Merry-Go-Round - Tutorial

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.

Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).

If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...

This month:

A simple tutorial

A few photos to show you how, with just a piece of wire and a piece of salvaged thread or fabric, you can create a colourful butterfly or dragonfly, using the technique of macrame knotting.

Here are a few pieces of salvaged ribbon or thread among which I take my pick.
And here is the kind of brass wire (controlled closely as you can see) you can find in any hardware store. I also use copper. Silver or aluminium would do just as well.
I cut a pice (22 cm / 8.5 in. in this case).
I bend it like this:
then I make a plain knot at what will be the tail end of my butterfly and start the macrame as you can see. One way:
the other way:
until I have enough to create the abdomen.

Then I loosen one of the knots to create the small pair of wings:
Then I knot one more tight knot:
And then another loose knot, for the larger pair of wings, followed by a couple of tight knots for the head:
A little whirl at both ends of the wire, for the antennae:

Pretty psychedelic, isn't it? I think it would do a nice brooch...

With a longer piece of blue cord and copper wire, I created this necklace with what looks more like a dragonfly:

There are as many variations as the kinds of thread or ribbon you can use...