KUMIHIMO
Kumihimo Class: Pearl Sands Bracelet
By Cindy Grayson
Included are the materials and instructions for an elegant finish. Learn how to make wire-wrapped loops with cone ends, and dress up your design with a gemstone embellished beaded chain for an adjustable closure.
Prerequisite: Familiar with Basic Round Braid Kumihimo Move; or take one of my Intro Classes
•Techniques: single row pattern, Anti-Twist Solution, using round bead tendencies as a design element, when to flatten braids, wire-wrapped loops with cone ends, and attaching beaded chain adjustable closure.
•Kit Includes: Kumihimo pattern, Semi-precious gemstone (including Mother of Pearl and Sandstone beads), cording, findings: cone ends, eye pins, jump rings, gemstone embellished beaded chain and a clasp.
•Supplies Needed: Kumihimo disk, Liquid BeadFix or similar (cord stiffener), GS Hypo Cement (flexible bond adhesive to secure nub end after braiding), Wonder Clips (x8) (instead of bobbins), counterweight (approx. 3.5oz), 3 bead dishes, a tape measure; For Finishing: wire cutters, round-nose pliers, flat-nose pliers, needle-nose pliers, scissors and note taking materials or get your very own Bead Runway™ BEAD JOURNAL, Hot off the press!
About Cindy Grayson
Cindy Grayson is an Instructor, Designer, Inventor of the Bead Runway™ (Patent Pending) and Author of the “Bead Runway Kumihimo Technique Pattern Series”. Grayson is a graphic designer and marketing professional by trade, but ultimately an artist in all media. Her journey began by questioning; How many times and ways can a bead be strung on a wire? How can all of these stockpiled beads be used effectively? In search of a new challenge in jewelry making, she turned to a deep-dive study of Kumihimo.
The more she studied, the more she realized there was an elevated level of sophistication to the Kumihimo pattern process that involved detailed planning and mathematics. As a creative who appreciates an analytical challenge, she was hooked. Out of necessity, she invented The Bead Runway™, a bead layout board with eight runways to assist in visually planning and designing bead layouts specifically for Kumihimo pattern making. It also helps to count out the various bead types, which is paramount in obtaining a successful design. She created Bead Runway to spread the word of this “REVOLUTION IN CONTEMPORARY BEADED KUMIHIMO VISUAL PATTERN LAYOUT & DESIGN”.
Grayson began making jewelry, teaching and speaking publicly in 2004. It was only natural for her to share her newfound knowledge by teaching. She developed a class series for her students that covers all the basic skills and Kumihimo techniques found necessary to elevate abilities, assisting in moving beyond the restriction of pre-existing patterns. Her classes feature technique-focused projects that offer solutions to common problems in the Kumihimo pattern-making process. Other topics include successful Kumihimo pattern-making guidelines, the importance of keeping a Bead Journal for reference and ways to use the Bead Runway™—especially in making graduating patterns and in using any bead type effectively.
The Bead Runway™ (Patent Pending) is now the star and foundation of her students' studies in the “Bead Runway™ Kumihimo Technique Pattern Series”, an in-depth class series, published in a book, available on Amazon or Bead Runway Shop. By the end of the series, empowered students are more confident, bold in their design choices and capable of creating Kumihimo patterns of their own, inspired directly by favorites from their own private bead stash collections.