friendship bracelets

[pixcoco]

I'll be in NJ in a couple of weeks.

Or just come on over I'll put some coffee on.

[applegirl]

Hey, That's "Punny!"- Here we have a great thread- about spinning thread!!!!

Pixcoco, Pickles, and everyone out there working together on this thing- This is just fantastic! The idea, the sharing/ teamwork, the descriptions- SUPER-COOL.

I took the liberty of cut-and-pasting the most useful info from the preceding 51 posts onto a word document for myself and studied it, gave it some thought, and made one out of cardboard. I've done a variety of friendship bracelets in my teenage years, but couldn't visualize this one in action... but the clues helped- it takes two people, for example- and I was able to make something that works for me!


(Click on the pic to make it bigger if needed)

The idea is- the clown holds the dowel and controls the gingerbread man or T- spinner. The child holds the ends of the string still. For best results, the child holds all 4 ends tightly together in one little fist- That's 2 pieces of string, but both head and tail of each, for 4 ends. The clown wrapped the yarn around the gingerbread spinner's body before handing off the ends to the child... Now, the child MUST hold tight! Because the clown is going to stand at the other end, giving a gentle tug (the firmer the tug, the tighter and nicer the twist in the finished bracelet), and if the child lets go, the yarn, the gingerbread spinner, and dowel go flying- a twisted mess and potential hazard. The clown just rotates the dowel until the thread is wound tightly, then, keeping tension in the yarn (this is the trickiest part here, the end, it seems), hold the twist where it comes close to the spinner (to keep it from unraveling), and fold the length of the spun yarn in half. Don't just let go! For the best quality, neatly twisted final product, you'll want to guide the folded yarn to twist on itself by spinning it into the right place using your hands... If you just let go, sometimes the bracelet gets all kinked up and bumpy.

Very cute, very fast craft for parties! Pickles, please post that fella's email here on the forum if you think he'll allow it- I think he deserves some orders if he's up to make it, it's a nice gadget.

The ideas from elsewhere in the thread- making it look like a gingerbread man, adding a whistle that sounds while it spins- are nice touches too... Looking at pixcoco's photo, I can also imagine a clown face painted on the spinner if a person felt so inclined.

I'd definitely recommend painting it nicely, making a quality- looking item if you decide to make your own and use it in shows- it's not too hard to make a quick-and-dirty cardboard version that would do the trink- but YIKES, it could be a scary, amateurish piece. We're all too good for that!

If you want the trick without the gadget- Have the child hold the string ends (or tie them to a stationary object) while you just twist/ twirl the opposite ends- then bring your end to meet the child's end while holding a finger at the centerpoint and twist gently before you allow the halves to come together neatly. Tie together where your end meets the child's end, and the result is the same- but the process is much less elegant.

[applegirl]

I just did a very nice high end event in Boston. In the planning stage a friend of mine from TX suggested I make friendship bracelets. She had this thing I am anxious to tell you about.
It is made of wood and is like a propeller. a dowl stick goes thru it to swing it by. You would use yarn to make it and the children pick the colors. If they are old enough you let them swing the propeller. They get a bracelet and go on their way. It is faster than a balloon and is not a choking hazard and does not pop. Everyone loved it. They were amazed. It was easy for me. What more could you want?

Mine uses centrifical force to power the spinner. Sort of swinging it. That makes it very fast to use. It is about as fast as making a balloon dog. That is one of the things I like about it.

I remember seeing one and being amazed how quick it worked and seeing the little propeller to spin and wind the yarn.

He said it's easy to use but that the most important thing in making the bracelets was twisting the 2-3 strands of yard tightly enough. Then you double it over and twist by hand in the opposite direction. That locks everything together like a rope. He said it takes two people to use it, and that you need to know clockwise from counter clockwise, and that you have to know how to tie an overhand knot!

I just got some more info on this this thing. The guy who makes the device said that it kind of looks like a 10-inch-tall gingerbread man with a stick through its chest. He wants to find a little turbine whistle to mount on it, so when you spin it, it whistles. He hasn't been able to find the whistles though.

The dowl rod goes thru the hole. the yarn is about a yard an then bent in half around the T. You then spin the thing and hold the yarn. When you reach the end tie it in a knot. Th other end can be pulled apart to show a loop. The knoted end can be inserted into the loop after wraping it around the childs arm. ta da.

