The older my children get, the more they express a desire to craft. A desire, I might add, that this crafty mama loves. One craft in particular that often tops their list is that of creating their own jewelry–specifically bracelets, make that name bracelets.
Despite their strong love for this craft, their attention span isn’t always the longest. They want quick (and successful results) without having to spend endless time on one particular bracelet. Furthermore, they want bracelets that can be easily donned and doffed with their ever changing desires.
A very special thank you to FARMYARN for sponsoring this post. As always, I ONLY recommend products that I 100% use and love myself. Rest assured that if I wouldn’t recommend it to my mom, I wouldn’t recommend it to you!
Finding the right material- FARMYARN
After endless trips to the store to find material (string, ribbon, standard yarn, thread, etc.) that would allow for easy removal, comfort, and beading… we kept coming up short. That’s when I discovered FARMYARN and honestly we haven’t looked back.
FARMYARN is different from the materials noted above. FARMYARN is an elastic, multipurpose yarn made from 100% recycled textile selvages (a by-product of garment production). Instead of throwing out the “scraps” or selvages that are leftover in the garment industry worldwide, FARMYARN turns them into reusable materials… materials that make for the PERFECT name bracelets. With the ability to be used for a wide variety of purposes (home and garden, agriculture, face masks (think ear pieces), etc., I was most eager to try it for our crafting. Click here to see other fun ways FARMYARN has been used for crafting!
Super impressed with FARMYARN‘s color selection, I decided to allow the girls to each pick a favorite color and then purchased adult-friendly colors as well (black, white, heathered, etc.)
Here is where it got really fun… time to craft!
I started by having my girls practice both their letters/numbers and fine motor skills by breaking up all the beads into piles. (Believe it or not, this was an entire day’s project in and of itself ;)). In order to achieve our look, we opted to purchase cubed letter and number beads as found here. These allowed for a larger opening for the FARMYARN to fit through nicely.
Once the piles were sorted, we got to work!
One spool of FARMYARN could easily make hundreds of bracelets, so the name and number creations were truly endless. Crafting name bracelets for their friends and family members… the perfect gift to mail to a loved one.
In order to thread quickly, I utilized a large needle for pushing the FARMYARN through. My kids would sort the words/spelling effectively and I would follow up with threading. That said, I have already added to my shopping cart plastic yarn needles for my children to thread safely on their own (adding just one more step to independently create in the future).
Determining sizing.
With the elastic material, there was far less need for precise wrist measurements- taking a lot a stress out of the craft. Little large? No worries! Simply loop the FARMYARN around as many times as desired for a layered look. Little small? No worries! Simply stretch the elastic to fit your wrist.
Braiding, knotting, twisting, and more… the girls had so much fun making different looks before moving onto the next bracelet.
Other possibilities.
While my girls were busy with crafting names and words for the entire family… this mama had a little fun of her own.
Hair ties.
With the elastic feature, why not allow the bracelets to double as hair ties? Gone are the days of having blank hair ties sitting on your wrist. Instead I created some fun hair ties that resembled bracelets. Simply wear plain, or layer with a name bracelet. Then when it is needed for your hair… pull off and tie up that hair!
Alert bracelets.
Another fun possibility was using the bright orange colored FARMYARN for a safety bracelet. Children too young to remember your phone number? The next time you are out with your children in a large public setting, simply slip the extra comfortable bracelet on their wrist. In the very unfortunate event you get separated, your child will have a bright colored bracelet to draw attention to your phone number. Taking it one step further, use the word beads to announce allergies or other medical alerts.
The go-to.
With endless days spent crafting, FARMYARN has easily become our go-to in the world of bracelet making. So much so, that when it is time to make a bracelet, the FARMYARN spools come out and gone are the days of using any other material. The comfort, ease, and overall look just doesn’t compare to anything else we’ve tried. You can learn more here: www.farmyarn.us.
Want to make a FARMYARN name bracelet yourself? Click here to shop their latest colors and deals! Also available via Amazon.
Use code: MOM10 for 10% off your order!
Looking for another fun way to utilize your leftover FARMYARN? See my DIY face mask tutorial here and simply switch out the elastic for the FARMYARN which I have since done (SO much more comfortable)!
