Why Misanga bracelets?

Okay, so here it is my first 'proper' blog post. I thought long and hard what to write about, in the end I thought the best thing to write on would be my current crafty obsession - misanga bracelets.

'The Mechanist' misanga by Little Kamakura

What on earth is misanga?

Misanga is a good luck charm made from knotted embroidery floss, thread or similiar material. Like friendship bracelets they are made from simple knots. It is said that if you make a wish when you tie it on it will come true when the bracelet falls off from wear. Misanga originate from Japan.

Now hang on.. I hear friendship bracelet makers from all over furrowing their brows and questioning how this is different to standard knotted bracelets. As far as I can tell from my research so far can tell me the answer is simple; it isn't.

Then why do I call my bracelets misanga rather than friendship/wish bracelets? Simply put.. I like the word! As you can likely tell by the background of my blog and parts of the concept of Little Kamakura I love a lot of asian inspired things and saying 'misanga' makes me smile (even though I'm sure I'm mispronouncing it!) which is in keeping with the spirit of the bracelets.

California Sunset by Michelle's Goodies

  
The origins of the bracelets

As with all things crafty pinning down a specific origin is hard. People are always inspired by others, and you will always find the occasional cheeky so and so who will claim that they created something because they put a slight twist on something they saw elsewhere. Two sources of knotted friendship bracelets are pretty soundly agreed upon however.

~* The knotcraft and handweaving of Native American handicrafts. Central American indeginous tradition stated that the recipient of a friendship bracelet must wear it until the cords wear out and it falls off naturally.


The friend paid for it with the hard work and love that went into crafting it and the recipient repays their friend by honouring the effort that went into it. Removing the bracelet before it wore out is considered a sign that the friendship has gone badly.


A variation of this tradition is the wish bracelet philosophy, where the recipient is entitled to a wish that will come true when the bracelet falls off.



~* Macrame is another popular base for making friendship bracelets. Macrame is a form of textile-making using knots rather than weaving or knitting. 


Macrame is believed to have originated with 13th century Arab weavers who would use excess thread and yarn to make decorative fringes for hand-loomed fabrics. Throughout the years the practice spread, becoming popular with artisans and a handicraft for sailors to perform while at sea. it was most popular during the Victorian era. Sylvia's Book of Macramé Lace was a favourite, it showed readers how "to work rich trimmings for black and coloured costumes, both for home wear, garden parties, seaside ramblings, and balls—fairylike adornments for household and underlinens ..."

Friendship bracelet by Mystiqued04

Popular kinds of bracelet

There are many variations on the misanga bracelet, here are just a few of the most popular:

Wish bracelet by Hattie McHatterson

Wish Bracelets are a simple variation of the tradition of wishes coming true when your bracelet falls off. They tend to have thinner threads, braided from fewer base threads or are made using a length of cord. These bracelets look more delicate and tend to have a focal bead or charm designed to remind people of the wish they made when they put it on.


Many wish bracelets made with beads use colour philosophies, attributing certain colours to certain areas of wishes.

Pixie Sticks by Campfire Knots

Chinese Staircase or a twisted/spiral macrame knot. This simple but stunning knot produces a great spiralling effect, like a staircase (hence the name) These bracelets can vary in size and can often be found with extra embellishments, like the nice colourful chunky knots in Campfire Knot's creation above.

Micromaracame bracelets by Kaliste Bracelets

Flat macrame. Using a similar knot to the chinese staircase flat macrame bracelets use a back and forth knotting making the bracelet sit flat rather than twisting. This method is sometimes used to thread beads into the central colour of the bracelet.

Chevron Friendship Bracelet by Kennedy Bentley

'Normal' Friendship Bracelets in recent years one of the most popular designs for friendship bracelets has been based on a method that involves knotting along the diagonals of a design. It is so popular it is often referred to as the 'normal' way to make friendship bracelets. This method is often used to make stripes, chevrons and diamonds but can also be used to make more complicated designs that use the same method and some creative thinking.

Captain's Ink by Poisoned Apple Crafts

 Alpha Pattern. Also known as squar-knot designs. By knotting differently to the 'normal' method you can knot back and forth moving almost as you would when weaving. This method is used to make more complicated patterned bracelets, most commonly words and phrases but pictures are also popular.

Why are misanga so expensive?

While writing this blog post I felt the need to address the cost of knotted bracelets. Many people see a friendship bracelet as its parts - some embroidery floss threads and some knots and they see that they can be bought cheaply in some places and then wonder why they cost more in places like etsy shops.


Simply put, if you see a cheap misanga one of three things is probable:

~* A machine was involved somewhere
~* A sweatshop was involved somewhere
~* The poor designer of the bracelet is undercharging because of the pressure from people saying they 'should' be cheaper.

Yes a friendship bracelet is knotted thread but so much more goes into making and selling a piece of jewellery. Here's a fun game for you if you think people are overcharging for hand-knotted bracelets:


1) Get a piece of thread or string and tie a double knot in it. Not just any knot, neatly place it on the string. Now do another and place it precisely under the first so they are touching. Now, imagine doing that sort of thing hundreds of times for a basic bracelet and thousands of times for more complex designs.
2) If you're still in doubt over the cost of a friendship bracelet next grab your camera and try to get a good photo of your knotted piece of string. Remember you need to make your thread look super attractive, you're competing with lots of other people charging mere pence for their string when you know yours is worth pounds
3) Imagine your disappointment if you ordered a bracelet and it arrived in the mail all loose and knotted. Now think on ways to display your string, ways to package it so it will be secure and look appealing. Price up the pieces used to make your packaging and the extra effort it takes to make it.

...if you're still all grumpyface and think people are overcharging you I have all sorts of arguements involving the fees involved to list on sites like ebay and etsy and the chunk of money paypal takes away before it arrives with the seller, but really this isn't a rant blog post!

Beaded Friendship Bracelets by It's me, Mary

In closing, wow that post ran away with me. I've babbled a lot and I have more babble in me, but I'll leave that alone for now and come back to it another day to stop your brains melting. Thanks for reading! ♥