Get Your Gimp On!

“Gimp, also called Gymp, boondoggle, or lanyard, is a plastic lacing used to make bracelets, keychains, pullies and even bookmarks!” (taken from “How to make a box styled gimp”, wikiHow.com). Before last week, I had never heard of this process. My introduction to it came at my daughter’s last Brownie meeting, where they were making bracelets to pass the time. I loved how it looked, so I immediately went home and looked it up online. I found a great article on wikiHow.com with great pictures. (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Box-Styled-Gimp) The article teaches the square or box stitch. Since I didn’t have any plastic cording, I decided to use some colored hemp-like cording that I had from a previous project. I am going to take you through the steps here, but feel free to visit wikiHow’s website for any clarification you may need.

Step 1 – Cut two lengths of cord. This is where I got lost on my first try – the website never says how long the lengths should be. So my first attempt at a bracelet turned out to be a keychain, because my lengths were too short. If you are looking to do a 7.25” bracelet, two 5’ lengths should be sufficient (yes, that’s 5 feet). Using two different colors will also make this process a whole lot easier. Have the piece that runs left-to-right (the tan piece) cross over the top-to-bottom piece (the blue piece) in the center:

Step 2 – Make two loops with the blue piece – one strand will be facing toward you, the other facing away from you.

Step 3 – Take the left end of the tan cord and run it over the first blue loop on the left, and under the second loop on the right. Take the other end of the tan cord (starting on the right) and run it over the first blue loop on the right, and under the second loop on the left. (The tan loops come in from opposite directions and go under the loops farthest from them):

Step 4 – Gently pull each strand taught until they form a “box” pattern – blue in two opposite corners, and tan in two opposite corners:

Step 5 – Repeat steps 2-4, making sure that you keep the blue strands to the top & bottom, and the tan strands to the left & right. Loop the blue strand that hangs toward you away from you to the back, and loop the blue strand that hangs away from you toward you to the front:

Step 6 – Continue this back-and-forth weaving until your “rope” is the desired length. I added beads to mine at regular intervals, which you can also do.

Step 7 – Once your rope is complete, tie the ends off with square knots (I tied my jump rings on with the knots), then use a jewelry glue to secure the knots. Once the glue is dry, snip off any extra cording and you’re done!

I really love the look of this stitch. I can't wait to try it with a variety of colors, cording, and beads. Send me your creations at aafaa@charter.net! I'd love to see them!