Kumihimo Basics and Beyond: 24 Braided and Beaded Jewelry Projects on the Kumihimo Disk

First of all, I love this book. It is well designed. The instructions are clear. Every piece is something I'll try. Kudos to the author for doing a great job.Okay, the only problem I have with it is the following statement. "The jewelry designs in KUMIHIMO BASICS & BEYOND are the copyrighted property of the author, and they may not be taught or sold without permission. Please use them for your education and personal enjoyment only".Let me start by stating that I'm a retired librarian and, I know a little bit about copyright protection and believe in it. No problem copyrighting this book start to finish. No, you can't copy it, sell parts of it, use it as the basis for a class. Just fine. Just what copyright was meant to do. Three cheers for you.But then it goes terribly wrong. The designs in it are your interpretations of existing designs. You may have used colors in each project t that are unique but how would you know even that. I have many books on kumihimo with projects just like yours. In fact, I would be concerned, if I were you, claiming copyright on any of the designs you feature. They are everywhere.What you did better than anyone was write and excellent tool for learning to do kumihimo. That you can copyright proudly. The rest, seriously? Kumihimo has been around for a very long time. I venture to say there is little original anywhere..Copyrighting ideas that are not your own cheapens the intent of copyright protection.Enough said

Beautifully written, designed and illustrated, this book provided me with exactly the introduction to kumihimo I was looking for. To me, it is comparable in quality and utility to Carol Wilcox Wells' 1998 "Creative Bead Weaving" as a guide to getting started in a new craft discipline. One more advanced braider/reviewer commented that it might appeal primarily to beaders looking to incorporate kumihimo into their beadwork; I am one such, and it certainly works for me. I am not particularly interested in copying others' designs and projects (which is one reason I don't like beadwork classes and kits). But simply by reading and studying Rebecca Combs' projects and instructions I was able to glean the information and confidence I needed to get started playing with my own bead and fiber combinations on the braiding disk. The Kumihimo Math sections and Troubleshooting hints are clearly presented and show up exactly where you need an answer to a question you didn't even have to ask. Though I don't take classes, I can recognize and appreciate a great teacher when I read one, and here she is. Thank you, Rebecca Combs, for opening the door to kumihimo for me.

I had the good fortune of taking a class with the author of this book, but believe that I could have easily learned how to do this with just her book alone. I won't say that her class didn't make it easier.I had always wondered how to figure out how many beads to put on each warp, whether they were required on each warp, etc. This book spells it all out, and quite concisely.It is written in easily understandable terms. I have found that not all beading authors are also capable of writing instructions that can be understood once one is away from their personal guidance, but such is not the case with Ms. Combs writing.This is not my first Kumihimo book purchase and I have found excellent information in all the books I have purchased, but so far, this is my favorite. I will admit that this may well be because I was taught under the author and found her to be quite personable, patient and humorous. But, she has also written a very good book on the subject.I hope she writes many more.

I own dozens of beading books, and this one is truly exceptional -- even the book design deserves an award! I am fairly new to 8-strand beaded kumihimo, and this book has clear and well-illustrated answers to all my questions, from selecting the right-sized cord and combining fibers, to braiding with large or multiple sizes of beads, to incorporating pendants and multiple focal beads on a braid. Combs' projects each introduce a new technique, but it's not just "follow these instructions and make what I made." For the various projects, she explains why it works, how to modify it, and how to change the length. Her many "Troubleshooting" pages are invaluable, as are her easy-to-follow explanations of "Kumihimo Math". She also shows you how to arrange both different colors and larger-scale beads (teardrops, magatamas, etc.) to achieve different patterns. Her explanations are so clear, I feel like I'm sitting in the same room with her. I am not someone who usually writes book reviews (this is my first!) and I don't know Rebecca, but she's definitely written a classic.

I am a beginner at Kumihimo and this book is very clear and concise on the variations that can be done with kumihimo braiding. I especially have enjoy the little hints that she gives throughout the book.The instructions are clear.The illustrations are clear.The hints make sense.The only problem is finding some of the different materials that she uses to make the different braids. After searching on the web, I ended up with about 6 different sources to get the materials at the best price. The best way I found was to make an Excel spreadsheet with the materials I would need for each project and then spent a good amount of time finding web sites that had the material or beads and then putting the data in the spreadsheet. Then depending on sales or coupons and how many projects I wanted to purchase for - then I had the information to place the order.

this is and excellent book, it even gives you instruction on how to recognize where you went wrong, very comprehensive and thorough with lots of different projects and techniques to use. It starts at the beginning and takes you through to more advanced braiding. Even if you are and experienced braider it is still a very good manual. Would recommend

This book is fantastic for learning how to do kumihimo, especially if you want to use beads as I do. The instructions are very clear and easy to understand and follow. The 'kumihimo maths' for each project are very good and make it easy for you to work out your own measurements etc.I would definitely recommend this book, its becoming my most used book.

Good book. Clear instructions and pictures.

I have been doing Kumihimo for a little while so knew a bit about it. This is an excellent book both for beginners and people like me. It gives a lot of good tips and is very explicit with its instructions for various projects.. I hope Rebecca will do another book sometime.

great stuff, arrived quickly and meets my requirements, thanks