DIY Silicone Mold

There are different methods for creating food- and cosmetic-safe silicone molds that include the 1) starch and 2) soap methods. Select a method based on certain desired characteristics of the mold. For instance, if you need an extremely flexible mold that can be peeled away from a hard object with much ease and also one to capture very fine detail, the soap method is a good fit. Conversely, if you need a mold that is very firm and strong, whose structure can remain (largely) unchanged even when filled with water, the starch method is ideal. I particularly like the starch method because of its versatility. Specifically, adding oil as an option provides considerable flexibility without compromising the strength too much. I enjoy using this method for making my own loaf-shaped molds for DIY soap making.

Items for Making a DIY Silicone Mold (Corn Starch Method):

• the object to be used for creating a silicone mold
• Corn starch, an amount that is very roughly 50% of the silicone
• Gloves, like rubber gloves, NOT latex because the silicon sticks to latex.
• Silicone, 100% pure ~  . The entire tube of 280 ml sufficed for a soap mold with a surface area of 94 square inches (using a stick blender box of 3*3*14 inches. my mold also small tabs on its 4 sides).
• Small strip of cling wrap or plastic. This can be used to seal off the tip of the silicone tube. Most tubes continue to ooze silicone after you have squeezed the amount you want. 
• caulking gun (if the silicone comes in a caulking tube)
• Oil, a dash. any type that includes sunflower oil, baby oil or pure mineral oil ~ (to allow the mold to stretch and flex, characteristics that make it considerably easier to handle the silicone mass). Since the process if messy, you may want to put the oil in a small dish aside. (optional)
• Colour, mixing container and pop-cycle stick (for stirring). Examples include food dye or acrylic paint. Examples of a mixing container include a plastic cup or bowl. (optional)
• Flat working surface covered with a protective barrier like parchment paper --or-- a mixing bowl --or-- for a no-mess way of containing and kneading the silicone dough, a zip lock bag from which the mass can be piped through a new hole. NB however that you will lose a bit of the dough to the sides of the bag.
• Rolling pin. This is useful for making log soap molds. (optional)
• A ruler. This will come in handy with the rolling pin. (optional)
• Good ventilation
• Advanced. mineral spirits, to thin out silicone. Mineral spirits are usually used for cleaning up interior jobs. You must however combine all ingredietns as follows: 1 part silicone, 1 part corn starch and 0.5 part spirits. (optional)

Steps for Making a DIY Silicone Mold (Corn Starch Method):

1. Prepare the mold object on the work surface. There is a short time window to work once the silicone is ready.
2. (optional). To have an even colour, put the silicone in a small container aside (like a plastic cup or bowl). Mix in the colorant. You may combine the colour by adding it on top of the silicone when adding the silicone to the corn starch later.
3. Place a layer of corn starch onto the work surface.
4. Make a depression in the corn starch
5. Pour the silicone into the depression and onto itself. Do not spread the silicone flat as it can become over-saturated with cornstarch and hard to collect into a single mass.
6. Dust more corn starch on top of the silicone
7. Be prepared to work quickly since corn starch accelerates the hardening process of the silicone.
8. Oil the finger tips of your gloves and or work a small amount into the silicone dough. The more oil you use, the more the oil will allow the mold to stretch and may help in un-molding creations (like soap) without cracking the edges of the mold.
9. Knead until the mass feels like bread dough. Do not worry about the kneading all of the starch. The excess should be left behind.
10. Add more oil as needed.
11. Without delay, place the mass over the shape and spread it as required. If need be, you can pinch pieces from one area to add to others. Pay special attention to reinforcing corners because they are more susceptible to tearing.
12. NB. Create a thick lip which you can use for making it easy to release your creation (soap, concrete shape, etc) from the mold.
13. As an option, create slits in the lip to anchor vertical separators
14. De-mold when the mass springs back when squeezed.

