Mackenzie Hurlbert – Copy Editor –
As this semester picks up and stress levels heighten, these quick crafts could be the perfect, temporary escape from those study sessions and homework marathons. The crafts are quick enough to not kill your day and easy enough to relax your mind as you purge your stress and anxiety into a creative outlet. Here’s a way to make a button bracelet.
A completed button bracelet.
All you’ll need:
-Hemp or embroidery thread
-Four-Holed Buttons (maybe you can use the leftover buttons from last week’s button bowl project!)
1) Choose your color scheme: Pick the color string and buttons you plan to use and arrange them in the order you’ll string them. Wooden buttons and brown hemp make a very natural look, while tie-dye embroidery floss and multi-colored buttons create a very cheery and colorful bracelet.
2) To start, cut a piece of the string you have chosen two and a half times the size of your wrist.
3) Fold it in half, and taking the folded end, tie a knot about a half an inch down from the top of the loop. (This will act as a fastener so your bracelet will be removable).
4) Then take each end of the string and weave one in and out of the top holes of your first button and weave the other in and out of the bottom holes. Once you have finished this step, your button should lie flat against the thread.
5) Continue weaving the buttons onto the strings. Make sure the same string is corresponding with the same set of holes on the button—for example, the string which is weaved through the top holes of the first button will always be threaded through the top of the other buttons.
6) Once you have a string of buttons long enough to fit around your wrist, tie a knot in the two strings, but leave at least an inch of string after the knot.
7) Lastly, choose the button you would like to act as your fastener. Preferably, it should be flat bottomed and small enough to squeak through the loop you made in step three. Thread what’s left of the string through the diagonal holes in the button and knot it tightly.
There you have it! An even easier and quicker version of the button bracelet is to use only two buttons: one as the middle pendant and another as a fastener. The rest of the bracelet would be the thread you chose. You could wear one of these single button bracelets for a simple look, or you can layer the bracelets and create funky combinations.
