New Year, New Design

In Celebration of a Partnership....

Happy New Year to you all!

I am packed and ready to work away for a while. With me I am taking more hair from our lovely Fell Pony Drifter. No worries, he can spare it. I have a plan to work on a design that has been in my head for a couple of months. It is for a bracelet for my daughter, who has grown up with Drifter.

The design is partly her idea and partly what I think is possible using kumihimo. I am going to need to place an order for a couple of ends but if it all works out, it will look absolutely lovely and unique.

As I mentioned earlier, this whole project grew out of a desire to create something from my pony now, while he is still around. It seemed both natural and special to make a bracelet or necklace from some tail hair. Ancient tribes around the world have used animal hair for thousands of years, to make items for daily use or high status items to wear and show off.

My daughter and I have had our Fell Pony Quarryhouse Drifter for many years, since he was just six.

Over the years he has developed into a smart and willing partner. His jumping days are over now but he and my daughter spent hours jumping together often with nothing more than a rope halter.

And so, this particular bracelet project is going to be very special indeed. Later on, I hope to show you the end result.

Findings and Clasps

Beautiful Things

Like most people who find themselves making their own jewellery, I search high and low for the right equipment. Findings and clasps that will fit the braided horsehair and complement the work.

To me, the findings and clasps are as important as the braid.

Here is a selection of what will end up being used as bracelet or necklace ends and clasps.

The end caps are really quite difficult to come by. I am not sure why. They come in different diameters and most are too large for using with horsehair.

Another part of my learning was to work out how many hairs result in a certain width bracelet. I will  write about this another day.

Japanese Kumihimo and Braiding Horse Tail hair: how it all started

Find other pattern posts here

Japanese Kumihimo and the search for a quality, durable horse hair braid

As a girl I was horse mad. Being very lucky to have been around horses most of my life, I have bits of hair from my first pony and my first foal. They are kept in a tin and every once in a while I look at them and remember them.

Then one day in 2012, the thought occurred. Why not have a bracelet made from tail hair? A bracelet is a special reminder of your equine friend. But how do you go about having one made? The place to start looking was Google.

A search lasting several hours was disappointing. Some bracelets were of great quality but too expensive for me. Many were loosely plaited and not what I had in mind. I decided the way forward was to try to make a bracelet myself instead. Trust me, I am not someone who knits o sews. I don't even bake!

Many more hours were spent researching weaving techniques until suddenly I found something I thought would work with horse tail hair. That method was a Japanese Kumihimo.

Kumihimo as an ancient tradition is thousands of years old. It means 'bringing together' of threads. Patterns may be simple right through to very complex designs.

The journey using kumihimo began with one kumihimo disk and some cheap findings.

The first bracelet I made went down well with my daughter who became its new owner. So where did that leave me? I had to make another one of course.

That bracelet was a simple 16 strand spiral braid like the one shown above. It takes approximately 60cm of hair to produce an adult size bracelet if you follow a spiral pattern.

Each bracelet is different depending upon the horsehair. Its colour and thickness for example. All unique in their own way. Like horses themselves are.

Now I had the horsehair bracelet making bug. Encouraged by friends, more braids followed and more designs. For me it remains a hobby and not a business. This blog is here to share learning and patterns with you in the hope you will read this blog and be inspired to have a go at Kumihimo yourself.