Bracelet knotter at the campsite
Author: Petra Middag-Broks
Pediatric occupational therapist and mother
A top item for hand luggage is the knotter. Our daughter loves bracelets. She prefers to make them herself from loom elastics, ironing beads or other craft supplies. None of these are options for on the road. The knotter certainly is. I tie 6 strands of thick wool (or 12 thin wool) together for her and secure each strand in the slits of the flower.
Then she can continue, because it is not difficult. She counts “one, two, three”, takes the third string, pulls it loose and pushes it into the empty slit. Then she counts three forward again and puts that string into the new empty slit. After three or four times she pulls the button at the bottom of the flower to tighten the bracelet. After less than half an hour she is done and I can make an end knot for her. The knotter is small enough to fit in her daypack. And if she wants something other than a bracelet, she makes a key ring or cord for her coat, bag or vest.
Be sure to bring a few extra sets for girlfriends on the camping trip, because this could become a new craze. And let's be honest, a few small balls of wool will probably fit in your hand luggage and it weighs next to nothing.
If you are flying, make sure you have enough spare threads at the right length, because taking scissors on the plane is not going to work. Or take a mini pair of scissors from a sewing kit or an “easygrip self-opening pair of scissors” from Toys42hands. These are very nice scissors with a short, sharp cutting edge. For the plane, the cutting edge must be smaller than 6 cm in any case.
Those spare button stars for all girlfriends simply go in the suitcase or you can make a button star at your destination by copying the shape onto thick cardboard or a beer mat and cutting it out. Not as sturdy as this wooden button star from Goki and certainly not as pretty, but you can still go a long way with it.
