how-to : kumihimo, reused grocery bags and beads

I recently got into beading to see through this idea about making a ring inspired by mycelium. I collected a bunch of beads, thinking I might turn this into a series, but once that first ring idea was finished, I didn't want to make any more, at least for now. I still have all these gorgeous beads I collected from Austin Creative Reuse without a concrete plan. It is great to be able to incorporate them into my creative experimentation.

Adding beads to kumihimo cords is traditional, so finding learning resources was accessible. I just had to make a few adjustments to work with strands of grocery bags instead of traditional silk. Here is the video:

What didn't work great

• I hoped the produce bag would be thin enough to fit through smaller beads, but not so thin it snapped. The beads I picked were too small, and I wasn't ready to add a new variable, so I adjusted to a nylon cord for the beaded strands.

• The nylon cord was a bit slippery for the foam kumihimo disk notches, especially with the added weight of the beads.

What works great

• I loved how the beads could change the thickness of the cord.

What to try in the future:

• Experiment with thinner-cut grocery bags and see if I can be gentle enough, so they don't snap

• Play with different patterns of adding the beads and differently shaped beads

• Make my own beads out of single-use plastic

• Check out this Kumihimo playlist on YouTube to see what I have been working on.