Introduction to Kumihimo (CNCH 2022)
I went to my first weaving conference this past weekend: the Conference of Northern California Handweavers (CNCH). I was surrounded by weavers for a whole weekend, took workshops, did some shopping… and I got to meet Mary Zicafoose, show her some ikat pieces I made with her book, and hear her give an amazing talk!! ❤️
On Friday, I took an introduction to Kumihimo workshop with Adrienne Gaskell. This was a last minute switch — I was supposed to take a workshop on botanical printing but the instructor had to cancel, so the organizers found us spots in other classes.
The workshop was well done. About half the folks were using a traditional marudai and the other half (me included) were on foam disks. I started by using cotton embroidery floss in 4 colors, practicing different techniques. Then, once I ran out of cotton thread, I moved on to metallic threads and synthetic silk. The disk and tama reminded me of a jellyfish, especially with the blue metallic threads.
The two fiber types made a huge difference in the process, both in terms of the method and the manipulation of the fibers. For the cotton, it was easy to focus on the colors and how they moved in relation to one another. For the metallics, I kept the disk in a single orientation and focused on how the threads moved around the disk.
Honestly, I didn't love the disk (especially with the metallics!) because it was fussy. You had to move the fibers from one notch to another and hold them in tiny slits. I think the process would be more fun and meditative with a marudai.
Here's my finished sampler — I completed almost all the techniques in our book. From bottom left, clockwise:
Kusari-tsunagi
Yatsu-kongoh Z Spiral
Kusari-kaku-yatsu
Kaku-yatsu
Edo-yatsu
Kara-yatsu
The class assistant recommended this helpful resource from Orion's Plumage: The Silk Standard. If you don't want to use silk, it suggests conversions for alternate fiber types and weights.