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The following Mizuhiki ideas have been edited from their original postings on the OSA Yahoo! Group. Background Information: Mizuhiki (pronounced Mee-zoo-hee-kee) are traditional Paper cords (very thin) which are wrapped with shiny gold foil and stiffened with starch. The art of tying Mizuhiki knots and using it as a decorative art form upon gifts, tags, cards etc. - is a dying art form in Japan. More and more of the Japanese youth are "looking West" and abandoning their traditional culture and arts. Mizuhiki is a Japanese paper craft which has a long history and tradition as a symbol of peaceful Japan. Today we still use Mizuhiki craft to decorate rituals, ceremonies as well as greeting gifts. Simple, but highly skillful handcraft by artisans is extraordinary admirable and sophisticated. Their skills have been rehearsed by their ancestors for centuries. It is said there used to be many people able to tie mizuhiki and make it by themselves in early 20th century. Old documents say they would teach how to tie mizuhiki at school in Iida. The knot in the Asian Arts issue referred to as a "Josephine Knot" is actually the "awabi musubi" which means abalone shell. It is a continuous knot formed out of one long strand. More strands are added to create the width of the knot. The shape of the knot implies a shell shape and is named accordingly. The "clam shell knot" is known as the "daki awabi musubi"and has two different strands to form the knot which signifies the clam shell. The abalone shell is thought to bring good luck and the knot ends are face up to bring in the good luck. Knots bring bad luck if the ends point to the ground. Mizuhiki lends itself to knotting and is closely related to the Chinese art of Tying Knots. People who remember macrame are thrilled at the new use for their knowledge and the exciting projects created using Mizhuhiki. Mizuhiki paper cord comes in 22 brilliant jewel tone and iridescent colors. The cords are made by twisting and rolling strong paper, starching it for added strength, then covering it with colored mylar, plastic or silk. Mizuhiki is perfect for embellishing many paper craft projects, making them more unique and special. It makes beautiful, lightweight jewelry too! Mizuhiki Cord
Tips: You can mount the knot tied from Mizuhiki cords onto a card with craft cement or wear it as a pin all by itself for good luck. The knot can be sealed with a clear acrylic spray. Use e6000 adhesive although it isn't fast drying. Hot glue guns can burn your fingers. Or use glue dots. Tie "Good Luck" knot with silk cord because it works much better with silk cords as it needs a lot of "manipulation." Work on a cork
mat (like the ones used to put hot cooking pots on) in conjunction with
pins. Dressmakers used to pin down the cords as they were going along.
Unpin the cord when you need to move it to the next step then repin
the cord down to secure it - and go to the next step. You can affix them all with thin strips of pink Wondertape (by Suze Weinberg) and they hold together flat then. Double-sided adhesive tape can be used to create the gold border strips above and beneath the knot, then sprinkling gold embossing powder (aka EP) on it before heating it to melt the EP. To secure the cords after forming the knot and getting the strands all lined up, spread an even layer of white glue or clear glue on the back of the knot and it seals it very nicely. If you need to stiffen the thread up to make it look like fake "mizuhiki" cord... all you need to do is pull the thread through a lump of beeswax. Members contributing
to the information listed above in their original posts are: |
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