 | This article needs more citations. (May 2017) |
A marudai (丸台, lit. 'round stand') is the most common of the traditional frames used for making kumihimo, a type of Japanese braid.
| This article needs more citations. (May 2017) |
A marudai (丸台, lit. 'round stand') is the most common of the traditional frames used for making kumihimo, a type of Japanese braid.
The marudai is generally made of a close-grained wood and consists of a round disk (kagami or "mirror") with a hole in the center, supported by four legs set in a base. The Japanese style marudai is often about 16 in (41 cm) high and is used while kneeling or when placed on a table. The Western style 26 in (66 cm) marudai allows the braider to sit in a chair to braid.
The warp threads that form the braid are wound around weighted bobbins called tama (lit. 'egg'). Tama were once made of clay[when?], but now are most commonly wood filled with lead. The weight of the tama maintains even tension on the warp threads, and is balanced by a bag of counterweights called omori that is attached to the base of the braid.
Modern braiders often replace the marudai with a foam disk with numbered slots that tightly grip the warp threads to maintain warp tension, so that weighted bobbins are not needed; instead, flexible plastic bobbins are used to prevent tangling of the threads. Unlike kumihimo disks, marudai have no indication of where the thread should be placed; it is done freehand.
