Читать книгу Ultimate Friendship Bracelets Ebook - Patrizia Valsecchi - Страница 8

Ideas and Suggestions

Experiment with different ways of tying off the braids.

For example, instead of just tying a knot at the ends of your braids, why not add some large beads, as shown above?

Slip the ends of your braids through opposite holes of a bead to make a slide, then add beads to the two ends, and finish with knots to keep the beads in place. Pull the ends in opposite directions to tighten the bracelet around the wrist.

With the button and with closures like the anchor, proceed as follows: for the button, pass the two small braids through the button holes and tie it off; for the anchor, loop one end of the bracelet through the anchor and tie it with a bow.

In both cases you’ll have to create a loop on one end of one of the braids that either button or the anchor will be able to pass through in order to fasten the bracelet. Make a loop by folding over a small bit of the braid and tying two knots. Make sure the loop is large enough for the button or anchor to pass through, but not so wide that it will easily fall out again.

Watch the video demo to see how the bracelets are finished off.

Two-Colored Candy Stripe

DIFFICULTY LEVEL:

THREAD LENGTH: 34 IN (85 CM)

4 turquoise threads

4 wine-colored threads

Recommended floss: DMC 3846 – 718

The technique used for making friendship bracelets is Macramé, an ancient textile-making method used to make ornaments or other objects by hand-knotting a series of threads. The first type of bracelet pattern to tackle is the “Candy Stripe,” or two-colored diagonal line. This is one of the simplest patterns: one thread pair is knotted after the other, all of the knots following the same direction.

	Arrange the eight threads on your work surface as shown in the diagram: 1 turquoise, 2 wine-colored, 2 turquoise, 2 wine-colored, 1 turquoise.
	Secure them to the surface, about 6 in (15cm) from the top, with a piece of adhesive tape, making sure not to rearrange the threads in the process.
	Lay the threads out in pairs before you begin, and do the same thing over again at the beginning of each new row.
	Start with the basic knot, using two threads at a time.
	Row 1: crossing the left thread over the right thread, tie a double knot (forward knot). You’ll notice that, at the end of the row, you’ll have 4 colored knots, exactly as shown in the diagram.
	Row 2: (and all even rows): the outer threads aren’t used. Move them aside, leaving 6 threads, which you’ll lay out in pairs. Crossing the left thread over the right thread, tie a double knot (forward knot). This time, you’ll see a row of only 3 knots.
	Row 3: tie knots as you did for row 1.
	Row 4: tie knots as you did for row 2.
	Start over from the beginning, as in row 1.
	Keep working, row by row, until the bracelet has reached the desired length.
	Once all knotting is complete, braid the remaining threads at the two ends.
	The circles with arrows in the diagram show the pattern of colored knots that should form as you work.

Once you’ve laid the threads down on your work surface, the threads should look like they do in the picture, spread out evenly, and in the color order shown.

Start by carefully separating the threads into pairs: you’ll have to do this at the beginning of each row.

Each time you start a new row, check carefully that the threads are in the right position and order.

Always work with only one pair of threads at the time.

Making the first row: - 1st pair of threads: the thread on the left (turquoise) is tied into a double knot (forward knot) onto the thread on the right (wine-colored).

Making the first row: - 2nd pair of threads: the thread on the left (wine-colored) is tied into a double knot (forward knot) onto the one on the right (turquoise).

At the end of row 1 you’ll have a row of 4 knots in alternating colors The two outermost threads (wine-colored) will not be used for row 2, so you will pull them aside from the other 6, as shown.

In row 2, as in all even rows, the two outermost threads are not used: the only thread pairs being used are the 3 central ones.

Tying the last knot in row 3. After completing this row, you’ll have to lay out the threads for row 4: as with all the even rows, you’ll only use the 6 central threads.

Two-Colored Chevron

DIFFICULTY LEVEL:

THREAD LENGTH: 34 IN (85 CM)

4 yellow threads