Hemp Jewelry

Good afternoon!  Hopefully in my last post I peaked your interest about the Hemp Jewelry program coming up on May 14th.  Today I wanted to share with you some pictures of the kind of jewelry you would be able to make after the program, along with some links to websites with more information.

Hemp jewelry is knotted jewelry, so its very easy to learn.  It may also be called macrame, but macrame includes all types of knotted jewelry, while we will be working with just hemp materials.  Most of the time you are performing the same knot or the same pattern of knots over and over in order to create a knotted cord.  The kind of material you use for this is called hemp or hemp cord.  You can find it in many craft stores as well as places like Wal-Mart.  Other items you may use to decorate your hemp jewelry are beads and shells.  Anything with a hole through it can be added to your jewelry though!

There are two basic designs for hemp jewelry.  First, there is the flat square knot.  It looks like this:

Next there is the half square knot, which makes a pattern like a spiral.  It looks like this:



At the program on May 14, we will learn how to do both of these patterns, as well as adding beads and finishing your jewelry.

Interested in reading more?  Here is a book that you can request to learn more:

 

Click to go to library catalog

And here are some helpful websites:

Step by Step instructions for basic jewelry

Wikipedia page about macrame

instructions for creating a switch knot, a variation on the square knot

Fishbone pattern guide

how to add a bead flower

Hopefully I've gotten you really excited about the upcoming program.  Remember to stop in and sign up, or call and sign up for the program.  It will be:

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

2:00-4:00pm

In the Activities Room

Open to all young adults ages 10-18

I hope to see you there!