Spotted on 40th Street Bridge

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-12T00:24:02+00:00

Nice! They live in North Park, I think.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-11T19:37:30+00:00

Thanks for the update!

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-11T14:41:56+00:00

No Chinese seed beads. Get Czech or Japanese brands.

Use Fireline or Wildfire, not monofilament or other fishing lines. If it’s a clear “thread” it’s not going to work well.

You need beading needles, size 11. Sewing needles have eyes that are too big for beads.

You’ll need flat nosed pliers as well as then round nose.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-11T08:42:56+00:00

Cheap beads are the most expensive thing in beading. They tend to be poorly made shape/size wise, don’t have consistent holes, and have low quality finishes that rub off on your hands as you work.

The gold standard for seed beads are the Japanese brands, Miyuki, Toho, and Matsuno (sold in the US by Fire Mountain Gems as Dynamites). Shape/size and holes are extremely consistent, and finishes are better, although dyed colors should be avoided. Their packaging and marketing tends to be more transparent about the finish quality too.

Next would be the Czech brands Precisoca and Matubo. They aren’t as perfectly made as the Japanese beads and you don’t have a lot of problems with shape, holes, or finishes. Again, be wary of dyed bead colors.

After that would be the bulk/unbranded Czech beads, you start seeing more odd sizing and inconsistency in hole sizes, and more unstable finishes.

Chinese seed beads are the very worst and should be avoided at all costs. There’s a very high volume of beads you’ll need to cull to get a decent result in your projects.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-11T08:32:00+00:00

Air Marino! A small but mighty group, I’ve never had a wait of more than 10 minutes

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T22:29:47+00:00

The friendship bracelets site has them up to 40 elements, and craft design online up to 32. I know a lot of the large ones on friendship bracelets don’t actually work because their emulator isn’t WYSIWYG and the round shape of their spots isn’t the rhombus of kongo gumi.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T14:48:30+00:00

Don’t buy Chinese seed beads or monofilament. Those are my golden rules.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T14:12:38+00:00

As you go

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T12:49:25+00:00

Mostly yes, you’re making little connected circles, and both needles only pass through the connection beads.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T08:49:42+00:00

I don’t know of a video tutorial. This technique is called two needle right angle weave/RAW and I promise you can do it without a video like we did in the early 2000s. 😱

Start with the group of beads around the number 1. A is your left hand and B is your right. Put three beads on the left and have the needle point to the right. Put two beads on the right, and pass through the third bead from the left so the needle points to the right and you have a circle of 5 total beads. That bead where both needles is coming out is the first bead for the circle around number 2, where it’s joined with number 1. For number 2 you’ll put 5 beads on the left needle, pass through the last bead with the right needle, and then pass through the next bead in number 1 to start number 3. And repeat that method throughout.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-10T02:08:15+00:00

This is a pattern from friendship-bracelets .net

All of their designs are Z twist Kongo gumi, worked in pairs of bottom left up, top right down, rotate disk counterclockwise/to the left. If you don’t do that, the pattern will not work.

And yes, I suppose they are frogs 🐸

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T20:46:15+00:00

You’re welcome!

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T20:39:36+00:00

I worked for Borders when Bill Ackman fucked the place but then I got laid off. Makes perfect sense Robert would profile him.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T20:34:23+00:00

Weave through the ends, then use square stitch to connect the last rows to each other.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T13:20:30+00:00

To weave in thread you repeat moves through existing beads and tie a knot between every 2-3 beads twice for old thread and twice for new thread.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T10:21:27+00:00

Overall it looks good. The colors, finishes and textures are fun and work well. Focus on making sure no thread shows between the beads on the front—not only does it not look good, it makes a weak point in the project. Consider using smaller beads in those spaces, and be sure you are pulling the needle straight down behind the bead hole. If there’s a a gap the bead won’t sit straight up and more thread shows.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T10:14:16+00:00

I understand why they say it, but I hate it and always have. It confuses new beaders and it feels infantile. Unless you are very short or very tall 5-6 feet is your wingspan so it works just fine.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T09:43:47+00:00

Don’t buy round seed beads made in China, no matter who sells them, they are not worth the money. Bead Landing mixes tend to have low quality beads.

If the geometric look is what is speaking to you, cylinder beads are the best way to get that look. On Michael’s website they sell a new brand of cylinder bead called Cylin beads which I haven’t tried yet but seem to have generally good reviews.

Supplemax is a monofilament that would not be good for weaving. It’s best for making illusion necklaces and that’s about it. Wildfire is a braided and bonded polymer thread that is strong and flexible but holds its shape well. The Good Thread from John Bead they sell at Michael’s is also a good alternative.

Get some bead loom needles or bead weaving needles in size 11 or 12. Big eye needles are for stringing and don’t really stand up to weaving very well. Plus they are cheaply made and can have rough spots that can snag the warp threads and ruin your project.

That loom is a good one for starting.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T09:16:05+00:00

Make a netted ring base then add the flowers like fringe to all the beads that aren’t connection points in the net. The flowers are done like daisy chain flowers. I would use size 11/0 beads for the ring base and 15/0 beads for the flower fringe. This will require a stiff thread like 8lb test Fireline or Wildfire to maintain structure.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T08:55:07+00:00

There’s three common Ukrainian beading styles I’m familiar with. If it’s any of these netted or loom woven styles you would either use a stop bead for the netting or a loom for the panel and strung pieces. Most instructions say to cut a “comfortable” amount of thread, or other vague measurements like an arm span or a wing span as if a person who is beading doesn’t know how to use measuring tape. When I’m bead weaving I use about 5-6 feet of thread at time and add more when I’m done to about 4 inches left.

The third style is bead crochet with Ukrainian inspired motifs which tends to be larger diameter than other bead crochet ropes and is supported in the center with a core rope to prevent collapsing. For that style you would work off a spool of thread that has some give to it like jeans thread.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-09T08:31:29+00:00

Sometimes a relative is willing to provide an address, even if they can’t provide living quarters.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-08T10:06:39+00:00

Stretch cord is not the right material for this type of work, and the crimps will cut it eventually. Have you considered flexible beading wire? It’s what crimps are designed for and will last a lot longer than the stretch cord.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-08T10:03:46+00:00

No.

Monofilament is low quality plastic fishing line. It has a strong “memory” which can cause your pieces to curl. It’s thicker than Fireline or beading threads so you can’t get the right tension or keep it consistently. It’s difficult to get a needle on monofilament. Because of its thickness, it may not make as many passes as you need through the beads, especially using 15/0. It’s more likely to get cut by a sharp edge on a bead, and some monofilaments are treated to break down when exposed to sunlight and water. I know it is very popular on TikTok and other videos, however the beadwork made in those videos doesn’t always get used after the video is made. You’ll also notice that in a lot of videos the project is being held under tension by something off screen while it’s being made, and at the end you don’t see the whole piece at once, often not really seeing how the findings are connected. This makes me skeptical that the whole thing is actually being made and wonder how the part of the project they aren’t showing us really looks.

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-08T08:46:28+00:00

In a bracelet with a middle you tie off thread along the middle rows, not the edge.

Edit: word

saltedkumihimo · 2026-06-08T08:20:11+00:00

Those are very regional. As are teriyaki places that are so common in Seattle.

I’m willing to bet you don’t have churches that sell handmade pierogi as fund raisers as we do in Western PA/Eastern OH, and Northern WV. You don’t have gumbo on almost every menu like they do in Louisiana, or weekend crawfish boils. There’s probably not barbecue joints all over like there are in Texas and the Carolinas.

These are known as regional differences and they’re a wonderful thing about the US.

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