Survival Bracelets

Next year my other half is taking the year off work, to do all those things that it’s far too easy to make excuses not to do. He has been saving and planning for a while now and to give his year a bit of structure (& purpose) he has set himself several challenges, you can read all about them on his website didiever & even join in with a challenge or two. Being the more adventurous type (well far more than I am) one of his challenges is a wilderness trek. In preparation he’s been ruthlessly checking over old hiking gear, reading up on appropriate equipment and inevitably buying new stuff.

Inspiration Aspiration Opportunity © Martin M 2013 didiever.co.uk

I’m still amazed at how much equipment he’ll need and how the weight of every single item is so important as it all adds up (I’m a dutiful girlfriend, I listen, I nod and make the appropriate oohs & aahhs – but a lot goes over my head).

It’s relatively cost effective, 3 packs of cord & a few clasps for under £10 and I have plenty of left over cord after making 3 bracelets.

However I did find myself something useful to contribute. You might already have seen the trend for paracord bracelets on pinterest & alike. Working in a Bead shop I have had the chance to play with it and make several lovely knotted designs. Paracord bracelets were originally made as survival bracelets, made of strong parachute cord (hence the name) and woven into simple designs to be worn by hikers, climbers and trekkers as an easy way to carry around a potentially lifesaving length of cord. Check out this webpage & also this one I found (some interesting uses & opinions on paracord – some ideas seem a little farfetched, but having seen 127 hours – who knows what might happen).

I’ve used both 325 & 550 paracord: the 550 for the practical side of things & 325 (also practical) but also prevent the bracelets become too chunky to wear.

I thought I’d make one for Martin to take trekking, however my choice of knot had to be carefully considered so that should the paracord be needed it would be easy to unravel, so I needed some form of quick release unravel-able knot. I searched on pinterest and ended up with lots of lovely looking knots – none of them easy to undo. I refined my search and I eventually discovered the double chain Sinnet knot which does unravel. I must admit I found the technique simple, however using two colours of cord, definitely made it trickier and it was a bit of a struggle getting each cord to sit in the right place – however I did it. It was definitely worth the frustration it took to get the pattern going & once I was in the swing of things it came together quickly.

Black 500 paracord & blue 325 paracord

Black 500 paracord & neon pink 325 paracord

Martin will get the opportunity to try some of his new gear out while on holiday with friends this week. They’re all staying in one of his friend’s family cottage in Scotland, an annual tradition and part of this tradition for Martin is getting his friend a gift to thank her, usually a last minute affair, but this year I suggested I made a similar bracelet to give to her, since she too does plenty of walking and is also a keen skier, it would be ideal.

When it come to finishing in the ends melting them with a lighter, then immediately squashing them against a flat surface, works well and smooths the ends out nicely.

With the left over cord I made a second bracelet using fishtail knotting, not as functional (this knot doesn’t unravel) but it is lovely (one of my favourite knots).

Fishtail Paracord bracelet

Right back to my crafting ready for the The Lunesdale Show, my entries are coming together nicely, watch out for more posts soon.

A creative jump start

Once a year I get roped into helping my Mum out with one of her many jobs/duties as the secretary of the Lunesdale Agricultural show, it’s usually a little frantic the day before and there’s lots of ticking things off long lists, the show itself is quite traditional and the actual day is quite fun with a great atmosphere with the odd person telling me ‘you must be Gill’s daughter & that they knew my Grandparents’ – it feels quite homely despite having never lived in the area myself.

Despite the slight bit of work involved with helping out, I do look forward to the show each year for a couple of reasons, firstly working in a city it’s delightful to escape for a few days to a place that is so far from my ‘Norm’, to a world where people are chatting about sheep passports, cattle and farming. And secondly the home industries show!

Some of last years winning items

Every year since my Mum has been involved (I believe this is her 4th year) I have entered items into the homes industries show, usually bits and piece I’ve made throughout the year. Previously I’ve entered beadwork, a crochet rug, patchwork, felting and jewellery, on average maybe 4 or 5 pieces a year. Chatting to my Mum last weekend I suddenly felt all creative & determined, having had a little bit of a creative lull, mainly to do with the hot weather I think & the fact I’ve not being able to face tidying my craft room, so I pulled myself together, got tidying and started making lists & sketching ideas!

I do find that tidying and having a sort out of stashed items can in itself lead to some great ideas as well as some great re-discoveries. For example I found a half finished skirt that I started making last year (but then the weather turned & so the skirt got put into hibernation, where I forgot all about it).

