Colorful four strand round braid bracelets :: DIY

It's Fall. That's what the calendar says.

And even though it's probably about time to shed those summer bracelets, today, I'm going to show you some bracelets we've enjoyed making and wearing this Summer: four strand round braided bracelets.
You're probably familiar with the leather version of these bracelets - and that's actually how I got started. But one night I ran out of leather lace and I decided to give it a try with Scoobie Doo strands - to much approval from my girls the next morning.

Colorful, simple to make once you've got the hang of it, and very low cost.
So, if you want to hold on to that summer feeling for just a tiny bit longer, I recommend making a couple of these...





You will need: Scoobie Doo strands, 2 per bracelet.

Summarized and labeling each strand from left to right with a letter (A, B, C and D) the process boils down to the  repetition of the following 4 steps:

Repeat these four steps until the braid is long enough to fit around your wrist (or ankle). To lock the braid, tie a knot with one strand around the other three. 

To tie around your wrist pull two strands through the loop and tie in a knot with the other two!If the pictures aren't clear enough, I found this video tutorial to be very instructive and easy to follow. I use two strands folded in half instead of four, making sure to leave a loop at the top.

Note: in the pictures I taped the braid down. However, there is no need to do that - I did so because I needed to make a 'snapshot' of every step. It's much easier if you hold the braid between your fingers just like you do when braiding hair, for instance.

Knitted summer bracelets :: a DIY

I'm not sure these bracelets will become as popular as my 2010 summer bracelets, but they sure are equally fun to make!

When I was looking for friendship bracelet ideas for our school's upcoming summer fest, I came across a 'knitting fork'.
Since I don't have a knitting fork but liked the technique, I wanted to try and make a fork with what I had.
Coincidentally, I made a Popsicle-stick-catapult just a couple of days ago, also for our school's craft fair and I figured that was the way to go.
A Popsicle-stick-catapult turned into a knitting fork! Why not?!
Talking about a multipurpose tool!
The only change I made here is that I used two sticks for each leg to make it a little sturdier and I re-positioned the sticks slightly to get a fork-like tool. I limited myself to bracelets but the possibilities are of course endless. I'm thinking of necklaces, belts, bag handles... Use your imagination!

Both, making the fork and the knitting, are very simple which makes this a perfect craft for keeping your kids, even the youngest ones - and yourself - busy on those long summer vacation car rides!
The instructions, including a video I made, are below!

Here is what you'll need:

for the fork: (or catapult, if you like)

- 8 popsicle sticks (for a catapult you will need 2 less)
- 4 rubber bands

for the bracelet:

- yarn, T-shirt yarn, strips of fabric, leather lace, ... whatever you have on hands which could be turned into something bracelet like



Instructions:

1. Fork assembly



2. Bracelet knitting

To see the video in HD quality, click the settings wheel in the right hand corner of the black bar displayed at the bottom of the movie - select quality 1080p for the highest resolution.





And here once more summarized in step-by-step pictures:




As to the lengths of the strands of yarn to use: it all depends on the thickness and flexibility of the material you'll be using, so knitting a sample may be in order.

Keeping my fingers crossed now for a long hot summer!

Have fun fork knitting!

Cheers,


P.



As with all of my tutorials, please note, this tutorial is intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form. Thanks for understanding!

If you made something using a tutorial found on this blog or if you got inspired by something you found here, make sure to post your pictures here.

Pretty in silk :: revisited

I have been sewing like crazy. Since I bought my new sewing machine last September, I made several skirts, a couple of silk blouses, a dress, a T-shirt for M.(found a very good pattern from Ottobre) and a sweater for her as well for which I made the pattern myself from an existing shirt. Unfortunately, the sweat-shirt shrunk terribly after washing and drying just once - it's just about the right size for little H. now, which she doesn't mind as the fabric is incredibly soft. Let's hope it won't shrink any further... Anyway, this wasn't today's topic. I just wanted to show you this tunic I made and which I really, really like.

