Welcome to Accent Bead Design!

PAY ATTENTION!  We will be on the road from January 28 to February 11.  We will be at Monica's Quilt and Bead in Palm Desert, CA Jan. 29-30, teaching 4 kumihimo classes along with a trunk show.  Then it is on to Tucson for the Best Bead Show at the Kino Auditorium, Wed. Feb 3-7, 2010.  If you are near either place, stop by and say hi!  As a result, all orders placed between Jan 28 and Feb 10 will not be shipped until Feb. 11.  We apologize for this inconvenience.

Home of Kumihimo To Go!

                                         

      This book has more of everything!  More patterns.  More necklaces.  More great tips for making and finishing beautiful braids.  Suitable for beginners, challenging enough for the more experienced.  The book revisits the round braid (for beginners) and then pumps it up by adding seed beads and finishes without findings.  The Laramie Twist, the 16 bobbin Roundabout, a different round braid that lets you evenly space out beads and crystals called the Top and Bottom Tango, and the Color Tipped Swirl which puts an edge of color to a fabulous twist braid.  If that weren't enough, the book then tells you how to turn these great braids into beautiful necklaces.  Fun, elegant, artistic, fun!

Buy both books and save.   Look for Kumihimo book special under Kumihimo Books.



What is Kumihimo To Go? Kumihimo To Go is an inexpensive introduction to japanese braiding. The kit includes everything you need to make your first necklace. A kumihimo disc, bobbins, cord, end caps and clasp....and those all important instructions in English!. This is braiding by the numbers. Step by step photographs teach you the simple moves that create a uniform round braid. And best of all, you can take it anywhere!

On a plane, at the office, in a car, on the phone, while you wait, watching television. Anywhere! The disc is light and the patterns are repetitive so they are easy to remember.

Kumihimo To Go is an easy way to show off focal beads. Rather than stress over the many stringing components needed to show off that special bead, try making a perfectly color coordinated cord using inexpensive fibers. But don't limit yourself to yarns, make a leather bracelet for a man using strips of suede. How about custom tie-backs for curtains or shade pulls? Handles for purses or bags? Headbands? Edging for quilts and clothing? Embellishment for stamped cards and hand crafted books?

The disc and bobbins are reusable tool that you can make an unlimited number of items.

Radically different looks can be had just by changing the type of cord used. Try chenille yarn or embroidery floss. Check out the Kumihimo Gallery to see what is possible using the Kumihimo to Go kit. There are additional instructions available for other braid shapes and patterns.

Traditionally Kumihimo braids were made using a marudai which is a wooden stool with a hole in the center. Today's marudais are generally crafted in beautiful woods and can be very expensive. The bobbins, also made out of wood, are filled with lead to very exact weights...and again, very expensive. A marudai and 8 bobbins might run as high as $250.00. Yikes! And while they are beautiful, they are also big and heavy. Certainly not something you can take on a plane or tuck in a purse. That is why Kumihimo To Go is so great! You have the joy of making something truly beautiful without breaking the bank or your back!

Happy Braiding!