Strung Out: Thrifty Gifty: 5 Kumihimo Accessories

With the holiday gift-giving season almost here, we thought it would be fun to highlight projects that you can easily make multiples of. Often you will purchase a supply in a larger quantity then what you need for a specific project, for example 50 jump rings, 5 clasps, 25 head pins. You might not think about it right off, but sometimes you can take these extra ingredients and make a second, third, or even fourth project. Same cost, just a lot more finished projects.

Finsihed pieces along with leftover supplies

For our first “Thrifty Gifty” segment I wanted to showcase how many projects you could make from 4 packets of Beadaholique 1mm satin rattail cord. By creating a standard 8-warp braid, I was able to create 4 bracelets and 1 necklace. After adding in the all the findings – this averaged out to just slightly over $5.00 per piece of jewelry!

Here is how I did it:

I took my 4 colors satin rattail cord that come in 6-yard lengths and cut them in half – giving me 8 lengths, 3 yards long each. I tied a knot on one end to keep them all together and then braided a standard 8-warp Kumihimo braid. I kept braiding until my cord ran out; this resulted in a 44” long braid.

44" braid!

To keep the cost down, I chose to use capsule bead caps. To finish these bead caps, I took a head pin, placed a petal flower bead cap on it (to prevent the head of the head pin from slipping all the way through the hole in the capsule bead cap), and then placed the capsule bead cap onto the head pin. I started to create a wrapped wire loop directly after the capsule, but before doing all the wrappings, I slipped either a lobster clasp or a closed jump ring onto the loop. I then finished my wrappings and trimmed the excess wire with flush cutters. I repeated this with all my capsule bead caps – 5 with lobster clasps attached and 5 with jump rings attached.

Next, I measured 6 inches of braid and put a piece of scotch tape over where the 6 inch mark was. Using a pair of scissors, I cut through the taped area of my braid. Since the braid is narrower then the bead cap, I tied a piece of satin rattail cord around the taped area and trimmed off the tails. I placed a good amount of E6000 glue into the bead cap and then slid it over my braid. We have a video HERE showing you how to finish Kumihimo ends. I just kept repeating this step and finishing my braid ends until I had 4 bracelets; then with whatever braid length was left, I turned into a necklace. The result was 4 bracelets and a necklace. I also had a lot of leftover findings for another project, which made me really happy.

Total Cost: $25.53
Total Items Made: 5
Average Price: $5.11 each!