You use regular yarn. The fluffy stuff does not work very well. But that is a good thing because the regular stuff is cheap. You can also use colored string. It makes a tighter thinner bracelet that I think teens might like better. With the string you can easily use 3 coloras. 2 work best with the yarn. Either the yarn or the string can be found for about a dollar. You use about a yard of each color (maybe less) so it last a long time. The spinning makes the braclet twisted and pretty.

For little ones Mom can even tie it on the binky.


I hadn't yet received a photo of this thing from the guy I know who makes them, so I e-mailed him and had him look at your picture to see if this is the same thing he makes. This is what he said:
"It most likely does the same thing. Mine look like a gingerbread man with a dowel through the chest. Dowel position is critical. I use 2-3 strands of yarn and some beads if they want them.

You can give them my Email address if you want. I will start making them in the next few weeks. I will make them and supply an instruction sheet and a sample bracelet.

I get the kids to help by holding the other end of the yarn. They have to hold tight."

So let me know if you're interested. This is where I'm going to get mine.

[BlossomTheClown]

Applegirl,
Your drawing and explanation definitely helped me understand how it works now. I remembered seeing it last year sometime, but couldn't remember how it worked. Thanks.

[Lolly Plop]

I definatley will order one from the guy, I'll get it much faster 6than if I wait for Hubby to make it. Can you email me his email

[pixcoco]

That is how it works with one exception. I didn't have the kid hold the end of the yarn. For older kids (about6?) I let them spin the thing. I held the end because that was the harder part and the spinning is the more fun part. But because of the time of day I was doing my gig I only had very young ones. So I did both poarts myself. It is easy to do yourself. It is also faster that having the child help. So that is all up to your crowd.

I'm still working the kinks out but I love it anyways.

Have you had that baby yet? I'm guessing not. By the way...good job sorting thru this stuff.

[applegirl]

Originally Posted by pixcoco

Have you had that baby yet? I'm guessing not. By the way...good job sorting thru this stuff.

Thank you for the compliment and thank you for asking- and you're right- no baby yet (just contractions, they're not much fun though)

Ain't
Don't
Can't
Wasn't
Weren't

Well, golly, I guess I just had 5 contractions right there, that wasn't so bad! Maybe I'll have a few more and be all done soon I guess practice makes perfect.

[applegirl]

[quote=pixcoco;38297]That is how it works with one exception. I didn't have the kid hold the end of the yarn. For older kids (about6?) I let them spin the thing. I held the end because that was the harder part and the spinning is the more fun part. But because of the time of day I was doing my gig I only had very young ones. So I did both poarts myself. It is easy to do yourself. It is also faster that having the child help. So that is all up to your crowd.

I'm still working the kinks out but I love it anyways.[quote]

How big is your spinner, Pixcoco? If you can do all this in your own two hands, the spinner and dowel can't be bery long... Wait, never mind, a lot of it is in your technique, too, I'd bet- You're holding the dowel really close to the spinner, so the length of the yarn is between both hands and that's about all. Any quick technique tips?- Especially- You've got a few critical moves that happen all at once:

Bring the far end and spinner end of the twisted yarn together
Remove the loop from the T on the spinner
Tie off all the ends together
Twist the two sides together neatly
Tie it into a bracelet on the child's wrist

I guess to simplify, I'd skip step 4- and rather than hold the whole thing tight and twist it neatly together before I tie- I'd just let it kink up as it will, and focus on the tie-off of all the ends and removing the loop from the spinner- then smooth it out into one long bracelet after I'm done tying it off...

I can imagine shaping a groove into the far end of the dowel, then wedge the midpoint of the yarn into the groove during tie-off, to hold the whole thing taut- but then the dowel length suddenly becomes critical, and it makes the whole thing more complicated to use...

Really, I think I've got it down, but if you have any extra technique tips to share, I for one am fascinated and it sounds like several clowns have been following this post for ideas for this cool gadget.

[Bumbles]

I would be interested in getting one for Pattycake, would you please e-mail me his e-mail so that I can order on also.

[pixcoco]

When I start spinning the yarn I hold it close to the thing, as it spins I slide the yarn thru my fingers there by contoling the twisting just a bit.

To remove it from the thing (we really should name it) I bring the yarn over like you said then hold it with one hand , hold the thing in my lap and cut the yarn. next tie the knot. To put it on the child (or even adults want them) you don't have to tie it on, part the folded end on the yarn just a bit so you can place your knoted end thru it. It sort of makes its own latch.