Necklace Design for Horsehair Saved for Twenty Three Years

Lucky Discovery

While sorting through boxes of items I came across an assortment of things which belonged to a horse I had many years ago. I'd  had him since he was a foal. He taught me a lot about what matters to horses. The need to feel safe, to have a strong trusting bond, to know where they fit into their group,be it with their human owner or the herd and the importance of social interaction and rituals, which are renewed daily such as greeting one another and mutual grooming. 

There was a bag, and in it I found a length of tail hair. The hair was cut as winter arrived, to avoid the tail trailing in the muddy field. That must have been about 23 years ago when I worked in London and my horse was kept just outside in Burnham, Buckinghamshire. 

I would not have known then that I'd one day start braiding horsehair and turn it into bracelets and necklaces. When I saw the tail hair I wanted to thank my 20 something self for saving the hair back then. Now I hope to use some of it in a necklace.

The hair was very dirty, dry and brittle. It had to be handled gently to avoid it snapping. I used mild baby shampoo to start with, holding it with one hand to keep the hairs in order and washing with the other hand. After at least ten washes and rinses the hair was conditioned but was still very dry. 

The horsehair was left in a bowl of water and a generous splash of bath oil for two days, to help soften the hair.

Then it was washed and conditioned for a final time then air dried.

I have been working on a design using silver wire and I am hoping to get three or four short kumihimo braids from the hair which will be connected to make the necklace. It remains to be seen how the hair will cope with braiding. You will be able to see the project unfold here over the next few days.

If you have lengths of horsehair saved in a box somewhere, you might find you can use it to make something you can wear. Over the next few weeks I will post about working with shorter lengths of hair and discussing some creative solutions for even the shortest lengths.

 

Horsehair Bracelet Starter Tools

Recently on the Horsehair Bracelet Project Facebook page a question came up about what a basic starter 'kit' might look like.

You really don't have to spend much to get started. If you want to produce a kumihimo braid then a kumihimo disk is essential. These are available online. The circular disks are often sold in two sizes. The regular size being approximately 17 cm in diameter and a smaller one approximately 12 cm in diameter.

Until you get confident at handling the braid it would be easier to start with the regular size disk. Once you are used to moving the warps around the kumihimo disk you might want to try using a  smaller disk. One good reason to use a smaller disk would be to make use of as much length in your horse hair as possible.

Pictured below are what is needed to get going with your own horsehair braid, apart of course from the horse tail hair itself   See From Horses Tail to Bracelet



 I like to work on a tray covered with kitchen roll, so I can see where things are and items tend to stay put.

On the tray here are:
Kumihimo Disk for round braid (you can also braid square and flat braids on this)
Kumihimo Plate for square, flat or oblong style braids
Glue
Cord, to tie off braid ends
Bobbins to hold the coils of hair, plus beads if used. Bobbins are also good to hold the weight in place under your braid in the early stages.
A ruler, to measure hair or braid length

You will need a good pair of scissors, tweezers and small pliers. For a small cost it is well worth investing in a small kit like the one pictured.

This kit has small containers where you can store findings, jump rings and chains.

In other posts I have shown that a vase or large coffee jar is useful if you want to rest your work while you take a break. It also helps keep the hair neat during the early stages of making a braid.

When actually moving the warps around the disk to braid you will be holding the disk in your hand.


Once you get properly up and running and more adventurous you may build on your basic kit, adding beads and maybe, more findings in different colours and designs.

Once you have the equipment above and the horse tail hair, you are on your way to having a fantastic bracelet!