WHAT YOU NEED
For this project you will need several of those evil rubber bands that are hanging around in your office, an ounce or two of yarn - or crochet thread, if you prefer - and of course, your rusty-trusty crochet hook. You will need to know basic crochet techniques for this, mainly the single crochet and Solomon's knots. As far as the yarn goes, I suggest using Caron simply soft. Any kind of crochet thread or embroidery thread can be used too.
HOW IT'S DONE
What you see in the picture below is the completed project. I know, it's pretty, but you're asking yourself, "will the rubber bands last? Wont they snap or break?" Well, the answer to that question is NO. Here's why: the rubber bands will wind up being completely covered and protected from their worst enemies, which are direct sunlight and heat. You may have noticed that when you leave rubber bands outside, they wind up becoming fragile, and then snapping. This way, though, they wont do that. I made a handful of these hair ties for myself over a year ago, and they're still going strong. In my book, that's totally worth it. In fact, all the pieces you see here came from that year-old batch..
Alright, so now that you know what the outcome will be, lets begin with step one...
These are your run-of-the mill rubber bands. These in particular were destined for newspaper delivery use, but they never made it to their destination. They've been lying around in my office for a while, and will now be repurposed.
To start off, I suggest you use two rubber bands for extra strength. A hair tie made of one rubber band will need to be twisted around more times to hold the hair. With one that's made with two, only two or three twists will be needed.
In this step you simply work the single crochet onto the rubber bands.
Again, this step is pretty self - explanatory. Remember that there is no need to count you SCs. If you wish, you could simply tie off the thread when you complete this step, and you would have a less-frilly hair tie. However, if you enjoy the frill, continue onto step 5.
...Just following the diagram. You will be attaching your sets of Solomon's knots to every other SC.
You will notice that as you continue along with this step, the sequence of the Solomon's knots will become very full and will flare out nicely. It is nothing to worry about... it means that its coming along nicely.
NOTE:
Additional Ideas...
When making additional pieces, try using thread combinations. I usually like to use one yarn with a contrasting crochet thread. The other option is to use three crochet threads. Whatever you do, just have fun with it.
I hope you enjoy this project. In further posts I will discuss other projects, of varying difficulty levels, and using other crafting techniques, such as:
~ How to make a crystal Bonsai Tree
~ How to hand-stitch properly
~ How to make your own purse patterns
~ How to decorate reused glass bottles
~ How to make a cheap lighted artist's table
~ How to stitch seams without a sewing machine
and many more.
~~~Betsy
