Did you see
the post on friendship bracelets at The Purl Bee not too long ago? Boy did that take me back. I spent at least one summer in high school making loads of those. I remember working at it to figure out how to get the Vs and Xs, until I got it. I still don't know if I create those patterns the "right" way and I don't care. It was so satisfying to figure it out on my own--hmm, some things never change! I'd been thinking I wanted to make a simple bracelet to tie around my ankle for the summer, and seeing the post spurred me to finally do something about it. After all, I have loads of embroidery floss around these days!
I started it when we went to the deCordova last Friday. Back in high school I used to cross one foot over the other knee and pin the bracelet to my Keds (I loved my purple ones best; how about you?), but since I was wearing strappy sandals, I stuck my Red Sox hat over my foot and pinned it to that. (That's an awesome, broken-in hat, softened right up by salt water and sun.)
I finished it the following Monday while we were at the beach.
I immediately tied it on, then realized I didn't have scissors to cut the tails so I sawed through each string individually with my keys. I still haven't neatened it up--it's summer! This is just a perfect, no-stress thing to make because it's so temporary. If it doesn't fall off first, I'll cut it off in about two months, when I'll need to start wearing socks (oh, I hate having to wear socks). So who cares if it's perfect? That purple kept popping to the front when it wasn't supposed to, so I have some purple showing in the blue and green stripes. Somewhere near the bottom I forgot to knot the strands in the center--I think it was about the time my younger son kicked sand in his brother's face--so there's a little hole. It's all good!
So throw on some Fine Young Cannibals, or maybe some INXS, take a break from reading your
Sassy (were you a
Sassy or
Seventeen girl? I loved Sassy), and start knotting. One thing is different from 1990, though. In 1990, I didn't have a boyfriend to ask me to make him one.
My husband rarely wants me to make him anything. But he wants a string bracelet. (Hey, can anyone identify what kind of pillow that's pinned to? It's definitely something I'd never heard of in high school!)
Some music to knot your bracelet to...
...and some more....
6 comments:
I taught my kids to make these in the 90's. Andrew made me a black, purple and green one, which after wearing it for about a year, I took it off, laid it on my sewing table and accidentally sliced it in half with a rotary cutter. But I saved the pieces! They're fun to make...thanks for bringing back the memories!
I never made these! But I sure remember seeing them around. I have the feeling I missed out.
It's not too late to make up for lost time is it? 1990. Final year of high school. And a whole lot of U2. That's what I remember.
Can't identify the pillow though!
Looks like a nursing pillow (the peas in the pods).
I never made those bracelets. I did buy one on the boardwalk a few years ago and wore it all summer. I like the no sock time, too and I wore my summer bracelet with all my work clothes. It made me feel like a sun goddess again.
I've been itching to make some of these!!! Some kids at co-op had some a while back, and one mama was trying to explain how they did theirs, but it went right over my head. I'm so visual, she might as well have been giving me instructions in Mandarin. I never got the hang of it as a kid either . . . well, just the really simple skinny ones. Now I've got to round up some embroidery floss. Hey, are they like gateway crack? Like once I start making the bracelets with the floss I'll be embroidering next? :)
I hate it when I have to wear socks again, too! (This time of year its hard to imagine going sockless, I am even wearing them inside my ugg boots.)
I remember making those too! But I think it was in primary school, early to mid 80s. And I wish I had known about Sassy in the 90s, though I suppose it wouldn;t have been available in Australia anyway.
Well, it's still the 90s at camp, Lilia and Liza came back crazy for friendship bracelets. My living room looked like the box of embroidery floss had exploded when I got back from work yesterday. Actually, I think the box DID explode. The littles are each sporting at least one new bracelet. I'm still waiting.
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