It's been a while since my last update. This is the three-color Kikko braid I demonstrated at the workshop of the Kumihimo Society on December 13th. It's a unique setting with eight kute in the left hand and five in the right (8-5). The braiding method is AADC (top photo). It's featured in Shikasuyo's "Hiden Itogumi" (Secret Method of Thread Braids) and is also introduced on page 23 of Kinoshita Masako-sensei's "Study of Archaic Braiding Techniques in Japan"
The photo below shows a three-color 22-strand Kikko braid (5-6-6-5) that I learned at Jacqui Carey's workshop in Cleveland in June of this year. Using this technique, I braided a dog’s collar with two strands of Hamanaka Aprico. The black fur really brought out the braid.
I felt like challenging a big task, and I chose this pattern. Three braiders line up side by side, holding 22 kutes, 11 in each hand. That means I have to manipulate 66 kutes all alone. It surely is a big task!
I prepared 11 different color kutes, and 6 different color foot-threads. This preparation alone took one day. I used 3 kute-rest-stands.
The stands I used this time were T-shaped stands, which were memento of a deceased kumihimo teacher. I received them through Tada-sensei. The horizontal bar of the T was too short to rest the 11 kutes, so I fixed a ruler on the top.
The initial color arrangements are the same for all three braiders.
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The braiding technique is AADD. There are 11 kutes, so if you braid them normally, you can naturally get a jagged pattern with 5 and 6 rows. When you want a solid color part, you do a little secret manipulation (ref. “Study of archaic braiding techniques in Japan” p. 134) so that the color doesn’t change.
The upper one in the photo is made with 2-thread Cotton Queen and the lower one with Hamanaka Aprico. Both are shiny and beautiful threads. You can also have chevron patterns on the side. The solid color part is a little narrower due to the secret manipulation. It is a sturdy braid that is about half as thick as it is wide.
BBCC is not as angular as Kakugumi, and its cross section is close to a circle. I covered BBCC a long time ago, but only introduced two types. This time, I made a lot of fun things with different color combinations and using bi-color loops. It is also interesting that the pattern sometimes appears above and below the cord, and other times appears on the left and right sides
Below I show you color patterns from the top to the bottom.
1．Pink and brown
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Both are the same. This is what I covered before.
2．Chevron half green and half red on white background
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This is very nice!
3. Pink and white chevrons alternate on a grey background
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4. Three shades of pink chevron on a brown background
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5. Vermillion and yellow Vs on a dark blue background
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6. Lavender and purple strips with an accent in the middle
To prepare for the workshop of Itsukushima-gumi, I read the book "National Treasure Heike Nokyo (Heike clan’s sutra dedication)" written by Shigemi Komatsu. It is written that Taira (Heike) no Kiyomori (who had overwhelming power in Japan in the 12th century) ordered 32 male members of the Heike clan to dedicate one volume each of the Lotus Sutra and other works to Itsukushima Shrine. With the name of the clan at stake, they must have competed to make gorgeous scrolls by commissioning the best craftsmen, calligraphers, and painters, using luxurious materials such as precious paper, gold leaf, and gold powder, without worrying about money. All of the completed decorative sutras are splendid with elaborate designs. The size and style of painting are different, but interestingly, the winding cords are unified.
Questions were asked at the end of the workshop. “Was the Itsukushima-gumi created for the Heike Nokyo, or did it exist before that?'' Now, I don't know. However, I thought if I had been the Kumihimo master in charge, and if I had seen the efforts of other masters, I would have come up with a new design instead of the existing Kumihimo style. I myself was surprised by this answer. It certainly is my idea about it, but I didn't realize it until the question was asked. Thanks to the questioner.
The bottom of the photo shows Saidai temple Daijingu Goseitai Zushichō, which is very similar to Itsukushima-gumi. This is shown in the photo 29 of Professor Masako Kinoshita's "Study of Archaic Braiding Techniques in Japan", not the one hanging vertically, but the one sewn horizontally.
For the workshop, I made 2 video footages showing how to braid Itsukushima-gumi with Kute.
When I was asked by the Kumihimo Society in Japan to teach Kute braiding, I instantly decided to take up my favorite Itsukushima-gumi. However, the workshop is done through Zoom and it is only for an hour or so. Since it is too challenging to learn Itsukushima-gumi that way, I gave it up and decided to work on a 9-kute twill braid. The braid will be helpful to learn Itsukushima-gumi.
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A Zoom workshop is convenient because you can be connected with members while you stay at home. You cannot, however, see the manipulation of Kute clearly. So I prepared a video footage. It has been a long time since I had used a video camera. I almost forgot everything.
I made many samples as you see. The top 3 are the same as the one I am braiding in the video, repeating 2 cycles. The fourth one is done using finger loop braiding technique. The finished braid is tighter than the Kute braids. The fifth is border pattern only. The bottom 2 are only one cycle, which is more loud and cheerful, compared with the top 3 which are more stretched and relaxed.
I made a blouse that features a kumihimo. I found the pattern of this blouse more than 30 years ago in a magazine and kept it for so long. I had been trying to find a nice string for this blouse but I could not. Now that I can braid, I can make whatever braid I want! The material is rather quiet olive green, and I used bright yellow green for the string. The yarn is Hamanaka’s Aprico. The beige and yellow yarns are lame yarns, giving the finished braid some gaiety.
The braid is 110cm long. I first braided a half of the length, then connected the next half as the photo shows. Aprico is thin and fine and takes long time to braid, so I did not braid the middle 40cm.
The finished braid’s width and thickness is exactly what I wanted. I never dreamed 30 years ago that I would be able to make such a beautiful braid with my own hands.
I had a luck to get a free Marudai. Since then I have been practicing various patterns referring to Makiko Tada sensei’s “Recipes for Beautiful Kumihimo and Small Kumihimo Accessories”. Currently, I can manipulate up to 16 tamas. I thought the movement to transfer up, down, left and right was easy for beginners. This is because the thread only moves horizontally and vertically. I love Hiragenji-gumi that is easy to manipulate and looks gorgeous.
I like to make things that I use in my daily life, so I braided a shoulder strap for a pochette. The thread I prepared first, thinking in the same way as the case of Kute-uchi, was too short. I finally learned that I need more than double length of the finished product. As I am a beginner, I use Cotton Queen, using 5 threads as 1. The initial color arrangement is as below.
The pochette is made of a Hakataori belt which I got through Yahoo Auction. It is beautiful, and my Hiragenji-gumi is also beautiful, I think.