I also discovered the Kumihimo disk that I bought several months ago with the intention of having a play with braiding with different textured thread. So here came my first idea, and a perfect excuse to do what I intended to do in the first place. So I rummaged around to find some suitable fabric I could braid with and found an off cut of some thin Liberty print fabric I used for a previous project that was already in a thin strip (& also cut on the bias which makes life much easier). Using different materials I thought it best to stick to a simple pattern and one that I already knew that uses 8 threads.

I created this pink and green braid first – picking out threads to match the colours in the fabric.
I liked how the braid turned out, I just wasn’t so sure about the colour, mainly as their not my usual cup of tea & the fabric was a little swallowed out in the overall design.

Version two I used a thicker strip of fabric and added in a few more beads and chose coloured I much preferred, mainly blue and turquoisy-greens.

However once I’d done this braid I discovered I much preferred the original one, I liked the twisted effect it had and I decided it wasn’t the end of the world that you couldn’t see much of the fabric – the designs & colours worked well together & I may not wear it myself, but it will serve its purpose in the show and I will no doubt find someone to give it to.

If you’re interested in learning Kumihimo braiding there is a free sheet of downloadable instructions on The Bead Shop (Nottingham)’s website, where I also got the disk. There are loads of variations of kumihimo braiding on pinterest, once you’re set up with your disk & threads the braiding is quite therapeutic.

Although my blue deign didn’t work out as well as I anticipated, all it not lost. With some of the excess bits I cut off, I simply plaited together the left over fabric strip and 2 different ribbon pieces and finished them off with fold over ends and a clasp to create a simple & effective wrap around bracelet, I left the fabric ends attached, so I could tie them to disguise the clasp. It shows off the fabric and it’s perfect for summer.


I have loads more ideas up my sleeve for the home industries including this wire work necklace I created this week. Based on a workshop I teach at The Bead Shop, herringbone wire wrapping, I thought I’d play around with colour and created this bold necklace.

Look out for more posts about my entries.

Made a dress in a Day

So the past few weeks have been rather busy, busy in a perfect kind of way for someone who can’t sit still for too long without knitting or a sewing needle in my hand. I will try my hand at most things crafty so I’m always keeping my eye out for courses & new opportunities to try things.

So when some of the girls I worked with mentioned they’d bought a ‘make a dress in a day’ workshop through groupon, I looked it up & was delighted to discover it was at the wonderful Textiles workshop in Sherwood, a place I have done many workshops in the past. So I bought a place & got booked on.

I imagine putting together a workshop like this for a reasonable number of people (I think there were 12 of us), to complete in 6 hours is quite a challenge, nevertheless it was organised well & the few complete beginners on the class got to grips with everything really well. I must admit I’m far from a beginner (not wanting to big headed) but I’ve been sewing for as long as I can remember. I have made garments before & I’m always adapting things (see my previous posts) & I love a bit of patchwork. What I struggle with is how to adapt patterns so that they will fit
my shape. The last dress I made from a pattern, did not turn out well & it completely knocked my dressmaking confidence.

The dress we made in the workshop was a simple shift dress with a little shaping & darts on the bust. I chose a cheap polycotton to make my dress from, treating it as a practice run as I didn’t know whether the finished dress would actually suit me or not, or if I’d wear it, so being cautious I didn’t want to spend loads on the fabric.

I learnt how to adapt the pattern before cutting the fabric by shortening the torso, making the narrowest part of the dress actually sit on my waist (which if often a problem I have) & I also learnt how to make diamond darts in the back of the dress for a better fit.

I thoroughly enjoyed the class and I got out of it exactly what I wanted, which was confidence to have a go at other projects, which I’ve been shying away from for a while now.

Rebecca the class teacher was very patient and gave everyone the appropriate help & advice they needed. She also gave us peter pan collar patterns for a lovely added feature, which would give a great vintage feel & also make the dress look I little more finished (if you know what I mean).

The finished dress does look a little handmade, which I don’t mind, I do wish I have gone for a more wearable fabric, as I’m not sure bright blue is quite for me (in fairness I thought I was getting a darker turquoise fabric when I bought it online) though I do like the flash of contrasting colour I added with the bias binding. However I do want to make this dress again in a softer lovely patterned fabric, with a peter pan collar, worn with a skinny belt I think this would make a great outfit. I have certainly gained a bit more confidence with my dress making abilities. I’m itching to get going with more projects 🙂

One of my next projects will definitely be a dress I bought a vintage pattern for a while ago, it’s a princess style dress that I’d love to make in some great fabric I inheriting from my Grandma’s stash.