[Crafty Monday] Rainbow Bracelets

January 25, 2010 · Filed under crafts & things to make, kids · Tagged easy to make crafts, kid bracelets, Kids Crafts, Valentine's Day crafts

Today’s craft is courtesy of Elena, who wanted to show you how to make easy bracelets out of pony beads and yarn.

These are pony beads, which you can easily find at any craft store in a huge variety of colors and styles and sizes (get big ones for this project):

Getting started:
• Cut a piece of yarn about as long as your arm span (both arms)
• Double the yarn, and make a big loop, and tie a knot, like this:

You can cut the loop, after you tie the knot, and, if you want, tape down the knotted end to the surface you’re working on to help you hold it in place. Tape the knot end closest to you.

TIP:
Before you start threading beads, wrap a piece of scotch tape around the ends of the yarn to help you thread the yarn through the beads easier. (Think of the way your shoelaces have the plastic ends to help you thread them through the eyelets).

How to thread the beads:
To thread the beads, take the right piece of yarn and thread two beads, like this (I’ve already threaded a few beads, to let you see what it looks like):

Then take the left piece of yarn, and also thread them through the beads, like this:

Take the ends of the yarn and pull:

The yarn is pretty long, so keep pulling until the beads are all the way to the end:

There! To add more beads, just start again – thread two beads with the right piece of yarn, then thread the left piece of yarn through the beads, and pull.

When you decide that the bracelet is as long as you want it to be, simply take the ends of yarn and tie a standard knot and pull it tight against the end of the last two beads.

Then, to wear it, you can either tie both ends of the bracelet with a regular knot (with enough room to slip on and off the wrist) or with a simple bow tie, like you tie your shoes.

I kinda made mine like a lanyard:

Then I decided it would make a good keychain:

Elena and our friend Lolly made some Valentine’s Day bracelets:

These beads are great for experimenting with colors and patterns.

Try it! Your kids will enjoy making their own jewelry.