Wednesday 14 August 2013

How to Crochet a Hemp Bracelet or Anklet



Step 1: Prep Your Hemp Cord



Fold your 30' piece of hemp cord in half, then take one of the cut ends and put a very thin layer of glue on, using your fingers. We're talking about a drop here, folks! Use a twisting motion going with the direction of the hemp fibers, when applying, so that it creates a point. We're doing this to make it easier to slide on your beads, otherwise the hemp fibers will fray apart, making it impossible to strand anything on there.
Just use regular white glue or something similar. It should dry fairly quickly.


Step 2: Strand Your Beads



Now that your glue is dry, you need to strand your beads onto the hemp cord. Start with your seed beads - for a small ankle, you will need about 20-22 beads, but add more, just in case you need extra. You can always remove them later. End with an "optional" bead of your choice, which will be use for the end of the tie.

When you're done stranding these one, go ahead and slide them up to within about 8" of where you folded your cord in half.


Step 3: Knot the First End of Your Tie

Slide your first bead (your optional one) up into the "fold" of your cord and then, with both strands together, tie an overhand knot to lock your bead into place. If you are not using a bead here, then just go ahead and tie your overhand knot without a bead. It looks much cooler with a bead here, though! :)

Step 4: Placing Your Slip Knot

We will be tying our hemp bracelet (or anklet) on to our wrist or ankle, so we want ties. That first bead we added is the end of one of our ties, but now we want to give them length, so we're going to keep our two strands together, taut and even, then we're going to slide down about 6" (or however long you want your tie to be). At the 6" mark, we will make our slip knot. After making your slip knot, double-check to make sure your two strands are still even and taut. If they're not, redo it.

Step 5: Starting Your Chain 



Once you have your slip knot in the proper place, slide your crochet hook through and make your first chain stitch. Since we have two strands, and not just one, we will be doing "double-stranded" chains here. No biggie...it will just make things a bit thicker and cooler looking. :)

Now, before you make your second chain stitch, slide one of your seed beads up and then do your stitch. Repeat this process with all of your chain stitches until your bracelet or anklet is the right length for you. Feel free to keep checking it around your ankle or wrist. You will want it to wrap all the way around without the ends touching - a 1-2" gap would be good (hemp stretches with time or if it's been wet, etc, so you want a little extra space to cinch it up later). 

Step 6: