Rodrick Owen

Hmmm - not at all what I expected. I think of kumihimo as round (ok, some flat) braids, done on a marudai or a slotted disk - relatively simple tools to make some quite nice patterns of cord. I was expecting a few more patterns and maybe some tricks. But this book is basically about working on a takadai - a much more complicated structure, which allows you to make wide flat braids that are effectively narrow fabric strips. The narrowest here are about an inch wide; the widest are about 5 inches (and he mentions making much wider ones, but those require even more complex additions to the basic takadai). The instructions are detailed, the patterns are gorgeous, and it's a fascinating craft - but it's not what I think of as kumihimo (he explains at the beginning that in Japanese, they don't make the distinction English does between weaving and braiding, let alone varieties of braiding - they're all kumi-himo, gathering of thread).… (altro)