Now that you have made all these now what do you do with the ends. 

Traditionally braid ends were whip stitched with tasseled ends.  A simple knot on each end will work as well. Or end caps can be attached to each end to make a necklace. 

You can braid enouh codage to make a full set of Lamaller Armor

Beads can also be incorporated into the braid structure for interesting modern jewelry pieces

Most of my practice braids become medallion cords for awards.

To see examples of some of my braids Head into my picture gallery of some of the pictures

Click Here to get to the Picture Gallery.

 

I remembered to update my page on 5/26/2013

How to Finish the Ends

Tama

Tama—-bobbins (generally not needed for the cardboard method unless braiding a long braid)

I have used various items to make tama.  Old round clothespins, bobbin lace bobbins, nuts and bolts, drawer knobs, electric fence insulators, floss holders, and empty film canisters.

How to make film canister 70gr tama

Empty film canister with lid

2 rubber bands

28 US pennies

Bobbin ties—double the length of the radius of the top of the stand  plus 4-6inches  (Example: 6 inch diameter marudai  would need 10-12 inch ties measured out)

Postal Scale that measures in grams

Place a rubber band on each end of the film canister so your threads won’t slip off.

If you're working with bobbins with 28 pennies each, your bobbin weight could be anywhere from 70 grams to 87 grams (Pre 1983 pennies weight abit more).  Place 28 pennies into the film canister.  Then double a bobbin tie, tie a knot in the loose ends and then hitch knot the tie around the canister.  The tie is to help maximize using all the thread available in the braid.  Weight each one and adjust the number of pennies til they are all of equal weight.

The most popular weights for tama are 70 and 100gr.

The reason to keep all the weights equal is the change in tension on each set of thread(s) can skew the braid.

Counterweight Bag

The braid can be loose or tight. 

The counter weight bag on average should be half of the total weight of the bobbins

For a loose braid, the counter weight needs to be heavier than half the total Tama weight.

For a tight braid, the counter weight needs to be lighter than half the total Tama weight.

When I am working on a slotted disk I use a large nail clipper or thread clippers as the counterweight.

Left: my slotted disk with bobbin lace bobbins

Above: My drawer knob Tama that weigh around 15 grams