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Makigami: Recycle Newspaper into Beautiful Jewelry teaches how to tur
newspaper into amazingly complex braided jewelry. 131 pages filled w
photos and diagr
with detailed step
by-step instructio
14 videos in high
definition ensure your
success!
Detailed planningguide for earrings,
pendants, rings, a
much more!
Make gifts that friends
and family will rave
about for years tocome!
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 1 B e n j a m i n J o h n C o l e m a n
Copyright © 2011 Benjamin John Coleman, All Rights Reserved.
Special thanks to my cousin Gretchen Anderson who helped develop the makigami rolling solution
presented in this book, and also to Helen Coleman for teaching me how to braid.
Thank you “Mops” and “Pops” for proofing, editing and contributing to this book.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 1 B e n j a m i n J o h n C o l e m a n
Table of Contents
Introduction i
Learning to Braid 1
Learning to Make Makigami 18
Braided Jewelry 39
Working with Color 57
Clip On Designs 74
Working with Grayscales 104
Project Reference Guide 111
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
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Introduction
A Short History of Braiding
Ask the average person about braids and they’ll prob
ably respond
with references to hair braiding. Interestingly, that’s probably not
the first material humans braided. Like just about everything
we do, braids were invented by early humans to solve a
problem. What that problem was isn’t known, however
the solution, braiding, was widely adopted all over
our planet thousands of years before electronic
communication. That all these early peoples
invented, developed, and taught subsequent
generations how to braid is testament to its
usefulness.
What’s particularly interesting about a braid ishow it strengthens the materials from which it is
made. If you pick three stems of tall grass, line
them up in parallel, grab the ends with your hands,
and pull, you’ll find the grass pulls apart quite easily.
Collect three more stems of tall grass, braid them,
and apply the same pulling pressure and you’ll find
something else happens. Instead of immediately breaking,
the braid tightens! If the grass is strong enough you may be
unable to break the braided piece.
Braiding becomes particularly advantageouswhen pulled and then pushed. These forces
are similar to those applied to a leash when a
dog is attached to it; alternating hard pulls and
relaxations quickly weaken three unbraided
stems of grass. Three braided stems retain
their strength despite these additional
forces. When you consider a key element
of early human development;
domestication of animals, the need for
braided rope becomes clear. How else
could a small early human control, without
killing, a large beast like a cow or horse?
According to Deborah Harding, collection
manager at the Carnegie Museum of Natural
History, braiding is an ancient craft. “A
waterlogged braid from somewhere between 6,000
and 4,000 BCE has been found in Windover, Florida, USA,”
she said. However she added that because braids are made
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
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from natural materials, like grasses, braiding
probably began much, much earlier.
We won’t find evidence of these
ancient braids because they
have biodegraded.
According to
Harding, braiding
is defined as
interlacing a
number of
elements
(strands) on a
diagonal. The
smallest number of
elements that can be
braided is three. Three is also
the most common braid found, used to braid everything from hair to rope. Braids allowed earlyhumans to quickly make strong cord from fragile materials, like grasses. “Braids are made up of multiple
strands in opposition to each other so they can stand being twisted without breaking or falling apart,”
she said.
While braided cords were useful to early humans, braids were also used as a decoration. “Traditional
groups are still using decorative braids on clothing trim today,” she said, “braiding is world-wide.”
What Makigami Is
In 2009 I had just completed my first book Origami Bonsai (Tuttle, 2010). The book describes how to
attach origami flowers and leaves to real tree branches to make botanical sculptures. As most authorsdo, I fantasized about the book becoming popular. My fantasy didn’t end with fast cars and big
houses. Instead I imagined urban parks stripped of tree branches - an inner-city
environmental disaster, and an author being criticized for his work. I immediately
set out to develop a way to make branches.
I wanted to make the branches from paper so I’d
have an elegant paper solution for making
sculptures. This was no small task
because tree branches taper. How
could I make a paper branch
with taper? It seemed
impossible. I began
experimenting with ink jet
paper but it didn’t behave
the way I needed it to.
Eventually I discovered that
newspaper was the perfect
solution, and developed
makigami, a material made by
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
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saturating newspaper with a
liquid, rolling it tightly, shaping
it and then curing it in a car in
the hot sun.
Makigami was the perfect
solution to my paper branch
problem. Not only was I
recycling the morning’s
newspaper, but I was also
creating a biodegradable work
of art. I knew almost
immediately that makigami had
tremendous potential for other
applications.