I got inspired by these dresses/ tunics. With the orange flowery dress in mind I went fabric hunting and I found a very nice weight silk - a bit colorful, more colorful than I'm used to, with a vintage style print. As a matter of fact, the flower print might remind some people of their grandmother's apron (I certainly worked that way for me) but I found it very cute somehow. And although it's real silk I only paid €8.90/meter, which is cheap, I thought.

The pattern I used comes from the same Japanese sewing book as this blouse. It's the dress on the front cover (dress D in the book) which I slightly altered: I left out the sleeves, and made it slightly narrower. As a matter of fact, next time, I won't cut any (side) seam allowances, as the tunic turned out a little wide at first. As with my other silk blouses, I used French seams and finished off the tunic with a hand sewn hem - so much nicer.

I wore the tunic to a party last weekend, combined with a long knitted jacket, tights and high boots and some last minute homemade jewelry. And it looked really nice, if I may say so myself. Since the dress has short sleeves, I'll be able to wear it in Summer too, probably over some white pants or a legging...
But let's get ready for winter first...

Inspired by the beach...

... I made this bracelet the other night inspired by the red, orange and yellow buoys on the beach.
Very easy to make if you have needle and thread, seed beads, chips of turquoise and a piece of shoe lace at hand. Just sew the seed beads on, one by one, centered onto the shoelace. When done, go through all the beads in the opposite direction to make sure they'll stay put. Secure with a firm knot and cut off excess thread. Make a slip knot at both ends and there you go: a bracelet - or anklet, if you like.

We're still waiting for the sun to come out here - the last couple of days felt as if autumn was very near (which it is, now that I think of it...)...Hope the bracelet will help to keep that summer feeling alive...

Wishing you a happy week!
xo, P.

Tomorrow...

... is the last day of school here. The last weeks just flew by and so many things happened (and other things did not happen...)
M.'s surgery went well last week - her hearing improved dramatically, which made her really happy and us too.
All the 'spectacles', recitals, presentations, ... are behind us and so are most of the birthday parties.
As of Wednesday we can pick up a slower pace - at least for a while. And this will be much appreciated by us all...



The bracelets in the pictures are some of the teacher appreciation gifts we made tonight - the girls picked the beads with care at our favorite beading shop (right before closing time - I'm such a good planner) and I tied the knots. They're easy to make - all you need to know is how to tie a sliding knot. The pictures of the finished bracelets aren't great - I've been having some white balance and exposure issues lately (probably one of the settings on my camera got messed up) but haven't had the time to take a proper look at. But I will have now! As of tomorrow!! Maybe...

Celebration

Everyone's back home and it feels good.
I picked up little H. from the train last night. She's had a great time so much I could tell from the sound of her voice or better from the lack thereof. Coarse from all the singing at the 'boum' the night before. She was cheerful and had lots to tell on our metro ride home. New songs to sing, new clapping games to share. Big Sister was greeted with a bear hug - she even got her big sister the coolest present ever - something 'you won't find in Paris'. And then late last night Daddy got home from his trip - no coarse voice as he didn't have a 'boum' the last evening of the conference, but tired nevertheless after a week of hard working.

With everyone back home, my creativity returned as well. This flower necklace is something new I have been working on. I really like it and I'm contemplating making a few for the shop.

A flower to celebrate...

Wishing you a happy weekend too,

xo, P.

A splash of color

I made this necklace last weekend, with bits and pieces I still had lying around from other jewelry projects - odd pieces of brass chain, gemstones (most of which I forgot the names), liquid silver and glass seed beads, which I love. I used brass eye pins in between. You can't tell from the pictures, but I messed up some of the eye loops - I guess I got out of the habit and I didn't have enough eye pins to start them all over again...
But I do like the result.

I have been wearing my new accessory every single day. It adds a little splash of color to my predominantly gray/beige/white (and very boring) wardrobe.
That and my bohemian style belt which has become another favorite of mine...

Coin purse, revisited

The same little coin purse, a tiny bit different...
Made it in no time after spotting this (through this post at Blue Moss)...
The shoe lace, charms and jewels, I recycled from this project (I no longer have the phone...).

It's tiny as I used the wrong plate, but definitely cute and more jewelry like, I guess - it fits a couple of coins only. Enough for ice cream on the beach, though...