During quarantine, everyone’s day-to-day lives can get a little boring. So, to pass the time, many students are making crafts. Students have been doing anything from sewing and knitting blankets, to baking, drawing, and puzzles. With so many activities to choose from, I decided to try three different crafts: plastic lacing lanyards, customized clothes, and rainbow loom. Here’s how they went.
Plastic Lacing Lanyards
The first activity I tried was making lanyards. If you want to make little things to hang on your backpack or sports gear, this craft is the way to go. It keeps you busy and is very easy to personalize. I learned how to make lanyards at my old school’s summer camp, and now it has become a hobby of mine. Plastic or rubber lacings are great, as they keep the shape of the lanyard and are stiff enough to hold any design. You can get lacings from Michaels, along with some keychains to finish off the lanyard. The lanyards I made ranged in design: some were twisted, some were straight, some had 8 strings, and some had two. To make your own lanyard, weave the lacings together, continuing to build them up until you run out. Then, tie a knot and string your finished lanyard onto a keychain. A good YouTube tutorial is The box stitch Lanyard – Classic Camp Crafts. While the lacings used are different, this video shows you how to start off a simpler lanyard and build it up. If you want to make a more complex lanyard, simply add another string and more or less follow the same instructions.
Customized Clothes
One of my favorite crafts that I tried was painting/customizing some of my old clothes. I learned of this activity by watching a lot, and I mean a lot, of Tik Toks. I decided to paint the pants pockets and sides of some old jeans as well as old t-shirts that I had laying around. Although this craft is really time consuming, it’s one of my favorites because it’s calming and has allowed me to focus, especially after going a little stir crazy in quarantine. For this craft, all you need are some clothes, paint brushes, and either fabric paint or acrylic paint. WARNING: the drying processes for varying paints are a little different, so keep this in mind and do some research so that you don’t ruin your clothes when they’re thrown into the wash. Also, don’t use water when painting to prevent cracking. The colors usually come out better when there is a white base coat applied first, so it’s always helpful to have some white paint handy. If you want to make more geometric designs, using tape as a stencil can really help. Then, you can paint whatever you want! Go nuts!
Rainbow Loom
Finally, I had a lot of Rainbow Looms lying around my house from back when they were every tween’s obsession. Rainbow Loom is one of the simplest crafts out there; this is an oldie, but a goodie. I knew how to make a few different kinds of bracelets already, thanks to YouTube and a little booklet that came with the kit, so I tried to make a bracelet in every style that I could think of. (I’m planning on giving them to my friends when quarantine is over. You could do so too.) I even went beyond just making bracelets and decided to make little animals too! So far, I’ve made 3 penguins and a parrot, as well as a little bow ring. Trust me though, it took a lot of work. For this activity, you will need a loom of some kind, rubber bands, and a little crochet hook. There are so many things to create, that at this point, you could search anything on YouTube to make, and there’d probably be a tutorial for it.
These activities are so easy and provide a great distraction for when you’re feeling lonely in quarantine. Crafts are so fun, and there’s so many others that you can try too. The sky’s the limit. No matter which craft you choose, keeping yourself busy is probably the best form of therapy to during quarantine. Have fun!