Makigami and Braiding
I first braided Makigami during
the summer of 2010. My niece Helen, then 12 years old, laughed at me when I told her I needed to
learn how to braid. She couldn’t believe I didn’t know how. I rolled three strips of makigami and then
she braided them. My jaw dropped when I saw what she produced.
The braided makigami was intricate. It had a fractal pattern, or more accurately a tessellated pattern,
almost like that of a pine cone. Highly visually stimulating, the piece was still flexible enough to be
molded. This was truly a “eureka” moment. I soon began experimenting with how taper affected the
braid and discovered new
intricate shapes I had never
seen before.
The combination of makigami,
taper, braiding, color, and
molding creates new, uniquely
shaped patterns that have yet
to be explored. Through this
combination we make highly
complex intricate jewelry that
looks as if it took many hours
to create. With practice, you
will develop skills that allow
you to create this type of
jewelry in a matter of minutes.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 1 B e n j a m i n J o h n C o l e m a n vi | P a g e
Keeping it Green
While this art form is earth friendly, there are a few
things you can do to make it even more so. At first
glance one would think that all of our byproducts,
like bits of rolled makigami, failed projects and scrapsof paper are recyclable. For a better understanding
of what is and isn’t recyclable, I spoke to Marcel
Lussier who sells processed recycled materials to the
recycling industry for the Rhode Island Resource
Recovery Corporation.
According to Lussier, “The buyers of recycled paper
will at some point have to convert it into pulp to
make new paper.” Lussier further explained that the
paper is sorted and sold as different grades. Scraps of newspaper will go through this sorting process
and be recycled, but hardened pieces of makigami will be sorted out and thrown away as contaminants.
He also said “any paper that is treated in some way, especially treatments that strengthen like posters,
blueprints and laminations, will not break down in the pulping process.” In other words, if you put
mak igami in your recycling bin you’ll actually be reducing the efficiency of the recycling process.
Do not recycle any newspaper that has been exposed to makigami rolling solution.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
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How to Clean and Reuse Latex Gloves
You don’t need to use gloves to make makigami, but it saves an awful lot of time, and avoids much of
the mess. Here is a method for cleaning and reusing gloves. Most gloves last at least eight sessions, but
some last as many as 20.
1. When you f inish a project don’t take off your
gloves. Wash them while they’re still on, using a soft
sponge to remove any dried paint or rolling solution.
2. Allow the gloves to dry overnight. They will be
inside-out. It’s okay to leave them that way.
3. When you’re ready to use them again, blow
them up like a balloon. Sometimes the fingers tend
to get stuck, so pull or twist them until they fill with
air.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Introduction
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4. Turn the glove right-side-out.
5. Blow the glove up again. It is ready to wear.
Additional Tips for Reusing Gloves
I keep an inventory of both new and used gloves.
Never try to put on a wet pair of gloves. It’s almost impossible.
Applying talcum powder to your hands makes putting gloves on easier.
Discard any glove that has a hole in it.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 1: Learning to Braid
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1 Learning to Braid
Braiding is amazingly easy to do if you already know how to do it. If you don’t, it seems amazingly
complex. These statements seem to contradict each other. The simple truth is, there is a secret to
braiding that makes it amazingly simple. Once you know the secret you’ll be able to braid anything
anytime anywhere.
You can practice braiding with string, shoelaces, yarn, or just about anything narrow and flexible. You’ll
figure out how to braid quickly, so you don’t need to find three different color strands. Look at the
pictures on the following pages and then begin to practice. Before you begin your first project you
should be able to braid without referring to this book.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 1: Learning to Braid
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We begin with the simplest of braids, the three-strand braid.
1. Separate the strands, one to the upper left
and two to the upper right.
2. Move the top right strand (red) to the
lower left.
3. Move the top left strand (blue) to the
lower right.
4. Move the top right strand (yellow) to the
lower left.
5. Move the top left strand (red) to the lower
right.
6. Move the top right strand (blue) to the
lower left.
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7. Move the top left strand (yellow) to the
lower right.
8. Return to step 2 and repeat the steps.
As you completed the steps you should have noticed a pattern. The top strand of the side with the most
strands always moves to the lowest position on the opposite side. This is the secret to braiding, and it
works for any odd number of strands.
