Hexagonal Kumiko Patterns
Hexagonal patterns in Japanese screens are some of the most interesting and complex. Lately I’ve been experimenting with the base pattern which is composed of equilateral triangles. I’m working on coming up with different ways of producing the pattern and also experimenting with different applications for the completed screens. In particular this pattern is really interesting when it is overlaid on an identical screen, and the two are moved past one another. It produces an effect similar to a moiré pattern, and I can see incorporating it into cabinets, stand-alone screens, and all sorts of other custom furniture pieces….. I’ll post more about that later, but for now I thought I’d share some shots from the process of making the basic hexagonal kumiko pattern.
Beautiful work Jon! I like your approach to making the mitered corners.
The layering idea sounds cool for a room divider. Also, vanity.
Do you cut these by hand, or tablesaw? Only had one attempt yet, and it failed hard. Hope you get around to explain this in more details, I find it hard to get a good explanation online.
Lovely work, I have been attempting this myself with poor results. It’s hard to find details on hexagon kumiko patterns, so some guesswork has been involved on my account. Do you cut these by hand or by tablesaw? I would love a post explaining this is more details 🙂
Thanks Bjørn, and sorry for the delay replying, I’ve been away from my computer for a few weeks. The hexagonal pattern is definitely a very difficult one to cut. The photos from this post show my setup for cutting by hand and also by table saw using a sled. The table saw sled was an experiment and has lots of room for improvement, so I’ve pretty much been cutting everything by hand now. For the hexagonal pattern to work out, I’ve found that layout is absolutely critical, and even if my marks are super close but just a hair off the resulting fit will look pretty poor after cutting and assembly. You’ve probably heard this before but Des Kings books are really the best resource I’ve found for any kumiko work especially when dealing with tricky patterns. I do hope to do a post detailing my process in the future, so stay tuned!