Make Something Mondays: Long Silk Kumihimo Cord

A jewelry store owner contacted one of my suppliers looking for finished kumihimo braids. The supplier recommended me (how cool is that! I am still over the moon!). After a couple of discussions we determined that she wanted a thin 2.5mm diameter braid, 36 inches long plus tassels. I think she was going to add a donut pendant and tie the ends in a simple knot.

I braided about 60 strands of 6-foot-long black silk thread into this beautiful braid. At this size I can only braid a couple of inches an hour, so it took a good number of days to finish. You can see my braiding set-up in this post.

Now that I've finished, the store owner has changed her mind and doesn't want the braid. I'm fine with that: I can list it for sale and it will find its way to an owner who will love it. I now have a good idea of how long it will take me to finish many different sizes of braids, something I did not have a good handle on before this project. And I love working with silk thread so much--it feels so terrific!--that I may make a few more braids like this one.

This post was inspired by Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go!, the ingenious moms behind Make Something Monday. We'd love for you to join us next Monday!