You should also notice that the pattern repeats. Look at the pictures in step 2 and step 8. The
configuration of the loose ends of the strands is exactly the same. Red is the furthest up (in the picture),
followed by blue on the opposite side and then yellow on the same side. When we braid, all we do is
repeat this pattern over and over again.
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Let’s see if we can braid five strands using the same technique:
1. Separate the strands, two to the upper left
and three to the upper right.
2. Move the top right strand (red) to the
lower left.
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3. Move the top left strand (blue) to the
lower right.
4. Move the top right strand (green) to the
lower left.
5. Move the top left strand (white) to the
lower right.
6. Move the top right strand (yellow) to the
lower left.
7. Move the top left strand (red) to the lower
right.
8. Move the top right strand (blue) to the
lower left.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 1: Learning to Braid
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9. Move the top left strand (green) to the
lower right.
10. Move the top right strand (white) to the
lower left.
11. Move the top left strand (yellow) to the
lower right.
12. Return to step 2 and repeat the steps.
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First, notice that the same technique we used with a three strand braid also worked with a five strand
braid. All we did is move the highest strand to the lowest position on the opposite side. Also notice that
the configuration of the loose ends of the strands in step 12 is exactly the same as in step 2, just like
steps 8 and 2 in the 3-strand braid.
Take a look at the pictures below. The left image shows the 3-strand braid we made at the beginning of
this chapter; the right shows the 5-strand we just completed. Notice the differences in the patterns.
The 5-strand braid has longer angled segments, whereas the 3-strand braid has shorter segments. In the
3-strand each strand is constantly changing direction, in the 5 strand each strand becomes a straight line
as it crosses the top of the braid. These differences may be useful to you in your designs.
The 3-strand braid we made at the beginning of
this chapter.
The 5-strand braid we just completed.
Take a look at the following pages to see what happens as we braid with pairs and triplets of strands
rather than single strands. This is where braiding starts to gets really interesting.
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Practice before you begin a project:
We want to simulate braiding makigami strips as
closely as possible, so it’s time to build a braidingclamp. I use parts of a nifty “helping hand” tool I
bought some years ago, along with a wide clip. I use
this configuration because I don’t have a lot of space.
Another option is to clamp a wide clip to the bottom of
your work surface.
It’s easy to practice braiding. All you’ll need is three
shoelaces, or something similar like strands of yarn,
string, or ribbon. Clamp the strands in your wide
clip as shown. Set up the laces so that only a small
amount protrudes from the wide clip.
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While makigami strips are not particularly delicate, their surfaces are. Even the slightest abrasion can
cause unsightly tears in the surface. To avoid this, practice braiding by touching only as necessary to
complete the braid.
When you braid, make sure you are only touching where you need to. Do not run your fingers down the
laces to avoid knots. If you get knots on the unbraided side of the laces it means you’ve got too much
protruding from the clamp.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 1: Learning to Braid
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3-Strand Braid made with Pairs
Notice that our finished pattern is
of alternating colors. This braid
looks amazing when three shades
of the same color are used.
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5 Strand Braid made with Pairs
Notice that blue dominates the
left; yellow the middle and red
the right. This is a wonderful
braid either with shades of thesame color or using five different
colors.
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3-Strand Braid made with Alternating Pairs
At first glance you might not notice a
pattern, but in fact this is a powerful
braid. Yellow, which is the leftmost
strand above, dominates the left side
of the finished braid. Red, the
rightmost stand above, dominates the
right side. This is a highly useful
braid. Two shades of the same color
create a sort of highlight, or direction.
Using two vastly different colors
creates a finished work that looks
completely different depending on
the angle from which it is viewed.
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5 Strand Braid made with Alternating Pairs
Notice that this braid is very similar
to the 3 strand with alternating pairs.
Long straight lengths of each strand
are visible across the top of the braid.
Yellow dominates the left side, and
red the right.
This is a wide braid and should only
be attempted once you’ve mastered
the five strand braid.
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3-Strand Braid made with Triplets
This braid creates a very wide,dramatic piece. I recommend using
three shades of the same color.
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5 Strand Braid made with Triplets
Notice that blue dominates the left; yellow the middle
and red the right. This is a wonderful braid either with
shades of the same color or using three different colors.
This is an extremely wide braid
and should only be attempted
once you have mastered the five
strand braid with pairs
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3-Strand Braid made with Alternating Triplets
Notice that blue dominates the
left; yellow the middle and red
the right. This is a wonderfulbraid either with shades of the
same color or using three
different colors.
