Choosing colors for our bracelets
Couldn’t make it to last week’s Summer Camp Crafts for Grown Ups program? Check this blog post after each program for resources to create the project at home.
Braided Friendship Bracelets – June 18, 2026
On June 18, we met to awaken our muscle memories and make friendship bracelets. Most braided friendship bracelets are based on forward and backwards knots. Tying those knots together in various orders and color combinations can result in candy stripes, chevrons, hearts, or any number of patterns! Although many of us remembered making these bracelets in the past, remembering how to recreate the patterns was harder than expected – especially while chatting!
If you want to try your hand at making a friendship bracelet, grab some yarn or embroidery floss and check out the How to Make Friendship Bracelets class on Creative Bug. All you need is your library card number!
Assembling the flower presses
Upcycled Book Flower Presses – July 16, 2026
On July 16, a group of intrepid crafters met to cut apart discarded hardcover books and reassemble them as flower presses. We used used scrapbook paper and washi tape to liven up the book covers and hide reasons for their deaccessioning (think unsightly water damage and threadbare edges). Next, Art Librarian Mary Kate carefully drilled holes through each set of book covers and cardboard sheets. Crafters then cut pages from their books to serve as blotting paper for the flowers, then assembled the press by threading the hardware (four washers, four ¼″ x 3” flat machine screws, and four wing nuts) through each layer of the press. The last step was to choose a flower, freshly picked from Mary Kate’s garden, to press and take home.
Try it yourself by following the Make an Upcycled Flower Press class on Creative Bug. All you need is your library card number!
Indigo Dyed Shibori Bandanas – August 13, 2026
On August 13, our group used the traditional Japanese Shibori method of resist dying and natural indigo extract to hand dye cotton bandanas. Shibori uses folding, bundling, pleating, and other techniques to create beautiful dye resist patterns. Several days before the program, we scoured the fabric by simmering it in washing soda for one hour. Next, we created a 1-2-3 indigo vat using indigo extract, pickling lime, and fructose. When our excited crafters arrived for the program, they experimented with fold patterns and used different dying accessories to create resist patterns, like rubber bands, magnetic tiles, and wooden beads. Bundled bandanas were gently dipped in the vat of indigo dye for one minute at a time before they were unfolded to reveal beautiful, unique designs.
Try it yourself by following the Natural Dyeing with Indigo class on Creative Bug. Although they use a different recipe for creating indigo dye than we did, you can’t go wrong!
