Saturday 2 May 2009

Japanese Mizuhiki Cord

I don't suppose there's any reason why I should have heard of this cord before, but I haven't, and when I saw some online, I just had to bid. There is an explanation here, for those of you who don't know about this. Wikipedia contradicts the explanation on the above link, and says "The cord is created from rice paper, that is tightly wound, starched to give it stiffness, and then colored". Oh well, I'll leave it to you guys to investigate further if required. My cords appear to be wrapped in a foil like paper. The photos below don't really do the colours justice, they are extremely vibrant.. I have an idea I will try a couple of Keith Smiths pamphlet bindings with them, although i suspect they will be difficult to use, as they are a bit stiff to use as threads. I'll post my experiments, and you can judge. There are 40 cords, each 0.9m long.

5 comments:

lori vliegen said...

i've had some of this cord for years, and not known what to do with it...i'll be interested to hear how you like using it with your bookbinding. i also like your new stamp...great idea! :)

→lisa said...

I've seen those cords in Japanese shops before, but I never really knew what they were for...

Can't wait to see how you use them!

Simon said...

I'll certainly publish the results as soon as i have a go with them.

Jan Allsopp said...

Very interesting!

Unknown said...

i came across your site to learn more about it. i saw it on martha stewart weddings. you can make a knot out of it using Japanese knotting technique. http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/sheila-and-steve?&lpgStart=1&currentslide=3&currentChapter=1#ms-global-breadcrumbs