Items for Making a DIY Silicone Mold (Detergent Method):

• Silicone, 100% pure ~  
• Small strip of cling wrap or plastic. This can be used to seal off the tip of the silicone tube. Most tubes continue to ooze silicone after you have squeezed the amount you want. 
• A bucket or other water holding container
• Water 
• Detergent (dishwashing liquid. I do not believe that soap powder will work)
• A smooth surface. Examples include a plastic cutting mat, plastic projector sheet
• Colour, mixing container and pop-cycle stick (for stirring). Examples include food dye or acrylic paint. Examples of a mixing container include a plastic cup or bowl. (optional)
• Gloves, like rubber gloves, NOT latex because the silicon sticks to latex.
• Flat working surface covered with a protective barrier like parchment paper- or - a mixing bowl
• Good ventilation

Steps for Making a DIY Silicone Mold (Detergent Method):

1. Prepare the mold object on the work surface. There is a short time window to work once the silicone is ready.
2. Make very soapy water into the water container. The soapier the water, the less likely the silicone will adhere to the gloves (or hands) when you knead it.
3. In a colour mixing container aside, place the silicone, add the colour and then combine the 2 homogeneously. (optional)
4. Squeeze the silicone into the water
5. Pull all the silicone together
6. Knead the silicone while keeping it under water. Knead until the mass stops being stringy and has sufficient malleability. 
7. Without delay, place the mass over the shape and spread it as required. Be especially quick to proceed to this step if you need to capture a lot of fine detail. If need be, you can pinch pieces from one area to add to others. Pay special attention to reinforcing corners because they are more susceptible to tearing.
8. NB. Create a thick lip which you can use for making it easy to release your creation (soap, concrete shape, etc) from the mold.
9. As an option, create slits in the lip to anchor vertical separators
10. Spread the silicone mass over the mold.
11. De-mold when the mass springs back when squeezed.

MORE CONTENT RELATED TO MAKING A DIY SILICONE MOLD

• Did you know? Silicone cures faster with heat.

Tropical Christmas Trees from Upcycled Garden Material: DIY Art Therapy

Just for the record, I do not celebrate Christmas. However, I was impressed by these clever upcycling ideas for making tastefully decorated tropical DIY Christmas trees. I could not help but share these photos even though this idea may not be as easily adopted as a DIY art therapy project for treating anxiety, like papier mache / paper mache. If nothing else, at least, these ideas illustrate the 6th permaculture principle; Produce No Waste!

The Christmas tree above is made of many dried coconuts. I could not get too close but imagine that metal rods hold each coconut in place and that each rod is somehow anchored to a central vertical rod.

-- --

The one below however seems much simpler to make. The branches are made of driftwood with a cross sectional hole in the center. Each branch therefore lays horizontally and his held in place by a vertical metal rod that runs through the hole.

Naturally, the base needed to be sufficiently stable to support the structure. The base is a heavy bit of log.

So I was curious about the very top. The designer placed a fat short log vertically to create the 'angel'. If you look very closely, you can see the metal rod enter that top log which was obviously drilled longitudinally.

Some years ago, an ex and I created a most beautiful Christmas tree from a bare guava tree twig. If memory serves me correctly, he sprayed the whole thing white and, like at this mall, we used only white lights. We used brown paper for the base.

I have yet to see it but am convinced that people could make nice, pine-like smelling trees with healthy rosemary bushes. (See how to root rosemary cuttings).

RELATED ARTICLES

• How to Make Jamaican Sorrel, a Popular West Indian Christmas Drink
• My Full Body Cleanse for 1st week of January

Papier Maché: Orange Bowl: DIY Art Therapy

Papier maché, aka paper mache, is considered sufficiently simple to allow a very wide age range of people to benefit from its healing effects on anxiety (including PTSD) and other mental health concerns (including bipolar disease). In fact, when I made papier maché bowls with a young mother and her 2-year old twins, we all enjoyed it. However, in addition to this fun factor, it is a particularly useful form of art therapy for young children who can not yet express complex emotions. Another of my art therapy posts shows an arguably simpler method than the one in this post and how, as a child, I spontaneously resorted to DIY art therapy during my darkest moment at the age of 9.  

This process involves 3 preparatory stages: 1) shaping, 2) inner surface and 3) outer surface. -- --
STAGE 1 Requirements: To create the shape

• Plastic cling wrap.
• A mold. I used a salad bowl
• Paper. Newspaper or telephone directory paper (white or yellow pages)
• Flour
• Salt
• Water
• Glue or flaxseed liquid (optional)
• Mixing bowl
• Table top protectors. I used old shopping bags.