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5 Strand Braid made with Alternating Triplets
In this, the most complicated of the
braids I present in this book, blue
dominates the left side, red the
right, and yellow is the
predominant color in the middle.
This braid is extremely difficult to
make and should only be
attempted after mastering the five
strand braid with pairs.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 2: Learning to Make Makigami
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10. Set up your workspace.
The workspace pictured above is set up for a right-handed person. If you’re left-handed, you’ll want
your makigami rolling solution on the left side. Be vigilant! Keep your container of rolling solution a
good distance away from you so you don’t tip it over when you roll a strip.
11. Put on a pair of latex gloves. Use your
paintbrush to apply a liberal amount of rolling
solution to the pan. Cover an area that is roughly
the same size as the pieces of newspaper you cut in
step 6.
Reuse your GlovesIf you take care of a pair of latex gloves they will last between five and ten uses. I like using gloves
because they reduce clean up time and keep fingerprints off my work. After completing a project, I
wash my hands with the gloves on. When I take them off they turn inside out. I leave them to dry
overnight. The next day I’ll reuse the same pair, first blowing them up, like a balloon, and then
turning them right side out and putting them on.
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M A K I G A M I: Recycle Newspaper into beautiful Jewelry Chapter 3: Braided Jewelry
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Finishing an Earrings and Pendant Set with Medium Taper
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7. The underside of your bangle bracelet should
look similar to this.
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4 Working with Color
In this chapter you will learn how to make makigami rolling solutions of different colors. Varying the
color of your rolling solution allows you to create works that look far more complex than single colors
afford. These techniques will also allow you to express your artistic vision more dramatically. Color
gradients, that is, adjusting the shade of one color by adding small amounts of another, create
amazingly complex looking assemblies.
We begin by mixing makigami rolling solution in the three primary colors, red, yellow and blue. We also
mix white and black makigami rolling solutions so we can adjust the brightness of a color. This allows us
to create virtually any color in any shade we might desire.
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I use empty jelly jars for my colored makigami
rolling solution.
You’ll also need some wide, shallow cups to hold
makigami rolling solution. When we do gradients,
we don’t want to work directly from our solution
reserve. Instead we pour smaller amounts into
these cups and work with them, discarding unused
solution when we’re done. The cups shown here
contained granola that came with some yogurt I
bought.
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Adding a Brightly Colored Finish
By now you’ve probably realized that you can mix makigami rolling solution in any color. You may also
have noticed that colors in our finished assemblies tend to be subdued. To obtain more vibrant color,
you can paint your assemblies after they have cured. It is best to use white makigami rolling solution if
you plan to paint your work. Other colors can be painted, but may require more coats of paint toachieve the desired color.
If you do plan to paint your work, consider painting a more dilute, but different color as your second
coat. You can obtain some beautiful finishes by combining colors in this way. You can even simulate
wood tones.
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1. Cure your assemblies and finish them just as you
did on Page 45. To obtain a bright solid color, mix
equal parts wood glue and acrylic paint in a small
cup along with a small amount of water. I mixed
equal parts white and red to create pink.
2. I wear a glove on the hand I use to hold the
earring. This keeps my fingerprints from getting
impressed into the finish. Carefully paint the
earrings making sure your paint gets in all the cracks
and crevices. Don’t forget to paint the inside and
underside of the earring.
3. Allow the first coat of paint to dry and then add a
second, much more dilute coat of the same color, or
a different color. In this example I mixed ½ part
acrylic white and ½ part acrylic blue paint, with 1
part wood glue and 10 parts water. The resultant
mixture should be about as thick as whole milk.
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4. Apply liberal amounts of the mixture to the
earring.
5. Work the mixture into the cracks and crevices
of the earring. This type of finish benefits from
buildups that occur in the cracks.
6. Here are our finished earrings. If you look closely
you’ll see that the finish varies and looks quite
interesting.
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I obtained this color by painting a mixture of equal
parts acrylic yellow paint and wood glue along with a
small amount of water. Then I painted a second coat
of equal parts dark brown acrylic paint and wood
glue along with about 10 parts water. The overall
color varies from yellow to dark brown and reminds
me of oak finishes I have seen.
This pendant has a reflective green finish. I
painted it with one coat of ½ part acrylic green
paint and ½ part acrylic shiny gold paint mixed
with one part wood glue and a small amount of
water.
