Putting End Caps on Your Kumihimo Braids

Kumihimo is my new thing. I absolutely love it for a good couple of reasons.  

1. It’s incredibly easy to learn.
2. It’s a project that doesn’t take too much concentration so you can keep your hands busy while watching TV.
3. Playing with the placement of cords produces some really interesting results (gotta love experimentation!)
4. It’s as cheap or as expensive as the supplies you use. 
5. The color combinations are endless. 

WAIT! Need to learn how to make the braids? Check out this post first: Kumihimo 8 strand cord tutorial.

I know I’ve mentioned here before that I have a hard time with millimeters. And guess what, you kind of need to get mm when buying jewelry notions because they’re all in mm. And since I can’t have Midsommarflicka, who lives in Europe and knows all about it right by my side while I’m online shopping for beads and findings, I have to guesstimate. Hiya, Mid! (check out her blog So, It Was Weekend. And I was Bored.

That’s right, I freaking guesstimate. If I see something I like I buy it in the size I think I need and then I just wing I buy either one bigger or one smaller. Sometimes this system works out but most of the time it doesn’t. So on my recent shopping spree for findings for my kumihimo ends, you guessed it, I guesstimated on what would work.

And when the package came in the mail today I ripped that sucker open and got right to figuring out what would work and what wouldn’t. (and by the by, not all of that is even Kumihimo stuff. Just dumped that sucker out and got to it!)

So first off here are my findings: 6 mm end caps work well with a bit of extra space (but not annoyingly so) for 8 strand braids made from the 1mm rattail. 4mm caps work well for the 8 strand braids made from 1mm also, but the fit is really tight and I had a hard time getting them on, but it’s totally doable. 8mm end caps work well for the 8 strand braid with 2mm rattail. See, isn’t that simple? I have NO clue why I couldn’t find this information anywhere online. But it’s on the webs now, baby!

Even better is here are the exact caps I used:

Barrel cord ends for up to 8mm  — Works well for 8 strand kumihimo made with 2mm rattail.

Bullet Cord Ends for Kumihimo up to 8mm  — Works well for 8 strand braids made from 2mm rattail.

Bullet Cord Ends for Kumihimo up to 6mm cord — Works well for 8 strand Kumihimo made with 1mm rattail

Bullet Cord Ends for Kumihimo up to 4mm cord — Works well for 8 strand Kumihimo made with 1mm rattail but it is a tight, tight fit.

For this project you will need: 

• Cord ends
• Jump rings and Toggle Closures
• Tape
• Scissors
• Strong glue like E-6000 or Quick Hold E-6000
• Jewelry pliers 

Take your finished strand and give it a good stretch. It will stretch out one way but doesn’t have give to go back. So if you don’t stretch to begin with when it does it will be way too big.

Grab the tape and wrap tightly around the braid.

Use your scissors to make a clean cut.Slip into the end cap and make sure it fits well and trim down so that the cap covers the tape on the braid. LEAVE THE TAPE ON. If you remove it things just start unraveling on you and it is a mess.

Place a few drops of glue into the cap. Give it a few seconds, or the duration on the directions, for it to become tacky.

Shove the cap on and put the braid to the side until it is fairly dry. Measure around your wrist, tape, cut and glue on the cap for the other end. Set aside until good and dry (a few hours is great).

If you got a kumihimo findings kit you’ll also get these nifty bails to add charms to your necklaces or bracelets.

To finish up, use a jump ring to secure your findings to the loop on the end of the bullet cap.

Be sure the glue is dry before trying to wear so you don’t accidentally pull the cord out of the end.

I love how easily you could make a stack of arm candy with these bracelets! I just dug braids I’d already made out of my stash and put ends on the ones I thought were the prettiest!

You can use whatever closure you like best, but I think that the toggles work exceptionally well. Above is a 8 strand kumihimo braid using 2mm rattail finished using the barrel caps for up to 8mm.

And if you make the cord especially long, you can either turn it into a necklace or a wrap bracelet.

And that’s all she wrote! I hope that this post finds you well and helps you out if you, like me, just can’t seem to manage millimeters!