Silver and beaded bracelets with Jill, Saturday 17th June 2023

At our June meeting, we are going to make silver and bead wrapped bracelets. I have all the requirements to make them, including the .925 silver jump rings and one bracelet is covered in our club costs.  Should you wish to make more, then others can be made for an extra £3. I have some lovely beads, often acquired on my travels, which are all available for you to use. You can bring your own selection of beads if you want to incorporate them, although they should not be large. The key thing to know is the size of the wrist that you wish to make the bracelet for. These vary greatly and although there is some leeway, you do need to have a good idea. This may well not take experienced crafters the whole time unless you want to make many (they do make great presents!) so other ‘own projects’ might be advised. Looking forward to seeing you, Jill

Please let Kate know if you plan to come along (or not), so we can arrange which room to use.

Braiding Stitch Club

 I believe a good day was had by all, going by the number of braids that were produced!  It was amazing how different they all looked, depending on the combination of colours and the thickness of materials used.

Narrow ribbon, wool, gold fingering, threads, novelty yarns all gave different effects in the finished braid.

The lengths were kept short on purpose, so everyone could have a go at multiple types of braids and keep them as samples going forward.

We tried round briads, a Laramie braid and a flat braid.  Further instructions were issued for another flat braid and a square braid.

Julie inspired her rope loving husband into creating a dog lead

Braiding with Jacqui - 20th May 2023

Need a braid to decorate something you've made (a cushion, bag, glasses case, scissor keeper etc) but can't find the colour or colour combination you need?  If that's the case, why not make your own?

Time permitting we will make a round braid, ribbed braid, square braid and flat braid, and you can use almost anything to make it.  I've seen it made with a bin liner cut into strips, wire, you  name it.

 Materials Required

• Braiding circle (can be cardboard, or a purchased compressed foam one)
• All sorts of different threads either in your favourite colour scheme, or as many colours as you want, including but not limited to:
• Wool
• Speciality threads (hairy, sparkly, shiny etc)
• Gold fingering
• Ribbon
• Textured threads
• Stranded cotton
• Perle threads (5, 8, 12 thicknesses)
• If you have them, weighted thread cards (cellotape a 2p coin to them to give them weight, you'll need around 16 - 20 of them)
• Something heavier you can fasten to your braid to keep it weighted as you work
• Scissors

Please bring a packed lunch.  Instructions will be provided.  I do have a couple of spare braiding circles left over from last time.

Braiding can be a very simple technique and a lot of fun, as you see your desired braid starting to grow.

The thickness of the finished braid is dependent on the thickness of the materials you use, and how many, so we will be making samples, so you can gauge what you need to get the desired result on your finished piece.

The most important thing is, to have fun doing it!