Braiding Shorter Lengths of Horsehair

Making a smaller kumihimo disc

In my last post I spoke about trying to work with some horsehair which had been kept in a bag for years. It needed a lot of nursing back to a condition where it could be used for braiding. Eventually it was ready.

If you have braided using kumihimo or if you have looked at some of the photos on this blog, you will know that there is a length of hair that cannot be braided, due to the size of the kumihimo loom and the strands needing to be held in place. What's the solution? Make a smaller loom.

I have a couple of very well used kumihimo looms or discs. So I took one of them and started to work on making it a much smaller disc.

After finding something of a similar size to the disc I wanted to make I marked the area then cut the shape out of the old disc.

Notches were cut to hold the hair in place.

The  new, smaller disc is about 9 cm or 3.5 inches in diameter. Ideal for braiding short lengths of horsehair where every millimeter counts. 

Not only was the hair short, it needed to be handled carefully due to age and condition. The braid on the loom is a 16 warp (with 5 hairs per warp) braid. The plan is to produce several short braids to bring together in a necklace. This is going to be quite a challenge and is a step beyond anything I have done so far. But the braid and the small loom are working well. 

Using a smaller disc is of course quite tricky. You need to concentrate and work the moves in short bursts to avoid making a mistake. 

In this last photo you can compare the original size disc with the newer, small one. The braid too is much shorter than you would want to make ordinarily, but if short is all you have, this is one option you can use.

In future blog posts there will be more ideas for using short bits of precious horsehair, so you can keep happy memories close by in the form of something of quality you can make and wear.

To read part two of this item click here Part 2

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.

 

A Bracelet to Remember a Loved Equine Friend

Over the past seven years I have got to know and grown very fond of a mare called Stella. A very athletic and elegant horse. Stella had many high points in her life and had been with her owner Jo for many years, since she was young. She had competed at one time.

One of the high points was Stella leading the way on a Halloween ride. She stopped traffic on a busy Saturday morning as she pranced along in her costume as the mount of the grim reaper, or maybe it was the headless horseman.

Stella was a good support for our new young horse, Charlie. She gave him confidence on his first big outings.

Sadly Stella became severely ill and could not be helped. 

It was quite difficult to make a bracelet for owner Jo, having known Stella for so long. It was a sad process but it turned into a happier one. The horse hair having grown over a long period of time, when Stella was still healthy and active.

The bracelet was finished using sterling silver crimp ends.

 

The hair had a natural curl to it adding character to the final piece. Hopefully the bracelet will provide a lasting memory for years to come of a lovely horse.

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!

Horsehair Necklace, 'Clover' Design

When I first started out making bracelets I had in mind to try doing a necklace. The thinking was, it would be lovely to have a bracelet and a matching necklace to wear.

The first few necklaces were quite successful but short. Even using the longest lengths of hair the finished necklace lacked the length I and many people like to wear. I knew that one day I would work through how to join braids together and create designs that work.

Here is the first of the designs. There are three braids, joined with sterling silver ends. The middle braid has two pretty spacer beads to add interest.

The hair used is from our lovely Fell Pony Drifter who succumbed to laminitis this year and new horse, four year old Charlie. Charlie's hair has kinks in it which give the braid an individual look. The natural kinks made the hair more difficult to control when braiding but with an even tension, the braid pattern is maintained with just an odd bend here and there caused by the kinks in the hair.

Each braid is slightly shorter than an average bracelet braid which means the shorter lengths of hair can be used on a project like this.

All of the braids were made using a 16 warp kumihimo design with approximately 6 hairs per warp.

A horsehair bracelet as a perfect Christmas gift

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Isn't it exciting to open presents and find one that is just so special and personal? I have been busy working on more designs and finding out ways to make things easier to do. Finally I am making something for me. It is a necklace and the first of three braids is completed. The silver ends arrived today. They are pretty crimp ends which I am starting to really like. They look good and hold the hair well.

The necklace will be a present to myself after a year of trials and tribulations. I may even wrap it and put it under the tree to make it extra special!

When Christmas Day arrives I know that there are some young ladies who will be opening a very special present they can treasure. That makes me very pleased and proud even, that this project has come so far in quite a short time.

Here is a recent bracelet from the tail of a lovely pony called Polly-Belle.

You can see the crimp ends I mentioned earlier. The clasp is a pretty heart shaped lobster clasp.

If you search a while you will find the ends and fastenings that catch your eye.

This bracelet has a small chain to allow it to grow as its owner grows up.

Polly Belle

I hope you all enjoy the holiday season. Soon I will post about the new necklace designs I am working on right now

Bracelets from Gullberi and Glampi

Today I want to tell you about a recent project, making bracelets for mother and daughter from tail hair of their stunning Icelandic horses, Gullberi and Glampi who live in Scotland.



You can see here how lovely these two are. The hair of both horses was beautiful, with a range of colours. The bracelets were made using both sets in the weave. That is eight warps each in a sixteen warp braid.











Here the clasps are different to the ones I've used previously. The ends are sterling silver and the clasps, Tibetan silver.

Lighter hair does seem to be a little more thin than darker hair and so I used seven hairs per warp of light hair compared to five of dark in each warp. Working out just how many to have in each group or warp comes with experience, but don't worry, it is actually quite hard to tell any difference. 

Some people are quite surprised when they feel the texture of the bracelet. A friend recently commented she thought that something like nylon was added. It wasn't at all. It is all 100% horse hair. It holds together very well when used in Kumihimo creating a lasting, durable piece of jewellery to wear.