Ingrid recently asked me if I was happy to have my blog back. I guess it’s a bit like having a house party. You’re glad to clear up and get your house back into shape the next day but you had such a great time you could’ve carried on partying, lol! (Some of the party goers really like to partaaaay if you know what I mean! Empty gin bottles; and coffee tables with stiletto scratches on them from dancing on said tables. Or am I giving you a little too much insight into my 20’s here, lol??) After the whirlwind that was the blogger challenge for The Refashioners 2015 the dust is still settling here and I’m trying to wrestle myself back into some sort of blogging schedule again! Plus I’m having slight withdrawal from the frenetic and full on activity and inspiration of last month, lol! (No it’s not just you Tasha!) I’m busy behind the scenes putting together the first post showcasing some of YOUR makes for the community challenge element (and that amazing prize package!). But in the meantime I thought I’d share this quick and easy DIY for adding a little extra zing to a plain ole bangle!
I’ve been subconsciously buying into the monochrome trend recently. So when I dug up these wooden bangles from the bottom of a drawer, I thought they’d be perfect for a little updating. I wanted to create a nod to monochrome rather than go all out. Plus I really like the look and feel of the wood and the way it contrasted with this delicious pearl cotton yarn. The finished effect is a subtle and stylish nod to one of the season’s hottest trends.
Materials: Wooden bangle, DMC Pearl Cotton #5 in Black & Off White, Yarn Needle and Thread Snips/Scissors.
Start by tying a slipknot around the bangle using the white and snug it up against the bangle. (You’re not cutting off a length of yarn, but wrapping straight from the ball). Leave a tail of about 2”…
Flip the knot around to the inside…
Make a few wraps by passing the ball of yarn through the bangle. Keep it under a really firm tension and wrap over the loose tail end of the yarn to secure it as you go…
To get a nice even wrap without any gaps like this; stop every 6 or 7 wraps…
And snug the wraps up against eachother with your nail…
When you get halfway along, pull the yarn tail taught and snip off, then continue wrapping…
When you’re ready to add your black, don’t cut off the white! We’re going to carry the white yarn across behind the black so we can use it for the second band of white. So just secure it by tying it off at the back but leave it attached to the yarn ball. Then tie on your black with a slipknot as before. Leave a 2” tail of black…
Wrap the black in the same way as you did the white. This time you’re wrapping around the tail of the black AND the white yarn that you’re carrying across. Snip off the black tail about half way through your black band; then continue with your black, with the white yarn running behind it…
When you’re done with the black tie off and cut. Pick up your white yarn again and wrap exactly as before. Wrapping over the black tails as before. When you’re done, knot off and cut the white leaving a long tail…
Thread the white yarn tail onto a yarn needle and pass under the wraps at the back/inside of the bangle. Pull through tight and snip off…
Repeat all that 3 more times at equal intervals around the bangle!
I wanted to add just a few subtle touches to my bangle (I also liked the wood so much I didn’t want to obscure it totally).
But you could wrap the whole thing. You can use any colour yarn and any type of yarn. As long as it is strong (because you’ll need to wrap tight and keep it under tension!) there’s no limit to the colour combinations here!
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