Friendship Day seeks to celebrate the pure bond of friendship between individuals, cultures, and countries. The thought was first proposed by Dr Ramon, a doctor and diplomat from Paraguay, as he believed that friendship can get rid of differences between us and bring about peace. The concept behind the day was proposed way back in the 1930s by Hallmark Cards through the exchange of greeting cards between friends. However, it was not accepted well by the public. It was way later, in 1911, that the UN General Assembly officially announced July 30th as International Day of Friendship. However, the day is celebrated on different days across the world. For instance, in India, Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August.
History & Significance Of Friendship Day
The United Nations General Assembly announced 30th July as International Friendship Day in the year 2011. The objective of the day is to nurture friendship and goodwill between people, cultures, and countries. International Friendship Day aims to celebrate diversity and strive to make intercultural participation a reality. The day also seeks to uphold the necessity of participation of the young population, the future leaders in the making.
The United Nations observes that the world continues to struggle with challenges like poverty, violence, human rights abuses, just to mention a few. These adversely affect the peace, security, social harmony, and development among nations. In a world like this, the UN believes, friendship is one of the best ways to overcome violence and strengthen the bond between nations, giving peace and harmony a chance.
Significance Of Friendship Band
The history of tying ropes and knots are as old as 15,000 to 17,000 years old. Decorative bracelets with knots date back to 481 to 221 BC in China. The Chinese civilisation back then used knots for different reasons, including as a part of outfits and accessories.
The craft of macrame that involves making beautiful patterns with knots has been around since the 13th century. Gradually, the craft made its way to Western Europe and was adopted by sailors, who made the best use of the art for their work at the sea. It is believed that it is from here that the art of macrame spread to different parts of the world, more specifically to Central America.
And it is here where friendship bands have their roots. It is believed that these bands have a Central American Indian descent. Its popularity increased in the early 70s during the post war era where people from around the world started sharing friendship bands as a symbol of love and peace. Friends started tying these bracelets with the hope to unite.
Now that we’ve briefly discussed the origin of Friendship Day and the significance of friendship bands, let’s discuss how to make friendship band. Whether you want to make a friendship band with wool, ribbon, elastic cord, or hemp cord, and how to make friendship band with thread, just gather your supplies and get started.
4 Ideas For DIY Friendship Band That You Need To Bookmark Right Away
You might love gifting friendship bands but are wondering – “how to make friendship bands?” If that’s your question, here’s a few quick and simple ideas on how to make friendship band at home.
1. Braided Friendship Band
Easy to make yet pretty (if you’re wary about how to make friendship band), braided friendship band is a favourite among many since a decade, if not more. All you need to do is replicate the braid pattern as you do with your hair. Wondering how to make friendship band with ribbon? Here’s one for you.
What You Will Need
- Wool yarn or ribbon
- Scissors
How To Make It
- Cut 3 different colours of ribbon or yarn wool in the length that is enough to fit your friends’ wrists. Don’t miss out on leaving a certain length of the wool or ribbon for securely tying a knot.
- Knot the 3 strands together on one extreme side.
- Keep a stationary object on the knot or hold the knot tightly between 2 fingers of your feet, so it becomes easy for you to start braiding.
- Start braiding the strands as you do with your hair.
- Once you’ve almost reached the other end, tie another secure not, so the braid does not get undone but stays in place.
2. Beaded Friendship Band
Thinking about how to make friendship day band with beads? Here’s an idea. Beads are everywhere – on your ear pieces, neck pieces, hair bands, bags, and now even on friendship bands. There’s definitely something playful about beads, especially the colourful ones, isn’t it? One of the easiest ideas, if you want to know how to make friendship band at home. Thinking about how to make friendship band at home? Here’s how you can get started.
What You Will Need
- Elastic cord
- Colourful beads
- Scissors
How To Make It
- Cut a certain length of the elastic cord – enough to fit your friend’s wrist and leave a little more for you to tie the band.
- String the cord with beads to cover the entire length.
- Next, tie both the ends of the elastic cord, so that the knots stay in place.
- Trim the excess length of the elastic cord and your band is done!
3. Knot Friendship Band
Simple yet eye-catching, knots are all you need to do here. Just what you need to gift your friend a band that is exuberant with the use of its colours. And, yes, don’t get worked up if you don’t have hemp cord or embroidery floss. You can simply replace them with thread. Looking for an idea on how to make friendship band with thread? Here’s one for you.
What Will You Need
- Hemp cord / embroidery floss
- Scissors
How To Make It
- Cut 3 hemp cords of length that is enough to fit your friends’ wrists. Don’t miss out on leaving a certain length of the wool or ribbon for securely tying a knot.
- Knot the 3 strands together on one extreme side.
- Keep a stationary object on the knot or hold the knot tightly between 2 fingers of your feet, so it becomes easy for you to continue making the design.
- Start making square knots by crossing the left strand over the middle strand and then crossing the right stand over the new middle strand and through the loop on the right side.
- Keep tying the square knots until you reach the other end of the hemp cord.
And, finally, tie a secure knot leaving some distance from the tip of the strands to ensure that the knot remains intact.
4. Macramé Friendship Band
A thread art that is quite in demand since quite some time now, integrating the same art in your friendship brand makes for a classic idea.
What Will You Need
- Macramé cord / woollen yard
- Scissors
How To Make It
- Cut 4 strands of the macrame cord, with each of them being twice the required length for the friendship band.
- Fold the strands in half and make a secure knot at one end, to keep the strands in place.
- Keep a stationary object on the knot or hold the knot tightly between 2 fingers of your feet, so it becomes easy for you to start with the macrame art.
- Cross the strand to the extreme left over the 2 other strands and then pass it below the strand to the extreme right.
- Next, cross the strand to the extreme right over the 2 strands at the centre and then pass it below the strand to the extreme right.
- Repeat the above 2 steps until you’ve reached the entire length of the strands, barring a few inches, and then tie a secured knot.
Friendship bands are an indispensable norm for school kids and continue to be the same among adults as well. It builds goodwill among those sharing it, acting as a harbinger of a lasting bond, peace, and unity. Although Friendship Day is celebrated on different days across the world, the message it gives out remains universal for all. This year, make an effort to make a few DIY friendship band for each of your friends, so the occasion is memorable for all of you. And we’ve just given you a few cues on how to make friendship band with ribbon, elastic cord, hemp cord, woollen yarn, so you can get your supplies together and get going with making them. Happy Friendship Day to you!
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