Learning Kumihimo

This one has been on my 'to-do' list for a while now.  Last fall, while shopping at (the now world famous)Mardens, I found some embroidery thread in some really wonderful colors - on sale for fifteen cents each!  I, of course, could not pass up that bargain, so I bought an arm full of them with the thought that I could use the threads in jewelry - at the time I was thinking macrame, but whatever! I've seen some Kumihimo pieces that incorporate beads and I really love them (mostly because it looks similar to bead crochet, which I have fumbled trying to learn over and over and, yup, over), so I really wanted to try it.

I got the disk and the bobbins from my LBS (here)........the disk comes with an "instruction sheet" - which just tells you the most basic steps of the process - and didn't mention the bobbins at all.......so I cruised the web and found an awesome video on you tube (here) that explained how to get started - from threading the bobbins to weaving with the disk - really awesome video! So, I loaded my bobbins - I used four different color threads

(open bobbin)

(closed bobbin)

and believe it or not, after much less time than you would imagine, I had this length of woven braid.....

to which I added this fabulous vintage African Brass Spiral focal..........and some gold end caps......

here is the completed necklace (sans clasp - still have to make one for it).