Autumn Leaves

The beginning of fall here in the Northeast always means an over abundance of leaves everywhere........on the car, on the steps, on the ground.............and since they're more at eye level, they provide a lot more inspiration - at least to this girl.

I created a leaf out of some recycled copper sheet (here) which I had planned to use in a piece of jewelry, but then once that leaf was done, the ideas for what to do with leaves took over my brain.  So, combining two of my most favorite things (right at this moment.......) I wove some deep green and dark bronze seed beads (kumihimo of course); cut a leaf out of my recycled copper sheet, hammered, shaped and drilled it and added it to the length of kumihimo as a clasp.

The leaf needs to be etched and oxidized - neither of which I have with me.......but you get the general idea.

This time, when I wove the kumihimo I used bead crochet thread (no idea what size it is).  Once I wove the first half inch or so, I realized it was a very, very thin braid........and I had the idea to use a fold over crimp end (you know the kind that is used on leather or satin cord necklaces) as the finish on the piece and they worked wonderfully.

The hold is nice and tight.  I added some antiqued copper cones which I secured onto the crimp end with some copper wire and then attached the clasp to that.

Finishing Kumihimo

I am finding I love the whole process of Kumihimo.  It's almost hypnotic to weave the strands, it's fun to experiment with different fibers and colors, and I learn something each time I make a new project.  This time I experimented with some multi colored string (I found it in the hardware department at Home Depot or Lowes - really not sure what it's true purpose is, but I love how colorful it is) - which came out too long to be a bracelet and, of course, too short to be a necklace.  I'm sure I'll figure out something to do with it - but it's wonderfully colorful.  I will try this string again, in a longer length - that way I can incorporate all the colors and maybe make a necklace out of it.

Next I tried beads again - first using some white twine I have - a thicker string on which I pre-loaded size 6/0 seed beads.  I made each length of the string about 2 feet long and loaded 55 beads on each of the 8 strings.  I am still working out all the finer points of this - ie how many beads for a bracelet, how thick the string shoud be, etc., so while I knew 55 beads was probably too many, I wanted to err on the side of too much because you can always take away - it's not that easy to add.  I ended up using 24 of the 55 beads.

This is the finished bracelet - I used some sterling silver end cones (I glued the end knots, glued the inside of the cones and then wired the cones onto the bracelet ends - as per some instructions I saw while searching for information on how to finish the braid ends) and a nice sterling silver toggle clasp.  While I like how it turned out, it's almost too long and the whole process of gluing and wiring is rather messy. 

I next tried some bead crochet thread - just a heavier cotton thread - and size 8/0 seed beads.  I am not entirely happy how the thinner thread worked up with the beads - the bracelet is not as round and plump as the previous one, but that being said, it's still a nice piece.  This one is also a little too long - I see now that the adding of the cones and the clasp add more to the overall length than I had anticipated. I finished this one the same way as the silver one, only I used copper findings.

I have another braid started - this time I braided the end and created a buttonhole so rather than tie the ends off and add the glue, I will add a button and it will close that way.  It will be interesting to see how this one comes out!

Kumihimo with beads........

Since I already had the bobbins loaded (leftover from my first project) I decided to add beads to the mix.  I used two different colors; size 6/0 seed beads; and I added them to 4 of the eight strands.  I read somewhere that you should figure on 10 beads per inch of braid, so I loaded on 70 beads per strand thinking I would get enough length for a bracelet, but I ended up with a length of beaded braid that is about 10" long. 

Next time I will add beads to all the strands - this looks like a spiral, and while it would make a nice bracelet, I am hoping to get the look of a bead crocheted piece.