STAGE 2 Requirements: To prepare the inner bowl surface

• Toilet Paper, 56 squares from a roll
• Tissue Paper and or roughly 1/2 of an orange tissue paper, roughly 1/2 of a yellow tissue paper. I actually used all of these. However, I think the tissue paper is unnecessary if you use paint. Besides, toilet paper appears to be less costly. Whatever your choice in paper, tear it into tiny pieces. However, the tissue paper may be used in smaller amounts to add different shapes of your paint and to create texture if torn and squashed into larger, less mashed pieces.
• Paint. I used food dye to create orange
• Flaxseeds & / other small dried seeds
• Glue
• Flour
• Water, the colder the better to extend the work time of plaster of Paris.
• Plaster of Paris (optional. I actually did not use it here but plan on using it in the future)
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cup

-- --

STAGE 3 Requirements: To prepare the outer bowl surface of this papier maché project

• Water, the colder the better to extend the work time of plaster of Paris.
• Plaster of Paris,
• Paint
• Flour
• Salt
• Sandpaper, # 180 or so   (FYI: Fine-grade sandpaper is 150 to 220; Medium-grade sandpaper is 100 to 120 and; Coarse-grade sandpaper is 40 to 80)
• Dust mask (optional when sandpapering)
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cup
• Paint brush, large OR Sponge (to apply the outer layer of Plaster of Paris and paint very smoothly)

STAGE 1  Instructions: Shaping

• Day 1. In the case of a mold that is a bowl, you have a choice. Decide whether you will line and form the bowl from the inside or outside. I wanted a smooth outer surface and rough textured inner surface. Since the glass will flatten the surface with which it makes direct contact, I lined the inside of the mold. I ensured that the plastic exceeded the edges very comfortably.

• Line the inside of the mold with plastic cling wrap
• Shape the bowl with papier maché strips
• Make a paste with the following ingredients in a mixing bowl. Flour, water and salt
• Tear the paper into strips that are roughly 1 to 2 inches thick. Tear free hand. There is no need to soak strips.
• Holding a strip with 2 finger tips, submerge it into the flour mix. Upon removing the strip from the liquid, slide the strip through 2 touching fingers from the opposite hand so as to remove excess paste.
• Place the strip onto the plastic cling wrap. Continue this process with as many strips as you need to completely cover the cling wrap without leaving any holes. I forgot to take a photo of this step. So here is a photo of an earlier project.

• I created 2 to 3 layers. Although these few layers seemed too little at first, the bowl was sufficiently strong in the end, especially after the outer surface treatment and coats of varnish. I also made sure that I did not exceed the edges. The inner surface would help with the edges which would not be straight.

STAGE 2  Instructions: Inner Surface

• For this next step, I did not wait for the product of the preceding process to dry. After all I reasoned, if I allowed it to dry before this upcoming step, the first step is likely to become damp again, even though this step is drier and less messy
• If you want the toilet paper to display the color evenly, soak it in water and then mix it into a bowl with the orange paint.
• Combine the left over ingredients and those for this section in a mixing bowl. I preferred to add the water and Plaster of Paris last. In fact, I mixed the water before adding the Plaster of Paris. This precaution is because Plaster of Paris has a very limited work time before becoming hard.
• NB. Do NOT wash your containers with Plaster of Paris down your sink. Rather, wash such containers outside.
• Knead the mixture until you achieve a dough consistency that can be maintain any form.
• To create subtle color variations, I randomly placed 1 layer of orange tissue paper patches onto the base of paper strips. This allowed some hints of the richer orange color to bleed through my dough.
• Grab and press a ball of dough between your fingers to create a thin layer. Place that layer onto the inside of the bowl. Avoid holes.

• I ensured that the dough rose slightly above the level of the strips. That way, I would have a rough rim that will still look neat. My task later on will be to be as neat as possible when painting the point where the flat strips meet the overlapping inner surface.

Notice the way the painted outer surface meets this inner surface in the end.

