Beth KempTwist, Turn & Tie 50 Japanese Kumihimo Braids: A Beginner's Guide to Making Braids for Beautiful Cord Jewelry

This is exactly what anyone interested in starting kumihimo should get! This book somehow gives a detailed explanation to things but is also very simple with clear pictures of everything. It is a nice sturdy hardcover that stays open while it's set down.It covers everything from supplies typically used, comparison charts to help you choose materials, techniques used to knot, patterns, and templates to make your own kumihimo board if you need them. There are little footnotes throughout the book that give you little tip, tricks, and ideas.The book has simple illustrations for the patterns, which is fantastic for visual learners like me. There is also a gorgeous color photograph of a real project made with each pattern.The book starts with more simple techniques then progresses to more advanced techniques as you read through it. All the patterns have a chart showing the skill level needed for the project as well as a list of recommended supplies, down to the number of beads.I was unnecessarily worried (after reading another review) that the included cardboard disk was more decoration than for actual use. I was afraid it would pop out of the front of the book and would leave a permanent hole in the cover and wouldn't go back in.I was pleased to see that the disk is held in place because it's between two pieces of clear plastic that pop together. There's a little tab on the clear plastic inside the cover that is easy to pull up. The clear part closes securely and is fixed in place.I couldn't wait to test out the included disk on my very first project since I'm still waiting on nicer boards in the mail. I used horsehairs as my 'thread' and keep a fairly tight tension. It worked perfectly! I can definitely use it multiple times too.I am very pleased to have gotten this book and recommend it to anyone wanting to get a book with an overview on kumihimo, as well as instructions to many great projects. Fantastic book for visual learners.

This book is wonderful. I've bought a couple other instructional books but none of them as informative as this one. It even has a short chapter on types of yarn which I found very useful. It clearly walks you through beginning to end. I highly recommend this book for any beginner!

I wonder who thought it was a good idea to include a kumihimo disc on the cover of this book? Not me, as I use this book, I keep knocking the disc out of the cover and my hand keeps going through the hole made by the absent of the disc! (The good thing is when I am on the floor searching for the disc,I find many the beads that I previously dropped.) However, after the upteempth time this happened I finally taped it shut.I purchased this book even though I was not a beginner, as review stated those with intermediate skills with Kumihimo would find it helpful and I did. I was looking for a certain pattern and this book did not have it, but I discovered a wonderland of many beautiful and interesting projects. I also found Kemp's explanations helpful and love the visuals that were provided. In fact, one pattern I was working on in another book but was stuck was in this book and clarified my problem so I was able to finish the pattern. The first part of the book was the basic information for beginners so I believe that would be very helpful for beginners. I gave the book four starts instead of five because some of threads Kemp uses are difficult to find in the USA, and therefore knowing the amounts to use I found confusing. And I hate the kumihimo disc that keeps falling out of this book.

Great book. Very helpful. Lots of pictures and diagrams

My favorite book for Kumihimo designs and inspiration! Wonderful quality and gorgeous on my Kindle Fire (which I can't say for most books with print photos). I got tired of doing spirals and wanted to go further but other books have such mixed reviews and I kept seeing websites refer to THIS book - and I had to have it. I thought my next step was making myself an awesome Marudai. Oh, no, I have a lot more to learn as you'll discover in this book. I'm so thrilled with the Kindle version, I'm buying the print version as I do with all of my reference books in case the grid goes down.Once I made my first pass through it, I knew the diagrams and 'shopping lists' for all projects were keepers. Fabulous, illustrated, step-by-baby-step diagrams are so clear, you can't get lost. I went to look for a 'version 2' of this (Ms. Kemp, please let me know if that happens) but I can see the 50 patterns in this book can lead to hundreds of one-of-a-kind, beautiful, bracelets, and necklaces.Anyone - really, anyone, from beginner to advanced - will LOVE this book and won't regret their purchase of it.

If you have had experiences ordering books with the hope that they would show you some detailed diagrams/pics/steps to whatever process you were trying to learn and they inevitably often failed; well have peace of mind knowing that this book is ready to meet that challenge. I was so happy to see lots of pictures,great references to view certain Kumihomo styles strewn throughout the book (with pages), so that one can learn as they go/process exactly with a visual. Some people learn visually and you can tap into that with this book as well as clear,easy to follow steps and prime examples. I love how they were very detailed about measuring and knowing how much supplies one might need. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Kumihomo. If only ordering all books were this successful. Definitely a thumbs up, make that two thumbs up!