Craft #7 (the last!) Hex Nut Bracelet

It's been a while since my last post! I spent the last month dealing with end of school, finals, and spending time with my family. But now it's summer (though it's only 65 degrees outside here) and I will hopefully have time to be crafty!
I have been snoozing (an extension you can get if you use Google Chrome) this page, an Etsy store ad for a "Steampunk" Hex Nut Bracelet for a month or more. I don't remember now where I found it, but I decided I could totally make it myself, especially since I still had hex nuts leftover from my other bracelets! 

Basic idea: string the flat sides of the hex nuts together to make a bracelet!

I used embroidery floss and 40 hex nuts, assisted by my big ol' needle.  My first step was to arrange the hex nuts in the pattern, just so I had an idea of where I was going to be threading them together. I ended up not doing it that way--in three rows-- but it was useful to start out with.

I tied the end of the string (I cut about two arm lengths to start out with) around one of the hex nuts, and wrapped it twice around another one--flat ends together. Then I continued, lashing the hex nuts together, flat side-to-flat side, wrapped twice with the thread, adding as I went.
(If you need a bigger and better view of the pictures, click on them!)

 I decided at this point that I didn't want to continue as in the Etsy post, and instead make it a little smaller and more feminine. (Since, obviously, the pink wasn't girly enough.)
So I kept plodding along, adding in my little pattern. (Scroll back up to the top to look at it!) Where I only have it connected by one hex nut, in order to keep the bracelet from being too wobbly, I discovered that it was best to attach it on two sides, rather than just one. Make triangles! 
I needed to add more string as I went, so I just tied it on, trimmed the ends later, and threw some clear nail polish on the knots.
Last step was to add the clasp, which I debated about how to do for a while, but I ended up just stringing it on with the embroidery floss. My clasp was big enough that I could hook it on to the last hex nut, but it was a little hard to unhook. So I just threaded a loop of floss through.

And there we go! I'm pretty happy with it, and I might even go to the hardware store and pick up more hex nuts. Of the three bracelets that I've made, this one's my favorite!

Questions, comments-- let me know :)

Craft #6 -- Bleached tee

I'm nearing the end of my quarter, and I'm so ready for summer.  Hopefully I'll be able to steal my sister's sewing machine and make some of the bigger projects on my board! In the meantime, I'm doing lots of powerpoints and catching up on all of the season finales!

On to my project! I actually finished it a week ago, and have just been putting things off.  It did take me a while to do, however.  In Attempt #1 I used a shirt from JC Penny's that I got for $2. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the details in the instructions (click on the picture to see the whole tutorial!).  It was mostly polyester, which I found out is pretty colorfast. Since I couldn't see any color coming up, I kept putting more bleach on and it ate through the shirt! Too bad, since I liked the style of Attempt #1's shirt better than Attempt #2's tank. Ah well. It turned out well in the end.

Basic idea: bleach a design on a shirt! Sorta like reverse tie-dying.
You'll need (non-color safe) bleach, chalk to draw your design with, a synthetic bristle'd paint brush (if you use brushes with real hair bristles they dissolve in the bleach. Again, I didn't read the instructions until afterwards). I used an old sock to catch drips and rest my brushes on,  and of course, you need a cotton shirt. Seriously. Cotton.
You'll also need something to stop the bleach from going onto the back of the shirt. I used a cardboard box the first time, and a telephone book the second time, but I hear you can use a white and/or old towel.

Once you've got that all set up, sketch your design on the shirt with your chalk. If you mess up or change your mind, no worries, the chalk will wash out.

Side note about my quote:
I'm a language nerd. I took a year of Latin my freshman year of college, loved it, and this became one of my very favorite quotes.
 "Si vis amari, ama" is from Annaeus Seneca, a Roman philosopher.  It means "If you wish to be loved, love."

Once you have your design all settled, start painting! It's pretty incredible how fast the color comes out.  As you can see in my finished pictures, I ended up with parts more red and parts more white. I like it, but you can go back over with more bleach if you want it to be more even. 

Just to show you the difference between a cotton shirt and my Attempt #1 shirt which was polyester-- you can already see the red/white color on the 'S', while I'd bleached the entire quote on the pink shirt and it just looks damp. 

I recommend getting a smooth shirt versus a ribbed one, though, because I could paint more smoothly on the pink shirt versus the tank. I also had more room, so I like the way most of it looked on the pink shirt versus the black. 

And here's the cotton after I'd done the whole design:

Once I was happy with the design, I let it sit in the window light, since the instructions say to put it in the sun.  After that I hand washed it, just in case. I didn't want to throw it in a full load and have something go wrong and get bleach on all my clothes!  I did throw it in the dryer, and then the next time I did a load of laundry I threw it in.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, but I do want to do it again on a more flow-y shirt. 

There you go, another surprisingly easy project!  Questions or comments let me know. :)

Craft #3 Hex Nut Bracelet-- Braided

Bonjour!

I have two bracelets for you, both involving the same materials!
This past winter, before I had succumbed to Pinterest, I found this tutorial for a DIY braided hex nut bracelet, which I promptly made.  I bought a whole little box of hex nuts, so they've been sitting around my apartment since then.  I've tried things with them here and there, but now I'm officially out to use them up!
So here is bracelet #1-- The Super Cool Hex Nut Bracelet

Basic idea:  thread a hex nut (or bead) onto your strands as you braid

I started out with some string that I pilfered from my parents' house, and to make it more interesting I added a strand of the blue thread that I got for the Easter egg project. It ended up sneaking in and out of the braid and added a nice touch.

I cut three long strands of the string, knotted an end and taped it to the table for an anchor, and braided several inches.  It might be best to judge how far in you want to start the hex nuts for yourself (I have fairly skinny wrists).  It just needs to be long enough that you can tie the ends together!
For your planning purposes: on my bracelet, 10 hex nuts is about an inch, I used 16, and it's centered nicely on my wrist.


So now you need to start adding the hex nuts. Let's say you have just put the right strand over to the middle and you're about to do the left side. First, thread the hex nut on and let it slide and nestle up to the braid, then bring that strand over to the middle.




Next you do the same to the right side. Thread the hex nut on, nestle it, bring the strand to the middle.  It's just basic braiding with an addition.
I wasn't able to get super great pictures of this part (I need to start doing projects when my roommates are home so they can help me!) so if you get confused, the original DIY has a great series of pics to help!


Since I already made a basic bracelet, I wanted something different, so I decided to make it loop around my wrist twice. After I braided the first 16 hex nuts on, I stopped adding and just continued braiding until I had gone far enough that it brought me back to the top of my wrist. Then started braiding in the hex nuts again, but twice as many as the first one.  Then was a tail for knotting , et voila!
As an added bonus/if you want to get really fancy, does anyone remember these bad boys? How the ends are knotted around the string so you can slide the bracelet looser and tighter? Fun fact: Google says those are slide knots, and after some trial and error, I made one around the middle! Because the hex nuts are so heavy, it was a little hard to get everything situated so I could tie the ends myself.  This way, I can slide it loose, put it on, tighten it, and tie the other end.  Next time I would give myself extra, extra room on the ends so that I could do slide knots on both ends, to be exactly like those 80s/90s bracelets.
So there we go! Hex nut use #1, #2 to follow soon!

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or really anything you want to say, leave me a comment! 

I would love to know what you're thinking! :)