• Allow to dry in a very well ventilated area. The base was particularly soggy from the glue epaste. I placed my project into a large stainless steel bowl in the sun for roughly 30 minutes.

-- --

• On day 2, I could see moisture collecting between the glass and plastic wrap. I removed the project from the bowl mold and placed the project back into the stainless steel to get some hot afternoon sun on my verandah. However, to my dismay, since the convex shape of this reflective bowl magnified the sun's heat and light, in one spot, the project had a burnt hole right through it.

I took a tiny piece of dough from a failed project to patch the hole. BTW, as pictured below, the failure of the other project may have occurred because it did not have strips or sufficient glue to compensate for this absence.

I dampened the tiny piece of dough and rubbed it in place before following with a smearing of glue.

Fortunately and as the image shows below, the patch blended in almost perfectly, even though still wet. The tip of the knife points directly to the area of the patch.

The patch was thick enough to reach the surface of the outer side and would therefore only need 1 coat of paper strip. I glued the strip, making certain to cover the edges before coving the hole.

I also realized by this time that the bowl was losing its shape slightly. To counteract this and since it was nearly completely dry, I placed it back onto the glass container before placing it again in the sun, MINUS the stainless steel bowl. Every few hours, I flipped the bowl between the upward and downward positions.

STAGE 3  Instructions: Outer Surface

• If possible, remove air pockets by gluing down or tearing away the non-conforming raised edges.
• Since sanding is likely to be unnecessary, do so only in extreme cases. After all, the Plaster of Paris will smooth out rough edges. Sand the outer surface. I read somewhere that you should not apply excessive pressure or allow yourself to feel heat when sanding. The rationale is that excessive sanding with extra-fine sandpaper is known to close the pores of hard woods, thereby making it difficult for stains to penetrate. Perhaps this applies. I realized I did not need to sand this very much.
• I covered the bowl mold with protective material. In this case, I used a plastic bag.
• I placed the project on top of the mold

• Combine the ingredients
• Add Plaster of Paris to the water, without stirring. Stirring activates the Plaster of Paris. Tap the container so the Plaster of Paris could sink to the bottom. Stir gently to remove lumps. Do NOT whip the plaster of Paris. Do NOT wash your containers with Plaster of Paris down your sink. Rather, wash such containers outside.

Always test the paint color on the bottom of projects.

When the consistency is right, ie when it is not too runny, apply it. However, I think my mixture was a little too runny because I say paint brush marks in the end. Perhaps applying with a SPONGE can also help. -- --

Do NOT sandpaper this surface. If you must, do so with great caution with fine-grade sand paper (#150 to 220). Caution in this regard is to avoid chipping the Plaster of Paris and exposing the layer below as a consequence.

Apply coats of varnish as evenly as possible.

Thanks for your support

If this info is useful, please support us.

Other Topics Related to Paper Mache / Papier Maché & DIY Art Therapy

• How we did tie dying with fresh turmeric root
• How to make a Kumihimo braid
• How to make a Kumihimo braid beads (seed beads)
• How to make a Kumihimo necklace with long Magatama and regular seed beads
• Papier maché or paper mache
• My DIY Art Therapy Journey

Long Magatama Kumihimo Necklace: DIY Art Therapy

I have been documenting my DIY art therapy journey. To this end, I published a guide on how to make a basic 8-strand Kumihimo braid (for beginners), then how to make a beaded Kumihimo braid. Today's post will demonstrate how you can use not only seed beads but also long magatama beads for a Kumihimo braid that can be used for bracelets or necklaces. This is arguably more difficult than papier maché or paper mache, especially for children. It is also a bit more repetitive and therefore not necessarily ideal for everyone as a means of treating anxiety (including PTSD) and other serious mental health challenges (including bipolar disorder).



 This is by no means a definitive guide since it was my first attempt. In that case, I will be happy for your suggestions for improvement.

To Make a Kumihimo braid, you will need:

• A Plan of the final product. This plan will include details like the length of the necklace overall, and, if applicable sub-sections. Below was my plan to make a 17 inch necklace. It would be symmetrical with 3 sections. Starting from one end, the first section will be 5.5 inches, the second 6 inches and the first section would be like the first.

