Beautiful Braiding Made Easy

As a professional textile artist, Helen Deighan has been making quilts since 1984. Initially working from existing patterns, she soon started developing her own designs. And, when she couldn't find the right colour or shade to fit - she dyed her own. Over the past ten years she has created many exciting dyeing effects using everyday household objects - from cat litter trays and drain pipes to her now famous plastic freezer bags! Helen's latest passion is designing and making textile coil pots.

• An introductionUsing the Kumihimo diskMore ideas for using the Kumihimo diskUsing the Kumihimo plateMore ideas for using the Kumihimo plateBraiding with beads

The author is an experienced braider who started out on a wooden Madurai before discovering Kumihimo disks and plates. She subsequently found that some of her students, previously put off by complex instructions and expensive equipment, were thrilled that they were able to make braids using these simple little tools.Having recently progressed in the opposite direction, from disk to Marudai, I expected to find this small book a little too simplistic. Far from it. The first eight-thread braid was one that I recognised. On the very next page was a sixteen-thread braid that I might have been reluctant to try, but her diagrams and explanations were so clear that I fished out my disk and made one straight away.In the next section she explained how to change the patterns using different arrangements of the coloured threads around the disk at the start, which I now understand. Later sections covered how to reverse the spiral, hollow braids with and without inserts, triangular braids, chevrons, flat braids, woven braids, zig zag braids and braids with beads. In just 45 pages the author has managed to rekindle my enthusiasm and I will be making much more ambitious braids using my old disk. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to both novice and experienced braiders.