Great Kids Craft - not your mama's lanyard!

[DisneyWitch]

So....I came across a great craft that is as much fun for me (I'm in my 40's) as it would be for a kid. It's easy, it's fast, and it it a hoot. In fact, I'm making my KTTW lanyard, my eyeglass cord and other stuff for my trip to WDW, and in all the colors I like!

The craft is called Kumihimo. No, seriously...that's what it's called.

It's Japanese braiding. Because I don't have enough posts yet, I can't include a link here, but anyone can go to Wikipedia and look it up. I'm a serious crafter and I probably know more about the stock at Michael's than the workers do...and I just found out about it. I learned about it in a local craft store in my area.

Yes, you can find some fancy Kumihimo stuff out there - but there are foam disks (don't use the cardboard ones...they are horrible and break within 2 minutes) which are FANTASTIC. You just use craft thread or embroidery thread, or yarn, or whatever you can get your grubby mitts on. You can find the round loom on Amazon. There are other looms as well if you want to try flat braiding.

It's easy to learn, and easy to master. I travel a lot for my job, and I did it in the plane last week. It was super simple, no sharp objects necessary (making it really nice for kids) and the output was gorgeous. You can make friendship bracelets, lanyards, eyeglass cords, cords for light purses and costumes, jewelry...there are so many possibilities. Best of all...once you buy the loom and maybe a few bobbins, the cost of materials is really small. I'm using the craft thread that you can get at your local crafty store that the kids make friendship bracelets from.

I am sure that there are many people here who are familiar with this braiding technique and can give pointers and stuff. I just wanted to share something really neat with the board. Have a great day!

 

[Disfamily0405]

I just googled it and think it looks beautiful and neat to make... can you buy the board and stuff at michaels or hobbylobby or can you you only order the boards online? I have been looking for a cheap easy hobby to take up and it looks like something I would really like to take up.

 

[babylisa4]

I think this is very neat looking and my nieces would probably think I was way cool if I could do this and teach them. I want to do if stuff is available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby too?

 

[lisamarch]

I feel like a big baby but I have to say that: "It looks hard!" But, cool!

 

[LindaBabe]

This would make a good airplane craft -

 

[Disney Yooper]

This does look really neat. I probably have the supplies at home because I was a Girl Scout Leader for years. I've been looking for something to do that is easy to transport.

 

[kim532]

That looks awesome. I am going to try it. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. I am gonig to try it as a log distance car trip project. I have a 10 hour car trip this Saturday. Hopefully I can some pictures to post next week.

Kim

 

[Mama Steph]

Is this like knitting with a mushroom spool? That is how I taught my kids to knit, super easy!

 

[kim532]

I went to Hobby Lobby tonight and couldn't find the starter board. It was closing time, so I didn't ask for help. Can I get the supplies there? What aisle would it be in? Guess I won't be doing this on my car trip after all.

Kim

 

[frzndaqiri]

Very cool! Here's a great video showing how easy it can be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RNbFjvZycs

I love that she's using ribbon too. Now to get a board and raid my craft room.

 

[morgansmom2000]

Huh, it looks a lot like gimp, but with thread. I'd like to try this, thanks!