• Beading Cord

• Beading Cord Diameter & Type: #18  S-Lon Beading Cord. As an alternative, you may use C-Lon beading cord (a different brand with very similar type of beading cord but different colors). 

  

• Beading Cord Length: as a rule of thumb, each of the 8 warps (or lengths of beading cord) should measure roughly 3 times the length of the final product. (This measurement already allows for the extra length needed to knot the ends. NB Unlike the unbeaded version, the beaded kumihimo braid can not be stretched and elongated.). Example:

For the 17 inch Kumihimo necklace pictured above, I needed:

17 inch Kumihimo braid  *  3 = 51 inches per warp

• Long Magatama Seed Beads & Regular Seed Beads    
  
  
  
• The required amount of seed beads is measured in terms of how much length of S Lon beading cord they occupy. The beads should be strung on each warp until 1.5 the length of the beaded part of the final product. This measurement has applied almost precisely for me.

Example: 

The 1^st section of my Kumihimo braid will be 5.5 inches long. I therefore needed 2.75 inches of beads strung along each warp.  Do this for each beaded section.

  

• A Big Eye Needle (optional)
• Beeswax (optional for threading the beads. However, since these beads were much larger than my first Kumihimo beading attempt, it was easy to thread them with a needle.)
• Tape Measure
• A Kumihimo Disk (round)
• 8 Bobbins
• A pair of Scissors
• A Calculator
• A Pen
• A Weight. This may be something like a bunch of keys or, as in my case, a bulldog clip onto which I could hook other things for additional weight if I need. The more weight you use, the better. Weight is particularly important for aligning this heavier and chunkier type of bead as you make a necklace or bracelet.
• Strong glue. Either E6000® Craft Adhesive (the preferred glue among artists) or contact cement
• Jewellery ends. Based on your string diameter, you'll also need 2 glue-on cord tip ends, 2 jump rings and a toggle clasps. You could complete braiding and even tying off the ends before taking a safe break during which to find the appropriate ends. Alternatively, if you are creative and proficient wire wrapping, you can make most or even all of these jewellery ends with a sufficiently stiff wire.
• Jewellery making pliers. Once you plan on using metal jewellry ends, this item applies, even if you do not make the jewellery ends. You will only need any 2 of the following: flat nose pliers; bent nose pliers or chain nose pliers. (These pliers will help you to open and close connections like jump rings.) On the other hand, if you are making the jewellery ends, will need additional pliers. Depending on the design, you are likely to need wire cutters with a rounded jaws and pointed tips (for cutting wire in small spaces and close to the wire); round nose pliers and; bale making pliers.

Instructions: How To Make a Kumihimo Braid with Sead Beads

1. Draw and, taking into consideration your supplies, (continually) revise your plan of the final product. In my case, I wanted to braid a 17 inch necklace whose 2 ends of seed beads would have a length of 5.5 inches while the center section of long magatama beads would have a length of 6 inches.
2. Prepare lengths of warps and the Kumihimo disk as normal.
3. Thread only the amount of beads required for the 1st beaded section. See above how many beads you need.
4. Use the same Kumihimo braiding technique as before. See instructions on how to make an 8 warp beaded Kumihimo braid
   . Remember to start braiding an unbeaded length that can fit into the jewelry ends. Measure the braid routinely.
   
   

   

   
   
   

   

   -- --
   
   

   

    
5. When you reach the desired length for the 1st beaded section, handle each warp in turn as follows. Remove any unused 'section 1' beads. Place the end of the warp back into the slot of the Kumihimo disk to maintain tension and to prevent the braid from unravelling.
6. Thread the long magatama beads onto the warp. There are a few very noteworthy considerations that distinguish long magatama beads.
1. 
   

   
   

   
   All beads should be threaded in the same direction on all warps. When threading magatama beads, note that the hole either directs your needle up or downwards towards the other side (of the bead). Monitor your consistency by the way in which the needle travels through the bead. When I threaded upwards, the result was the fringed bottom at my starting point.
   

