Tips in Making Macrame Jewelry With Kids

Kids love macrame jewelry designing because it stimulates their imagination as well as gives them opportunities to create beautiful jewelry they can wear and show off to friends. They enjoy making unique fashion accessories, such as friendship bands, anklets and necklaces, which they can either sell or give away as gifts.

Macrame jewelry, like anklets and bracelets, are especially perfect for summer wear! They are not only appropriate for the beach, but also the best accessories at summer camps. They are easy enough to do for children of all ages, especially the girls. The following are tips for kids to keep in mind while making their macrame summer project.

Collecting Rugs, Tapestries and Other Textiles

Collectors collect any kind of material they like. There are collectors who collect antique wares, some collect coins while others collect comic books. Almost all types of items can be collected. Collecting items is a hobby that can be both expensive and physically demanding.

Rugs, tapestries and other types of textiles are among the most popular collectors’ items. You would be surprised to know that there are many people who are into collecting such objects. Actually, there are many people who are into collecting period, but they aren't aware that their fondness and interest in the collecting activity is becoming a form of a leisure or a hobby.

Macrame - A History of Knotted Art

When and where did macrame come from?

Who first saw the decorative potential of a simple piece of rope?

Macrame is the ancient craft of knotting rope or fiber in geometric patterns to create decorative and functional items. While several ancient cultures had knot tying tehniques and art forms, the form of macrame we use to day has its origins in ancient China. The word macrame is Arabic in origin, and means 'fringe'.

Over the centuries, macrame spread throughout the Orient and Europe, thanks in part to sailors and seafaring merchants, who practiced the art of knot tying for utility and decorative purposes. Macrame techniques were used in the Middle Ages to craft mourning jewelry from human hair, a practice that continued into the 19th century. By the Victorian era, macrame was a popular and fashionable pastime in England, used for lace, decorative details, and clothing.

The 1960's and 1970's saw a resurgence of interest in knotted crafts, with macrame plant hangers, wall hangings, accessories, and jewelry. Vivid colors and bold patterns are a hallmark of the time.

Macrame shows up in a surprising number of fashion and home accessory items available today. From hemp jewelry to woven tote bags, macrame has made an impact on fashion and in the home. Today's macrame features softer, more soothing colors and a greater array of fibers, textures and embellishments. Macrame is a good solitary craft--all you need is a length of cord, a pair of scissors, pins, and a work surface, so it travels and stores well.

Samantha McNesby

Crafts to Do With Textiles...Interesting List

Many crafts involve textiles, a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial fibers often referred to as thread or yarn. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibers together. Types of crafts made with textiles include but are not limited to:

	Banner-making - "Welcome Home Bobby!"
	Bootmaking - These boots were made for walking
	Canvas work - Paint the sky
	Cross-stitch - This craft will have you in stitches!
	Crocheting - Yay! Doilies!
	Curve stitching - Triangles are so much cooler than squares
	Dress-making - Patterns from the fabric store are a great help with this project.
	Embroidery - Personalized blankets make great gifts
	Knitting - Everyone needs a scarf
	Lace-making - Make your own lingerie!
	Lucet - This is braiding that dates back to the Viking days
	Macrame - This one had me in knots!
	Millinery - Hats, hats and more hats
	Needlepoint - Do two and one because this is a form of canvas work
	Patchwork - a quilt made with your old jeans is cheap and warm
	Quilting - Three layers of fun
	Ribbon embroidery - A romantic old art
	Rug-making - I have to say this is one of my favorite things to do
	Sewing - Hey, someone has to make the costumes for the play
	Shoemaking -I don't know how effective this will be without the elves
	Spinning (textiles) - More than just a fitness class
	Spirelli (also see Scrapbooking) - A brand new craft from Holland
	String art - Mathematical art
	Tapestry - Maybe you can listen to Carol King while creating yours
	Tatting - Great for tablecloths
	Weaving - Create interesting clothes by weaving together different colors
	T-Shirt Painting - Puffy paint all around

The Legacy of Samplers - the Art of Embroidery

All throughout history, both ancient and that which is being made today, man has had the desire to express himself and record history by using decorative stitching. This desire is only too evident when you study the art of embroidery and more particularly the history of the sampler.
The word sampler is derived from a Latin word, saumpler, which means to model, pattern, copy or imitate. While samplers of today are often associated with recording a historical event such as a wedding or birth by applying beautiful, intricate stitching to canvas, their original use was much more practical than sentimental.

The sampler finds its beginnings in an ancient time before printed books and embroidery magazines were readily available. During this time people learned different embroidery techniques by studying different embroidery designs which had been sewn onto cloth. These samplers were passed from hand to hand, and, after learning the stitches on the sampler, each person added a design or motif that they had learned for the next person to examine.

During the 15th and 16th centuries it became very popular to collect these samplers. And since embroidery was restricted to the wealthy (persons of poor economic standing did not have time to pursue leisurely activities such as embroidery), a great majority of samplers found their way into the hands of the well to do. Far from being the haphazard samplers that had been traded throughout the countryside, these samplers were highly prized pieces of art.

As such, old samplers and new ones were being created and hoarded, sometimes even being bequeathed to certain persons upon death like a priceless gem. The demand for printed needlework patterns led to the first commercially printed patterns in Germany during the year 1523. While these paper patterns were not readily available in the beginning, their popularity grew, and they eventually overrode the necessity, but not the fascination with and collection of samplers.

Samplers continued to be fashioned and evolved during different time periods to reflect the culture and personality of society at the time. During the early part of the 17th century, the alphabet began to be depicted on samplers, and it was believed that the sampler took on an educational aspect at this time. This can also be seen from the moral and religious inscriptions which are popular among samplers which were crafted at the end of the 17th century.

This trend continued, and by the turn of the 19th century, samplers were synonymous with education. In fact, school girls were required to complete a sampler depicting religious instruction, geography, English and mathematics before they were considered truly educated.
While samplers are not used in education today, they are still very popular among those looking for a unique, decorative and durable way to record family history. Today you can find samplers that depict family trees, births, weddings and other major lifetime events. These pieces of art are just as important to our culture today and the generations to come as were the samplers from which they received inspiration. And they are still as valuable to families as those hoarded by the rich in the15th and 16th centuries.

By Debra FernandezGet more great embroidery tips and articles at Debra's website Basic Embroidery
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