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Gradient Colored Makigami
Braided makigami is visually complex. Part of this complexity comes from color. We can’t control all the
colors we work with because some of them come from the original newspaper we used. For example,
consider an advertisement that includes a picture of red marbles. If we use blue makigami rolling
solution, those red marbles will appear as areas of purple color in our finished assembly.
This variation is desirable. Even better is the ability to control the variation by changing the color of our
makigami solution. The techniques described on the following pages will allow you to add controlled
color variation to your projects.
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Three Step Gradient from White to Blue
1. Before beginning any project, you need to dosome planning. First, decide what type of project
you’d like to make from chapter 7. In this example,
I’m going to make a three strand earrings and
pendant set from page 112. That means I’m going
to need six short makigami strands and three long
ones. Next, consider how much taper you’d like.
2. Because I’m doing a gradient, two short and
one long strand will be white, two short and one
long strand will be light blue, and two short and
one long strand will be blue. I separate my pieces
of newspaper into three groups.
Notice that I have opted to make a highlytapered set.
3. When performing a gradient color shift, always
start with the lightest color first. Pour small amountsof each color you’ll be using into shallow cups. For
this gradient, I begin with equal amounts of white
and blue.
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4. Roll two short and one long strip in the white
makigami rolling solution.
5. Clean any excess rolling solution left behind in
your rolling pan. If you don’t clean the excess it
will lighten the color of your finished strands.
6. Dip your brush in the blue makigami solution
and add it to the white solution. Do this several
times until you’re happy with the change in color.
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7. Roll two short and one long strand in the light blue
makigami rolling solution.
8. As in step 5, wipe up excess solution so it
doesn’t dilute the next color.
9. Roll your remaining strips in the dark blue
makigami rolling solution. Carefully wash your
hands with the gloves on. This is to ensure that
dried chips of paint don’t end up on your finished
assembly.
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10. Braid and finish your project as described on
pages 32 through 34.
11. After being braided and cured our gradient looks
like this.
Here’s the same gradient color,
but in a more complex braid
similar to the one presented on
page 117.
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Clear Coat Color Shitfs
Clear coats allow us to shift the overall color of a project while at the same time maintaining the
variation in color we achieved when we rolled our strands in gradient color. Clear coats are easy to do,
but should be carefully considered. A clear coat will either bring out the complexity of your braid and
leave you awestruck, or it will yield results you didn’t expect, and might not like. It’s important toremember fundamental rules of color mixing. A beautiful lavender braid will turn into a beautiful brown
braid if a clear coat of yellow is added.
Because they are highly diluted with water, “clear” coats could also be called “dilute” coats. Your ratio
of paint to glue is always equal. Your ratio of paint to water is variable and depends on the difference in
color of the strands you’re painting. If the strands are similar in color (in the same color family like
peach and tangerine are both oranges), one part paint, one part glue and ten parts water are the ratios I
recommend. If your colors are in different color families, like black and white, you can use as many as
five parts paint, five parts glue and 10 parts water.
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This is the original pendant and earrings set that
we will modify by adding a clear coat of color.
Notice that the colors are similar, blue, light blue
and white.
1. Mix 10 parts water with 1 part paint and 1 part
wood glue. In this example I used ½ part yellow and ½
part blue to 10 parts water and
2. Apply a liberal amount of the mixture to your
assembly. Work the paint into all cracks and
crevices. Do not allow the mixture to pool; removeexcess paint with a dry brush.
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3. The finished set is pictured right. Notice the
color shift between this and the original picture on
the opposite page.
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More Examples of Clear Coat Color Shifts
Application of a green clear coat.
Because there isn’t a much color variation between the light blue and white makigami strips in this set,
our clear coat must be mixed thinly. A ratio of 10 parts water to 1 part paint and 1 part wood glue is
appropriate. Notice how the green color shifted the original colors. After application of a green clear
coat, light gray has become light green, light blue becomes blue green, and dark blue becomes
turquoise.
Application of a yellow clear coat.
In this example, notice that the original colors are fairly close in shade. If the clear coat were too thick
we would have lost this difference in color. After application of a clear coat of yellow, we obtain two
shades of yellowish green. The appropriate ratio is 10 parts water to 1 part paint and 1 part wood glue.
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Application of a blue clear coat.