   

   The way the Long Magatama seed bead on the far right has been threaded is inconsistent with the other beads. If you see this, remove and rethread beads like that.

2. If you are using different colors, distribute different colors so that single colors are on any single warp.
3. In addition to tucking the beads underneath the perpendicular warp, also ensure that the pointed end of the bead is pointing outwards. The process can become easier as the braid develops because you can look down through the hole of the Kumihimo disk to see the direction of the previous beads. You can use those other beads as a guide for pointing your long Magatama bead in the appropriate direction. 
7. After knotting the ends, use the pen tip to turn around beads that turned inwards or out of line.

Afterwards, I had no more long Magarama seed beads but 1 and 1/3 containers of the regular seed beads.

Thanks for your support.

If this info is useful, please support us.

Other Topics Related to Making a Long Magatama bead Kumihimo Necklace & DIY Art Therapy

• How we did tie dying with fresh turmeric root
• How to make a Kumihimo braid
• How to make a Kumihimo braid beads (seed beads)
• How to make a Kumihimo necklace with long Magatama and regular seed beads
• Papier maché or paper mache
• My DIY Art Therapy Journey

How to Make a Kumihimo Braid with Beads and S Lon Beading Cord

Previously, I published a beginner's guide on how to make a basic 8-strand Kumihimo braid (as part of my DIY art therapy journey). Today's post will be a little more advanced. I will demonstrate how you can make a beaded 8-strand Kumihimo braid, ie with S-Lon (SuperLon) beading cord and seed beads.

To Make a Kumihimo braid, you will need:

• Beading Cord

• Beading Cord Diameter & Type: #18  S-Lon Beading Cord

  

• Beading Cord Length: as a rule of thumb, each of the 8 warps (or lengths of beading cord) should measure roughly 3 times the length of the final product. (This measurement already allows for the extra length needed to knot the ends. NB Unlike the unbeaded version, the beaded kumihimo braid can not be stretched and elongated.). Example:

For the 6.5 inch Kumihimo bracelet pictured above, I needed:

6.5 inch Kumihimo braid  *  3 = 19.5 inches per warp

 

•  
  Seed Beads: If possible, get beads that are sold pre-strung on a string, ie rather than in a container as the ones I used, as pictured below. Strings of seed beads allow you to thread several inches within a second or less by pushing the needle along the length of the string.   
  
   
• The required amount of seed beads is measured in terms of how much length of S Lon beading cord they occupy. The beads should be strung on each warp until half the length of the beaded part of the final product. This measurement has applied precisely for me.
• The size of the bead hole should be compatible with the width of the beading cord. For instance, both may be '0.6 mm'.

Example: 

For a Kumihimo braid with a beaded section of 6.5 inches, I needed 3.25 inches of beads strung along each warp.

• A Big Eye Needle (optional)
• Beeswax (optional)
• Tape Measure
• A Kumihimo Disk (round)
• 8 Bobbins
• A pair of Scissors
• A calculator
• A weight. This may be something like a small bunch of keys or, as in my case, a bulldog clip onto which I could hook other things for additional weight if I need.
• Strong glue. Either E6000® Craft Adhesive (the preferred glue among artists) or contact cement
• Jewellery ends. Based on your string diameter, you'll also need 2 glue-on cord tip ends, 2 jump rings and a toggle clasps. You could complete braiding and even tying off the ends before taking a safe break during which to find the appropriate ends. Alternatively, if you are creative and proficient wire wrapping, you can make most or even all of these jewellery ends with a sufficiently stiff wire.
• Jewellery making pliers. Once you plan on using metal jewellry ends, this item applies, even if you do not make the jewellery ends. You will only need any 2 of the following: flat nose pliers; bent nose pliers or chain nose pliers. (These pliers will help you to open and close connections like jump rings.) On the other hand, if you are making the jewellery ends, will need additional pliers. Depending on the design, you are likely to need wire cutters with a rounded jaws and pointed tips (for cutting wire in small spaces and close to the wire); round nose pliers and; bale making pliers.

Instructions: How To Make a Kumihimo Braid with Sead Beads

1. Cut the beading cord into 8 warps according to the length guidelines above.
2. As pictured, knot all 8 warps together at one end.

