merry mala making

If you coudln't make it to the workshop and wanted to make a strand of mala beads, now you can courtesy of Fran! Enjoy

Materials:
Set of wood beads or semi-precious beads, 27, 54 or 108
1 distinct bead (usually larger than the other beads) to use as ‘guru’ bead
Bead stringing cord, nylon or silk (we used C-Lon in class)
1 skein of embroidery floss in matching color to stringing cord
Clear nail polish or clear glue

Step 1: String all wood or semi-precious beads on stringing cord
Step 2: String ‘guru’ bead onto both strands of stringing cord, so that the two strands come out of the ‘guru’ bead
Step 3: Take paper off skein of embroidery floss and cut off approx. 2 feet of floss, then set aside
Step 4: Wind floss around hand at index and pinky fingers, creating a large loop
Step 5: Cut floss anywhere on the loop so you end up with multiple strands of floss, lay them flat
Step 6: Place strands of floss between the two cord ends coming out of the ‘guru’ bead
Step 7: Tie an overhand knot with the cord ends over the floss, dab knot with nail polish or glue
Step 8: Smooth out all strands, floss and cord ends together
Step 9: Take 2 feet of floss (previously set aside) and fold it so one leg is 6 inches long and one leg is 1 ½ feet long, and there is a loop at the top
Step 10: Place loop near the ‘guru’ bead, pinch top of fibers with thumb and index finger, and wrap longer leg around all the fibers approx. 8-10 times
Step 11: Place end of long leg through the loop and pull short leg so that the loop disappears into the winding
Step 12: Trim leg near the winding
Step 13: Paint the winding with nail polish or glue and let dry
Step 14: Trim cord ends along with floss ends to desired tassel length

Also if you're looking to do some karma yoga you can join Fran and other women to make beaded 'winged women' which sell for $10 ea. The money is for women and children in Lexington. It's called Women with Wings and you can read more about it here