Lanyard Making!

Hello everyone! My name is McKenna Crews and this summer I will be an intern with Karen Malone, the Ruby C. Strickland Curator of Education at the Evansville Museum of Art, History & Science. I am going to be a senior this year at Ball State University and am a triple history major studying Public History, General History, and Social Studies Education. I hope to get my masters degree in Public History and then teach for a few years in an urban school district. After that, I hope to become an educational curator or director in a museum. I will be making videos and activities for the next few weeks to help replace some of the traditional summer camps that the museum usually puts on. I hope you enjoy!!

This week we will be learning how to make a camp classic, lanyards!

You will Need

Plastic Lanyard String

Scissors

The Steps

1. Follow along with the video for specific instructions.

2. Cut your string one arm length or an entire wingspan depending on how long you want your lanyard to be and which difficulty level you are doing.

3. Start the lanyard by folding the string in half and making an X shape with the string on your finger,

4. Next, wrap the string that is on top of the X around your finger and the other string.

5. Grab the other color and start to weave the string through the wrapped color by going over the first string, and under the second string.

6. For the rest of the lanyard, instead of wrapping it around your finger, you will just fold the string over and make bunny ears. When you turn it sideways, they will look like a pretzel.

7. Then repeat the weaving motion and go over the top string and under the second string with the opposite color.

8. Do the same motions, just add more strings for more difficulty.

9. This can be difficult, so be sure to watch the video for a better understanding and demonstration!

Conclusion

This craft is a summer camp classic that I learned many, many years ago when I first started going to summer camp. It was always something I looked forward to making and being able to take home and show friends and family. It can be challenging when you first start to learn, so be patient with yourself and give yourself some grace if you’re first one doesn’t turn out perfectly. It took me a lot of years to figure them out and be able to progress to more difficult lanyards because I was teaching myself. This craft isn’t only fun, but it helps with coordination, listening to instructions, fine motor skills, and patience. Ask any questions you have in the comments and I will do my best to answer them for you! Have fun!!