   

   All 8 warps are joined by a knot to all of their ends. See the knot in the bottom part of this image.

    
3. Feed the tip of the knotted end through the hole in the center of the Kumihimo disk.
4. Attach the weight to that knotted end.
5. Thread the beads onto the loose dangling ends (See above how many beads you need). Since the size of my needle was too large to thread seed beads onto the S Lon cord, I had to use the tip of the S Lon cord like a needle to thread the beads. You have 2 further options, ie to prepare the tip of the S Lon beading cord by snipping it. If that does not make it easier to thread the seed beads, drag the beading cord over beeswax to hold the threads together tightly. 

This is how to thread beads onto a cord without a needle

 

 

1.  
   After threading all the beads you need, knot the ends of each warp. This will be helpful to ensure you do not loose beads when the warps become shorter and their ends begin to slip out of the bobbins. 
   
2. Wrap the loose warp ends into the bobbins. You may choose to allow the beads to remain either inside or outside each bobbin.
3. As pictured below, allow the unbeaded section of the 8 warps to lay on top of the Kumihimo disk and hang through the slots on either side of the 4 dots. For your guidance, position the Kumihimo disk so that its 4 dots at 32, 8, 16 and 24 are in the top, right, bottom and left positions respectively. BTW, regarding the color of beads per warp, you may need to experiment until you get this right.

As pictured here, I used 4 colors for this project, attaching beads of a single color to each pair of warps.

 

•  
  Make the basic Kumihimo braid, ie without beads to make a braid of roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch. This length will be used later for fitting end caps. To recap, the Kumihimo braiding technique is as follows.
   
• Starting from the bottom dot next to '16' on the disk, your weaving movements will be up LEFT warp with the LEFT hand and into the nearest slot that is to LEFT of the pair of warps in the top region of the Kumihimo disk. There should now be 3 warps in the top region, with the 3rd string being in the 31-32 slot.






• Next, starting from the top region, your weaving movements will be down RIGHT warp with the RIGHT hand and into the nearest slot that is to RIGHT of the pair of warps in the bottom region of the Kumihimo disk. There should now be 2 warps per region.






• Turn the Kumihimo disk counter clockwise (CCW) and stop when the next dot (at position '24') is in the new top region.



Kumihimo Braiding without the beads at first

Kumihimo Braiding without the beads at first


• Consistently continue this sequence of movements (without regard for the slot numbers). To recap, the movements are up left warp to the top left position, then down right warp to the bottom right position. As you proceed, maintain an equally taut tension for all 8 warps on the surface of the Kumihimo disk.
   
• If you must stop working before completing the Kumihimo braid, leave a 3rd warp in the top region. This will be an indication that your next move must involve the warp in the farthest right position of the Kumihimo disk. It needs to be brought down to the bottom right. Example: in the image below, there is a 3rd warp on farthest left in the top region. It has clearly been the last warp to be moved since it pulling up above the left region warps. 
  
  
• The beading Kumihimo technique follows the same cord and disk movements as before. However, introduce beads as follows.
1. When moving a warp, move only 1 of that warp's beads into the central hole of the disk. (See below) Tuck that bead underneath the warp at the nearest perpendicular position to the one you are currently moving before continuing as normal.
   
•  
  As your proceed, routinely measure the braid by placing the end of a measuring tape at the base of the hole from which the braid is made. When you have reached your desired length of beaded section (in my case 6.5 inches), create another unbeaded braid of roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch (for gluing the braid to end clasps). 

  

  The Kumihimo braid was 6.5 inches

  

  The 2 ends were roughly 0.5 inches each.

•  
• To prevent the Kumihimo braid from unravelling, you can do 1 of several things. For instance, you may tie each set of opposite warps or stitch through the unbeaded braid.
• With the braid's ends secured, cut off the loose warp ends. Make the cut close to the braided section because each end must fit neatly into the glue-on cord ends. Furthermore, a close cut allows the warps of the unbeaded braid to bond better.
• Place some glue into a cord end and insert an end into it. Allow your Kumihimo braid's ends to dry for at least 24 hours before handling.
  

   

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