Before the blue clear coat, the assembly looks a little bit hap-hazard. After the clear coat it looks more
deliberate, more like the colors belong together. I’m not sure which I prefer. A 10 parts water to 2
parts paint and 2 parts wood glue was used for the clear coat.
Application of a thicker purple clear coat.
In this example, the pendant pictured above-left is made from two colors of makigami. The pendant’s
color variation is large, between light gray and black, therefore we can mix a thicker clear coat and
obtain a more richly colored finished piece. A mixture of 10 parts water to 4 parts paint and 4 parts
wood glue was used. There is more information on this technique in chapter 7.
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This pendant has a finish that looks a lot like fish scales. The original colors were similar to those
obtained in the 5 Step Gradient video on page 63 (peach/tangerine). After it cured I painted it with one
coat of a mixture of ½ part yellow acrylic and ½ part shiny gold acrylic paint, one part wood glue and 10
parts water.
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The same technique used to braid a doll can also be used to braid animals.
I began this lizard-like creature the same
way I began the doll, by braiding two
legs. I then added a seventh strand of
makigami to represent the tail. The body
is made up of seven braided strands,
three become the head, and four the
arms.
Pictured at left is the underside of the creature
depicted above. Notice how the tail becomes
incorporated in the seven-strand braid which
represents the body.
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How to make a Butterfly
Here’s a fun project that looks nice. The butterfly is an assembly of two pendants, two earrings and a
five strand slip-on clip. The clip, which forms the body, also incorporates antennae. In this example, my
butterfly’s wings are all three-strand braids. That means I need six pieces of newspaper for the two
larger wings, and six for the two smaller wings. The body, including the antennae, is made from a fivestrand braid.
Strands for the smaller wings began as pieces of newspaper that measured 4 ½ inches long by 2 ½ inches
at their widest (11.4 x 6.4 cm). Pieces of newspaper that make up the larger wings measured 9 ½ inches
long by 3 ¾ inches at their widest (24 x 9.5 cm). The body was made from pieces of newspaper that
measured 11 ½ inches long by 3 ¼ inches at their widest.
1. Cut 6 long pieces for the bigger wings, 6 shorter
pieces for the smaller wings, and 5 extra long
pieces for the body. Notice that the pieces
representing wings are more highly tapered than
those representing the body of the insect.
2. Roll the strips for the body of your insect first. I
rolled the five longest strips in black makigami rolling
solution. This gives the butterfly a very dark colored
body.
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3. Insert the strips into a clamp and then braid
approximately one half of the total length.
4. Now braid only the middle three strands for their
entire length.
5. Your assembly should look like this. The two
outer stands will form antennae.
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6. Remove the assembly from the clip. Fold it to
create a slide-on clip, just forward of the point where
you switched from five strand braiding to three
strand braiding. Insert an isolator (from page 75),
and use a clothes pin to secure the assembly while it
dries.
7. Curl each antenna as shown, and then release it.
This creates a friendly-looking butterfly with
graceful, curling antennae.
8. Allow the body to cure.
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9. Roll the strips which represent the wings of your
butterfly. I rolled mine in a three-step gradient,
from yellow to red.
10. Braid each of the wings with three strands.
Use one of each color strand for each wing.
11. Overlap the narrow ends.
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12. Use a clothespin to hold the ends in place.
13. Shape each wing.
14. Carefully compare the wing shapes. They
should exactly mirror each other.
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15. Allow the wings to cure before proceeding to
the next step.
16. Trim the tail of the butterfly’s body.
17. Trim the unbraided makigami from each wing,
leaving a flat tab.
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18. Assemble your butterfly without glue. Look at
how the wings align to the body. Experiment with
the angles until you’re happy with the overall look.
19. Attach a clothes pin to the body to hold the clip
open.
20. Paint a generous amount of glue onto the body
of the butterfly. Do not add any glue to the clip
side.
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21. Apply a generous amount of glue to each wing’s
tab.
22. Assemble the butterfly beginning with the
larger wings. Notice that my left hand is pinching
the clip. This helps keep the wings in place.
23. Add the smaller wings. Notice that my left
hand is still pinching the clip.
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24. Flip the butterfly and slide a plastic insulator
between the wings and the clip.
25. Use a clothes pin to secure the wings while
the glue sets. Allow the butterfly to dry for at
least four hours.
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Here are some butterflies and a dragonfly I’ve made.
