Friendship Bracelets
One of the “treats” that I am including in the package for my friend serving in Afghanistan is a friendship bracelet. It is small, and light, and is made with love.
my current collection
Friendship bracelets bring me back to elementary school days, sitting on the playground with embroidery floss pinned to my leg, making knot after knot, leading to the eventual completion of a diagonal striped bracelet. My older cousin first taught me how to make them. She was in university at the time, and I loved spending time with her and learning this new skill. These bracelets do take a long time to make, and I’ve made some complex patterns over the years. I’ll save that for another post though.
Sometimes I think I haven’t really changed all that much from my days at summer camp with a wrist full of treasured keepsakes. Currently there’s the purple one from the First Robotics team I help with, the blue rope one that I made in Egypt, the rainbow rope one I made at camp, A knitted one that C.L. made for me, a beaded one (the white beads change colour in sunlight), the blue beads I bought in Petra (Jordan), and the wooden beaded one was given to me by E.B. and A.F. (they have matching ones too). It might be silly to develop a sentimental attachment to string and beads, but the time and the care, and the people that they represent are what makes them so special.
I have just made a quick bracelet tonight that looks like rope. I learned this skill at summer camp when I was a little kid. It requires 5 pieces of embroidery floss, that’s it. A very simple ART OF THE DAY! I challenge you to recapture your youth, and make one of these beauties!
5 strings needed
Instructions:
- Measure 5 pieces of string that are double the length from fingers to shoulder. This will give you enough for one bracelet.
- Tie all ends of the strings together (this forms 5 loops)
- Attach the knot to something (pin it to your pants, tie it to your toe)
loops tied to my toe
- With palms down, put your fingers through the loops (right hand 3 loops, on index, middle and ring finger. Left hand 2 loops on middle and ring finger)
- With left index finger (loopless) weave your finger through the threads on the right hand (over, under, over, under, grab the loop from the right ring finger and pull it through so it now remains on the left hand)
- Move loops on right hand (loop that was on middle finger goes onto the ring finger, and loop that was on the index finger goes onto the middle finger) to free up the right index finger. (pull tight by moving hands apart)
- Right index finger weaves through the threads on the left hand (over, under, over, under) grab the loop from the left ring finger and pull it back so it remains on the right index finger.
- Shift the loops on the left hand (loop on the middle finger moves to the ring finger, and loop on the index finger moves to the ring finger) to free up the left index finger. (pull tight by moving hands apart)
- Continue this process and marvel at the rope you are creating! (it sounds complex, but your fingers soon can weave through the threads without thinking)
This bracelet is made with love for J.M. I hope he wears it and remembers that we back home are remembering him.
Take some time to teach a craft to a child. I’m not sure which is more valuable, the skill that you teach them, or the time that you spend with them. Sometimes the simplest gestures are the most meaningful. I try to remember that every day.
Tags: art every day, friendship bracelet, tutorial
