Friendship Bracelets

Aug 10

This reminds us that friendship is universal and crosses continents, generations and all other barriers. Friendship bracelets are for young and old; teenagers and grandparents; from friend to friend or from boy to girl. You don't need any weaving equipment to make these vibrant Central and South American bracelets. Just learn two basic knots, use a safety pin to keep your work taut and then knot colourful cotton threads into a host of different patterns. This book shows row-by-row how to make 22 different designs in coloured easy-to-follow diagrams.

June 10

This is the fifth reprint of a book that was originally published back in 1995, and which since has become something of a craft classic. Here you can learn the South American craft of knotting threads into intricate bracelets. Tie one onto a friend's wrist as a token of your affection, and your friend then makes a wish. This will come true when the bracelet falls off through wear and tear.

It is a lovely tradition, and although it looks complicated to achieve this book has some excellent diagrams. This is a type of easier macrame and uses just your hands and embroidery floss, which is another reason of its continuing popularity. Each style of bracelet is called by the name of a town in South America, and as you progress learning the knots the instructions get shorter. A list of what you need is given along with a photograph of the finished article, and the diagrams show the colors used so you can see exactly what goes where. There are twenty-two different designs to choose from and this is a delightfully simple, straightforward book which does just what it says on the tin - teach you how to make friendship bracelets.

May 10

Knotted friendship bracelets have such a universal and timeless appeal I can see how such a title bears re-issuing. The diagrams in the book are very clear and require no more equipment than some thread and a safety pin. Once the basic two knots are mastered the book is full of pattern variations along a theme- some designs appear really quite complex. I have been working on the most basic design and am really pleased with the result, once the first row has been knotted there is a nice rhythm and the band grows at a satisfying pace. Because this is a re-issue some of the original photographs now look a little dated but at GBP7.99 this is a good value title and would mean you could make up a really lovely gift with the book and threads for around GBP10. I can also see this being useful for a summer holiday diversion. I will certainly be making more bands for my daughter's birthday party bags. I also hope to explore some of the more elaborate designs in a thicker thread for use as belts or bag straps. I think there's a lot of potential here and as well as making some friendship bands for various pals and relatives I look forward to seeing how far I can push the technique, and also look forward to bringing the book out again in a couple of years when my children will be able to master the knots for themselves.