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6 Working wi
th Grayscales
The coloring techniques we learned in chapter 5
created more softly colored, natural looking
jewelry. In this chapter we steer a different
course. Now you will learn how to makemakigami jewelry with richer, brighter
colors while at the same time
maintaining variable color. This
allows us to create highly
complex-looking work in
relatively little time.
A simple rule helps us
achieve these dramatic
results. Humans
perceive the color of an
object based on how
light reflects off it. The
way light bounces off
black is very different
than the way it bounces off
of white. Basically, we screw
up the way light bounces off
our braided makigami by
using black, or more
accurately, shades of black
otherwise known as “grayscales.”
We use a combination of techniques to create
brightly colored makigami. First, we roll our strips in
“calibrated” shades of gray makigami rolling solution. That means you’re going to mix makigami rolling
solution so it matches a specific shade of gray in this book. For a three grayscale project you’ll mix
white, 50/50 gray and black makigami solutions. The white and black solutions are easy to mix, but
you’ll need to confirm that your gray solution matches the color swatch on page 106. You can also
download a sheet of printable swatches from www.tobedetermined .com.
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We’re also going to use color families, or
colors that are related
in our projects. A family of colors is related through
mixing. For example, yellow, green and blue are a
family of colors because green is made by combining
yellow and blue. We’ll paint a thick, first coat of
yellow followed by a thin coat of blue thereby
obtaining shades of green in our finished work.
An example is pictured at right. We can make
any project by relating colors in this manner.
The first, thicker layer of color is called the
“base” color. In the example just given, our
finished project will be shades of light
green.
If we began by painting a thick first coat of blue,and then painted a thinner yellow coat, we’d
end up with shades of blue-green. Our base
color would be blue and our overall color
would be shades of turquoise.
This all sounds complicated, but in
practice it’s fairly simple.
Lighter base coats yield greater color
variation, but won’t look as rich.
Darker base coats yield less
variation, but tend to look richer.
You can counteract the likelihood that
a base coat will override your color
variation by mixing it with more water;
however this will result in a less-rich looking
final color. An example of a more dilute base
coat of blue followed by yellow is pictured at left.
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Gray Scale Swatches
For best results, mix your makigami rolling solution and then compare the gray color with these
swatches. A printable document with these swatches can be downloaded at www.bookwebsite.com.
3 Gray Scale
Mix white and then black makigami rolling
solutions. Pour some of the white solution into a
third container. Add small amounts of the black
rolling solution until the gray color matches the
center color of the swatch pictured at right.
5 Gray Scale
Mix white and black makigami rolling solutions.
Pour white solution into three additional containers.
Add black to each container of white until they
match the swatches pictured at left.
Important note: Using five gray scales is labor
intensive. It is strongly recommended that you work
with three gray scales until you have mastered the
painting process.
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Mixing 3 Scale Makigami Rolling Solution
NOTE: You should do all mixing in your sink so spills are easy to clean up.
Combine 1 part white with 1 part black makigami
rolling solution. Confirm that the color is correct
by comparing it to the 3 color swatch. Add small
amounts of white or black to adjust the color.
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Mixing 5 Scale Makigami Rolling Solution
1. Begin by pouring gray 3-scale makigami rolling
solution into two cups.
2. Work on the lighter shade first. Dip a clean
brush into the white reservoir and then mix it
into the gray solution. Compare the color to the
2nd row of grayscale on page 106. If it matches,
you’re done. If not, clean your brush, and then
dip it in the white reservoir again. Repeat until
the color matches.
3. Do the same procedure with the fourth
grayscale, except that you’ll be adding black
makigami rolling solution instead of white.
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A Tale of Two Pendants
Here’s a 9 strand pendant and earrings I
made in 3-gray scale makigami.
Here’s another 9 strand pendant I made
in 3-gray scale makigami.
I painted this set with a base coat of 10parts water, 4 parts blue acrylic paint and
4 parts wood glue.
I painted this pendant with a base coat of 10 parts water, 2 parts blue acrylic paint
and 2 parts wood glue.
I then painted this set with a final coat of
10 parts water, 1 part yellow acrylic paint
and 1 part wood glue.
I then painted this pendant with a final
coat of 10 parts water, 1 part yellow
acrylic paint and 1 part wood glue.
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Notice the differences between these two pendants. The pendant on the left (with earrings) has a much
deeper, richer color. There is some color variation, but it’s limited. The pendant is mostly dark blue
with some hues of dark blue/turquoise. I think it is beautiful.
