I received my first Friendship Bracelet many years ago from a college friend. It was a chevron design of navy blue and green thread and I wore it every day. Even though I don’t have the bracelet anymore, I remember it fondly.
Recently, with the rise in the maker’s movement, the craft of making Friendship Bracelets has become a focus and London-based crafter Maria Makarova (AKA Masha Knots) is on it! After more than ten years of making the colorful bracelets herself and offering YouTube tutorials, she has written a book – The Beginner’s Guide to Friendship Bracelets: Essential Lessons for Creating Designs to Wear and Give (Rocky Nook).
The popularity of Friendship Bracelets has ebbed and flowed over the years, but as an endearing sign of friendship they never really go away. New generations of teenagers, young adults, and now even older folks can’t resist the charm of a handmade symbol of connection.
In her book, Makarova explains in detail how to make simple and more complex bracelet designs. She covers tools of the trade, basic loops, embellishments, fixing common mistakes, and she even offers “tricks and tips.” The instructions are user friendly with lots of diagrams and step-by-step photos. In Chapter 12 Makarova provides photos of her original designs.
I’m thinking Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day, the celebration of female friendships, on February 13th). Get the book for the crafter in your life or for yourself and start a new hobby. What better a gift for the people you love than a handmade bracelet? And when it comes to making gifts, it’s never too early to think about the holidays, as well as birthdays and graduations coming up this year.
(ODFL would like to thank Rocky Nook for providing a review copy of this book.)
OverDressed for Life 