make: felt mystery braid bracelet

Two weeks from today, Family VBS (or Family Bible Adventure, as we call it) starts at our church. We will be using Group's Hometown Nazareth curriculum, and are so excited about it. What makes this different from traditional Vacation Bible Schools is that is happens in the evenings, and families come and participate together. Last year we "visited" Egypt, and one of the things we found was that it helped to add some supplemental crafts and give people more options.

That's where I come in! I love the chance to come up with more ideas, so that's what this is today. One of the ideas that we are adding into the Wool Shop (think Bible-times marketplace stall), is a wool felt bracelet.

Are you familiar with mystery braid? It's usually made from a single strip of leather, which has two slits cut in it. Martha Stewart has an excellent tutorial, which shows the finished leather bracelets, along with how to create a braid from a single piece.

But we're talking about a wool shop, so I thought, why not make a bracelet like this from wool felt? It's sturdier than regular felt, fits the theme, and will make a nice challenge for the older kids who come. Here's the process:

From wool or wool blend felt, cut a strip about 2 inches wide, by 8-9 inches long, depending on the size of the wrist. (I made a bunch of each size for Nazareth.)

Fold the strip in half, and cut two slits. Make sure you leave enough room at each end for adding a closure.

Mystery braid! I tried to take photo steps of this, but it just doesn't work. I highly recommend Martha's diagrams. I followed the steps up to step six. Because of the width of the strips, this was all the braiding that was needed. After you're all braided and you get things looking right (it does seem like a strange process...but it works!), continue on.

Sew a button on one end. Before you figure on the final placement for the button, you may want to try it on a wrist.

In the other end, cut a slit for a button hole. I love felt for this because you don't worry about fraying fabric!

Now it's all ready to be worn. Whether you're visiting Nazareth, or just looking for a nice looking cuff bracelet, this is a really fun project. Even for adults!

Oh, and Happy Memorial Day! We're heading to the little parade in our town!