Simple crafts can be comforting as well as creative.
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Sometimes, when the daily stresses of life get to be a bit overwhelming, it’s nice to settle into a comfy chair, turn on some music or plug in a favorite movie, have a glass of wine and work on a project that takes little skill and even less thought.
This week’s craft – a god’s eye – is one we learned years ago, and once the basic routine is mastered, you can probably complete the bulk of the project with your eyes closed.
Making a god’s eye requires two dowels or craft sticks of any length you desire; the longer the dowels or sticks, the larger your god’s eye will be.
You’ll also need one regular-size skein of yarn, fine rope or twine, a pair of scissors and a bit of quick-dry tacky glue.
The technique is simple: wrap yarn or twine around crossed dowels or sticks until the eye is the size you want, as shown in the series of photographs on this page.
Step one: Lay one dowel or craft stick across the other to form a cross, then wrap yarn or twine around the center of the cross two or three times in a criss-cross to secure, ending with the yarn coming around the top cross bar from front to back.
Step two: Pull the yarn down over the left-side cross bar so that the yarn is tight around the top bar.
Step three: Wrap the yarn under and over the left-side cross bar and pull yarn tightly to the center of the cross and down to the bottom cross bar. Yarn will be over the top of the bottom cross bar, then wrap yarn under and over the bottom cross bar and pull tightly to the center of the cross and up to the right-side cross bar.
Step four: Repeat the routine of pulling the yarn over the top of the next cross bar, under then over the same bar and pulling tightly toward the center of the cross, over and over until the yarn reaches the end of the cross bars or until the god’s eye is the center you wish.
Be sure to leave at least -inch of the dowel exposed at the end of each cross bar so that the yarn won’t slip off and unravel the god’s eye.
To finish off and secure the end of the yarn, pull it through to the back of the god’s eye and pull tightly, then pull up to the front and back down to the back over the dowel and pull tightly; repeat this several times until the yarn is secure, finishing with the end of the yarn on the back side. Use a bit of glue to secure the end of the yarn.
To finish off the bare ends of the dowels or sticks, cut a length of yarn or twine long enough to wrap around the bare part several times and tie off.
Apply a bit of quick-dry tacky glue to the exposed dowel or stick, then wrap the yarn or twine around it several times until completely covered and tie off, leaving a fringe-like end.
Repeat the procedure for each dowel or stick end.
This completes the basic routine for making a god’s eye.
Now that you’ve mastered the process, be sure to see next week’s column, in which we’ll give you several ideas for embellishing a single eye, as well as suggestions for combining a number of eyes for interesting and unusual uses.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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