Monday, September 16, 2013

Friendship Bracelets

Hello all!

Today, I would like to introduce you to my newest hobby: friendship bracelet making. Now, I know what you're all thinking: friendship bracelets are for tween girls. But my new hobby goes way beyond all that. You've never seen a friendship bracelet quite like this before. 


This is not a simple braided bracelet. It's not a candy stripe, and it's not even a chevron. This is an alpha bracelet. Just the name let's you know it's above the rest. 


ALPHA


Don't believe me? It's ok, I'll quit telling you about how great they are, and just simply show you.




^These are some of my first attempts at this form of friendship bracelet making. It took me a while to learn how to make these perfect, but that was because I was lazy and didn't read the tutorial completely. I wasted a lot of sting messing up, but I finally went back and reread the whole thing, and that was when I got it. Making these bracelets is really simple, and I hope you enjoy making them as much as I now do.  

Now, for some instructions. 

You will need embroidery thread or floss (when I first started making these bracelets, I used floss I had had since the sixth grade. It was pretty old, and it actually broke while I was tying the knots). I would actually suggest using DMC floss, because it's quality, and wont rip. You can find them at Joann and Michael's stores for about 39 cents a skein. 

Making these bracelets requires knowing how to make two simple knots: the forward knot and the backward knot. These are really simple, and you can find instructions on how to make them here: http://friendship-bracelets.net/tutorial.php?id=66  I believe watching the videos would be the simplest way to learn these knots, because at first, I just could not understand those charts. 

To make the bracelets, you need to start off by finding a chart. This mustache chart is simple, and won't take you too long. For this tutorial, I will be referring to this chart.


To begin, cut out 6 lengths of embroidery thread. The color will not be visible, so it is not important which color you choose. Each should be about twenty 24-26 inches in length. Next, choose a color for the background (what is shown in black on the chart). You will most likely use a whole skein of this color, so there is no need to cut it. Take all your strings and line them up, including the background color, and fold them in half, and make a knot at the top, leaving a loop. This loop is important, because you will use it to tie your bracelet at the end. You should have 13 strings to use as the skeleton of the bracelet, and another to use for the background color. Start tying forward knots until you reach the last string. Then make your way back to the first string by tying backward knots. Do this for a couple of rows, and then start the pattern. Since I'm not so good at explaining the process, here is a link to a video I found very useful:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5isoq_e-kFo

Now, after finally figuring out how these awesome bracelets are made, I bet you'll want to make tons of different patterns. Well, you're in luck. These two websites here have THOUSANDS of patterns: http://friendship-bracelets.net/ and   http://www.braceletbook.com/patterns.html?type=alpha . If you make your own account at braceletbook.com, you can even design your own patterns, using pictures or pixels.

The following are some of the bracelets that I made in my spare time: 




I think this Avengers one is my favorite^


^This is the mustache one from the tutorial above




This is a Pacman one that took me awhile to make^


^A Mulan key chain that I love <3


^And an anchor bracelet which ended up too small :( 



Here are some AWESOME patterns that I just love, and I want to share them with you:


TWO HUNGER GAMES PATTERNS:




A COCA COLA PATTERN:



A BEATLES PATTERN:



A PIANO/KEYBOARD PATTERN:



TWO NINJA TURTLES PATTERNS:





AND AN FC BARCELONA PATTERN:



These patterns can all be found on braceletbook.com and friendship-bracelets.net



^I even went out and bought more floss...



but I think it was warranted since this is what has become of my floss from sixth grade :D 


-steph 09/30/13

Friday, September 6, 2013

New Patterns!!!! Hunger Games Pillows, Slouchy Hats, and Goofy

Welcome back to Crafting with Steph!

So....I haven't posted here in quite a while (almost a year, actually), but I have been quite busy knitting, and developing my new hobbies of crocheting and friendship bracelet making. Well, I'm back, and I'm ready to share some great new patterns with all of you :)


First off, with the Hunger Games Catching Fire premier about two months away, I've been busy rereading the books, and I also have a knitting pattern available. 


http://hungergamesdwtc.net/hunger-games-crafts/crochet/small-mockingjay-pinsquare/


The pattern is for a Small Mockingjay Pin Square. I used this pattern to knit two squares, which I then filled with stuffing and sewed together. I know have my very own Mockingjay knit pillow, which I love. Below are pictures of how my pillow turned out.  




I have also knit a few slouchy hats, using a pattern that I made up myself. It is a very simple technique, using knit one, pearl one the whole way. I used sixteen inch knitting needles, casting on about 75 stitches, depending on the size of the head. Then, I knit in the round using knit one, pearl one, until my hat was at a desirable length to be slouchy enough. This pattern is different, because instead of decreasing and casting off, what I did was thread a sewing needle with the same color yarn (about 18 inches), and run it through all of the stitches. After this, I slid the stitches off the needles and pulled the yarn that was holding the stitched taunt. This gathered it all together into the form I was looking for, so I then proceeded to tie it into a knot. Then, because there was still a hole in the top, I used the excess string to sew it closed. Below are pictures of the hats I knit using this method. 








Last of all, I'm going to tell you about a pattern that I'm working on right now. About two weeks ago, I discovered some great websites for friendship bracelet patterns. 


These are http://www.braceletbook.com/ and http://friendship-bracelets.net/patterns2.php 


Well, while looking around for beginner patterns, I found a great pattern that I couldn't resist knitting. Since my Hunger Games pillow came out so great, I decided I'd make it into a pillow. The pattern is found at the link below:


http://www.braceletbook.com/pattern_alpha/7633.html#.Uioq3uA5tFI


or here:


Isn't it so cute?


I was thinking I'd make one side of the pillow black and white, and the other side I'd fill in with color. 


Or I'd do this pattern for the back:


http://www.braceletbook.com/pattern_alpha/7637.html#.UiorbOA5tFI




Well, whichever one I decide to do, I'll make sure to post the outcome. Here is how far I've gotten on Goofy:





Well, thanks for visiting my blog :) Make sure to stop by soon to see what new projects we can make together. Thanks again :) 

-steph 9/6/13