The pendant on the right has more color variation. It is lighter in color, and if you look closely it has a
brushed, sort of rough-looking finish. I think it is also beautiful.
Basically, the point I’m trying to get across is that you’ve got to be dynamic in terms of your approach to
color. There are tradeoffs. Either you’re going to get rich, deep color and not much variation, or you’re
going to get lots of variation and a less-rich color. Both styles are beautiful.
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7 Project Reference Guide
On the pages that follow you’ll see a picture of a project along with tables of measurements. Thesemeasurements correspond to lengths C and D pictured above. Each measurement given is a range of
values, so you can opt to make your project either larger or smaller than the example shown. The actual
measurements for the project are also given in the column on the far right of the table.
A, B and E are not given. Here are some general rules for their lengths:
A has no minimum or maximum value. If A is zero, then your strip has no taper. If A is large, your strip
will have a lot of taper.
B should always be a minimum of ½ inch (1.3 cm). The longer your B the thicker your makigami strand
will be.
E should be a minimum of ½ inch (1.3 cm).
Note: As I wrote this book I did measure my pieces of newspaper, but only after I had already cut them.
When I’m working I don’t measure, I estimate. Measurements of finished pieces are not given. This is
because the size of the finished piece is dependent upon the type and tightness of braid. As a general
rule, expect to lose at least a third of the length (D) of your original piece of newspaper.
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3 Single Strands - Earrings and Pendant Set
This project takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Earrings6 strips make two earrings
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 5 0 to 13 2/5
D 2 to 8 5 to 20 4/10
Pendant3 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 12 0 to 30 3.5/9
D 2 to 24 5 to 60 11/28
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5 Single Strands - Earrings and Pendant Set
This project takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Earrings
10 strips make two earrings
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 5 0 to 13 3.5/9
D 3 to 9 7.5 to 23 4.5/11.5
Pendant5 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 12 0 to 30 3.5/9
D 2 to 24 5 to 60 11/28
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3 Pairs of Strands - Earrings and Pendant Set
This project takes approximately 40 minutes to complete.
Earrings12 strips make two earrings
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 5 0 to 13 3/7.6
D 2 to 8 5 to 20 6/15
Pendant6 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 12 0 to 30 3.5/9
D 2 to 24 5 to 60 11/28
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5 Pairs of Strands Pendant
This project takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Pendant10 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 12 0 to 30 6/15
D 2 to 24 5 to 60 11/28
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3 Triplets of Strands Pendant
This project takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Pendant9 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 12 0 to 30 3.5/9
D 2 to 24 5 to 60 11.75/30
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3 Braided Sets of 3 Strands Pendant
This pendant is made from three sets of three braided strands. I braid each set of three strands, and
then braid the braided assemblies. As you can see, it creates a highly complex pendant. This project
takes approximately 40 minutes to complete.
Pendant9 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 8 0 to 20 2/5
D 5 to 24 13 to 60 9.5/24
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3 Braided Sets of Five Strands Pendant
This pendant is made from three sets of five braided strands. I braid each set of five strands, and then
braid the braided assemblies. The finished pendant is quite different from the one on the previous
page, but also quite beautiful. This project takes approximately 50 minutes to complete.
Pendant15 strips make one pendant
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 8 0 to 20 2/5
D 5 to 24 13 to 60 9.5/24
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5 Pairs of Strands – Bangle Bracelet
This project takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Bangle Bracelet10 strips make one bangle bracelet
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 8 0 to 20 3/7.5
D 8 to 24 20 to 60 11.75/30
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3 Triplets of Strands Hair Pin
The hair pin also requires that you make a thick, tapered shaft of paper. See page 55 for details. This
project takes approximately 40 minutes to complete.
Hair Pin9 strips make one hair pin
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 8 0 to 20 3/7.6
D 5 to 24 13 to 60 11.5/29
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Rings
These projects take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
3 Strand Ring3 strips make one ring. A longer D creates overlap. Little Taper vs. Lots of Taper
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 5 0 to 13 1.5/4 vs. 3/7.6
D 2 to 8 5 to 20 4.5/11.4
5 Strand Ring5 strips make one ring
US (inches) Metric (cm) As Shown (inches/cm)
C 0 to 5 0 to 13 2.25/6
D 2 to 8 5 to 20 7/18