A big hug: Knot Necklace tutorial

For the first day of school I was worried that my daughter might miss us, so I wanted to make her something special to remind her that we love her. I came up with an idea about a necklace "hugging" her all day. Being the the daughter of a seminary teacher I am constantly looking for symbolism and analogies. As I was tying the knots and wrapping the beads, I was thinking about all the pieces (fabric squares) of our lives that have brought our family to this point. How we are all tied together for eternity, and that I will always wrap my arms around my kids whenever then need me. I tried to explain that to her the morning of her first day of school. I asked her if she understood. She told me that she did, and so I asked her to tell me what she thought the necklace meant.
She teared up a little and said "that you love me." I told her that if she ever missed us while she was at school she could remember that she had a hug from us around her neck. She wanted to wear the necklace again today but it didn't match her outfit so I said "how about a headband I made?" Never too young to start learning about matching at out house. :)
A little too mushy? I promise I'll stop with all the "my baby is growing up too fast" stuff! How 'bout a tutorial on how I made the necklace? I personally think my daughters turned out cuter than the one I just made. (I used thicker fabric and I think the thinner stuff works much better!)



Here we go:

1. Gather your materials. Fabric scraps, thread, sewing machine, scissors or rotary cutter, & beads or marbles.
2. Cut your scraps into rectangles large enough cover your bead, plus a 1/2 inch for your seam.
3. Sew all the rectangles together in a long strip.
4. Fold strip in half lengthwise right sides together and sew the edge.
5. Turn the tube right side out
6. Tie a knot approximately 4 inches down
7. Put a bead or marble inside the tube
8. Make a knot above the bead
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until you have 4 inches of fabric left
10. Tuck the edges in and top sew around the edges for the ties.

Tips: Use thin fabric or something stretchy so your knots are all about the same size and contrast against your bead.
Make your strip of rectangles 8 inches long PLUS double the length of how many beads you want. (I think they look better long for adults, ie: way longer than I made mine.)

I'll post a headband tutorial soon!