Loom bands

I'm afraid that I've finally succumbed. I just couldn't resist the hype any longer. On the pretence that they are for the children, last week I ordered a massive bag of cheap loom bands from Amazon. I was encouraged once I found out that you could make the bracelets just using your fingers, but not surprisingly it wasn't very long before I had ordered myself a simple loom as well.

As soon as the bands arrived I was off. YouTube is full of tutorials to show you how to make different types of bracelets. I started off on my fingers but found that it was a bit uncomfortable for me. I read somewhere the suggestion to use a plastic children's socket cover, and that works brilliantly. Harry prefers this method now too, along with one of the little hooks that come with the bands. He's picked it up really quickly and loves choosing his colours to make different patterns. The only bit that he can't do is finishing the bracelet off, but i'm sure that it won't be long before he's worked it out.

It's such a cheap craft! The bands are very reasonably priced and are available in all different colours. Although next time I wouldn't buy the cheapest bands available, as they weren't as good as others that I've seen since. I bought my loom from the fantastic Craft Merrily - I went for the Friendship Loom - and the bands in that set are much better quality.

I've not really got the hang of the loom itself yet. The instructions that came with it were impossible for me to follow, they just made no sense. Fortunately there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube, and I found one which demonstrated in a much clearer way how to make the basic bracelet. I'm going to experiment with it a bit though and see what I can come up with.

I shouldn't think I'll ever get especially good at them, but I'm having lots of fun! And if you are looking for some truly inspirational loom band bracelet projects take a look here - YarnJourney - I'm in awe!

Is your home full of loom bands too?