceased making the beautiful floral beads. Don't forget to snap up the kit when you come to see us at the Makit Fair in Peterborough on the 8th May.

Alice may have thought that but it doesn't stop us here at EC HQ creating more scissor keepers. This is our Queen of Hearts design which will be offered with a variety of charms to enhance the pattern.

Inspiration is everywhere but if you are going to design complicated kits it's always good to remember that beginners want to make pretty things too.  Here at EC HQ we are working a series of scossor keepers / bag charm patterns and kits.  So inspired by these lovely Japanese lady beads (after all, kumihimo is Japanese braiding) we made up a simple scissor keeper design using black cord and sparkly purple thread.  The braid seems to have a spiral texture to it, boing in and out.  This is a really simple effect to achieve - the cord is 1.5mm but...

Yesterday I decided to try out some new beaded Kumihimo braids that to be basis of our new kits. This has reminded me of two of the key things you need to remember when working with thinner threads and beads and kumihimo disks Keep a spare disk If you have been using cord to make your braids, the slots in your disk will start to get bigger to match your cord.  Even if you use thinner 1mm or 1.5mm, moving to SLon cord is a much thinner cord and the slots may not grip as well. One of the things that...

Want to learn more about Japanese braiding; kumihimo? Why not come along to the Makit LQ&N fair on 8th May and meet Liz in person. Let Liz introduce you to the ancient craft of Kumihimo or Japanese braiding. Liz is passionate about all fibre arts; she will inspire you to make the same cord that laced up and decorated the Samurai’s armour and use it to make cords, beaded jewellery and incorporate into your crafting. Liz will be in the Craft Haven offering free drop in sessions to learn more about this wonderful craft.