friendship bracelets 2014

the weather had been going back and forth from cold to hot so I wasn't thinking about bracelets for the boys until a friend of mine sent me a picture of all these bracelets she's been making.  I felt so behind!  it took me two weeks to finish all 6 of mine (why did I decide they need 3 each??) but I got it done.

I was looking for some interesting new pattern ideas and I really liked this rainbow zig zag... then I realized I did that one already year before last in yellow and black!  with gradient colors it gives it a different look so I did it again, anyway.

Scarlet King Snake colors/pattern (red on black, friend to Jack) is a must now so I did some framed chevrons to represent snakes - I think these are my favorite.

I did each of their names in gradient colors with some accent triangles for a tribal sorta feel.

when I gave Leo his first bracelet he wore it for a little bit and then asked me to take it off :(  I was pretty bummed, but he came around and asked for it again later.  every time I had a new one to put on them they both held out their arms and patiently waited for me to tie them on, then went back to playing.  I would love to still be making friendship bracelets for them years down the road, but I know one day it'll come to an end when they decide they're too cool for mom's dorky crafts, so I'm glad they are willing to wear them for now!

bracelets for my boys

it's not quite summer, but it feels so nice outside that I pulled my summer bracelets out the other day and Leo immediately wanted to know where his were.  he walked around the living room whining about it because his past 2 years of bracelets are framed up on the wall.  I had to quickly whip one up, which he got excited about, but then went back to whining because one wasn't enough.  he's so smart.

 

as I was making more he came over to "oooooh" and "ahhhhhhh" over my basket of embroidery floss.  he kept saying "purple!" over and over so I told him I'd make a purple one.  then he wanted blue.  and green.  and black.  and whatever other color he pulled from the pile of floss.  it's so cute how passionate he is about his summer bracelets now :)

I made Jack some, too.  my favorite is the Scarlet King snake - red on black, friend to Jack :)  I thought it was pretty clever.  maybe someday he will like them as much as Leo does his.



knot for Leo

I made Leo some friendship bracelets to wear last summer that are now framed and up on my Leo wall of fame in the living room.

he was a sport and wore them for 4 months without a problem! I'm trying to make it a summer tradition to make him new ones every year and these are what I did for 2012.

the top one is a zigzag pattern in yellow and black, the middle one is basic letters that I made on a grid, and the bottom one is a 5-strand flat braid like I did on my flip flops strap. I finished them all off by leaving tails to tie together that I fishtail(or fishbone?) braided.

I tried the same 5-strand flat braid with 7 strands for a friend. I'm sure it could be done with many more and I want to try a really wide one... some day.

I was worried that because Leo's older he might mess with them, but he actually seemed excited to wear them (maybe he remembers) and sat still with his arm out for me to put them on! he doesn't seem to notice they're there now.

if you're new to friendship bracelets, here are the 4 basic knots: