Yarn Bracelet Machine From a Up-cycled Pencil Sharpener

I volunteer at an Art Lab. Making yarn friendship bracelets is one of my most popular projects.

It's quick and easy and SO MUCH FUN!

First, I will show the steps for making a bracelet.

Second, I will add a few notes about making "the machine."

Third, I will offer some hints for making these bracelets with children of all ages.

This project is great for art fairs, parties, scout camp... or any event in which you need an inexpensive little take-home prize!

https://youtu.be/UIVTiEGx_MI

Yarn or embroidery floss. Scissors. Large Binder clip. "The Machine."

TO MAKE "THE MACHINE:"

A smooth board, 38-40" long, an old-fashioned Pencil Sharpener, "S" clip (also called an S-shaped double-opening carabiner)

Choose three colors of yarn or embroidery floss. (NOTE: I use three colors as a simple starting point. Any number of strands can be used. It is fun to experiment.)

Measure so that each piece is 72 inches long. Fold in half.

With the strands folded in half, make an overhand knot.

"The Machine" is made with a pencil sharpener, fastened to a 38" board.

(Details for making "the machine" are in steps 15-18)

Open the "S" clip and slide the loop on.

Clip the other yarn ends to the opposite side of the machine, using a large binder clip.

Turn the handle of the pencil sharpener. Do not change direction. Turn until the yarn is tightly wound. (It may start to move away from the binder clip at some point.)

Keeping the tightly wound yarn taut, CAREFULLY remove the clip from the end opposite the pencil sharpener.

Holding one end in your dominant hand, place one finger from your other hand at the mid point of the yarn.

"Fold" in half.

Hold both ends TIGHTLY, then lift the finger that was holding the middle.

The yarn will go "sproing" and a tightly twisted bracelet is formed.

Sometimes the yarn twists evenly. Sometimes it doesn't.

If it looks a bit uneven, hold the two ends together TIGHTLY with one hand and run your other hand along the bracelet several times, until the yarn evens out.

(Be careful. Doing this too quickly can give you a rope burn!)

Make an overhand knot, just the the one in step 3.

NOTE: Sometimes a bracelet may be too thick to easily make a knot. The end can also be finished off by tying another piece of yarn around the end, tightly.

Trim the uneven ends.

Untwist a bit of the "plain" end, forming a hole big enough to fit a finger.

Push the knotted end through the hole that was made by untwisting.

The bracelet is finished!

My "machine" was made by removing the outer cover from an old-fashioned pencil sharpener.

The pencil sharpener was fastened to a board that is about 38 inches long.

An "S hook" was then threaded through the place where a pencil normally goes.

In the video, I used a bit of heavy-duty wire, threaded through the pencil sharpener and bent to form a loop. Eventually I found that the S hook worked better.

The second machine, which briefly appears in the video, has the S clip fastened on with a bit of lighter wire. This pencil sharpener had NO space between the slot-where-the-pencil-goes and the rotating cutters. It DID have two protrusions on the front, and I tried fastening wires to these. It worked for a while, but it did not stand up to prolonged use and I threw it away. I hesitate to buy another pencil sharpener because they don't all have the same inner workings!

It is also possible to make a "machine" using a hand drill. I've had this Fishers model for years and it is wonderful. An old-fashioned "Yankee" drill also works. I've misplaced mine so I don't have a picture just now...

Twisted yarn bracelets can be made without ANY type of machine. It works best with two people.

Use 36 inches of yarn and omit the folding part of step 2. (It's not necessary to have a loop on one end, since there is no machine needed for fastening.)

Each person holds an end and then they twist in opposite directions.

This is fun to do with LONGER lengths on yarn, to make necklaces.

Older children can do this project on their own.... and they often make several bracelets!

Given the materials and taught the basic method, children can come up with some wonderful new ways to use "the machine."

In the second photo shown here, MANY more strands of yarn were twisted together to form this wonderful dog toy!

Have 72" marked out on a table OR wall. (In the art lab, we have a pillar that is almost 72 inches from a wall, so we measure from pillar to wall.)

I tell the child "We start the project together, then YOU do the winding, then I finish it off." For older children, I explain each step and tell them they can do the next one on their own if they choose.

1. Child chooses three colors of yarn.
2. Adult gives the child the loose ends of the yarn and instructs them to hold those ends TIGHTLY at one point. (In the Art Lab, it's the pillar!)
3. Adult carefully unwinds all balls of yarn to a length of 72 inches.
4. Adult cuts the yarn, folds the three strands in half, forms the loop, and fastens it to the machine.
5. CHILD turns and turns and turns.
6. Adult removes the yarn from the machine, allows it to "sproing."
7. Adult wraps the yarn around child's arm to see where to make the knot so that the bracelet fits. (I find it easier to make all bracelets with the "standard" measurement and cut them down. We use the cut-off ends as stuffing in other projects.)
8. Adult trims the bracelet and fastens it on the child's arm. Adult makes positive remarks about the wonderful colors that have been chosen and or the fun of working together!