Make Your Own: Baker’s Twine!

| thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich

Hello folks! I spent a good part of the afternoon making beautiful bakers twine with plain cotton thread (#10 crochet cotton) and my ProMarkers. Check it out, it looks like the real deal, no?

I found a great video tutorial from UKmaryanne on you tube and she showed how to turn ordinary crochet cotton string (you can get a big honkin’ ball of it for about $3 at the craft store) into lovely striped twine, now why didn’t I think, of that!?!  Here is her video:

I decided that I needed to use my new twine straight away so I made up a few “kid’s cards” using some of my new PinkPersimmon stamps:

I just LOVE this twine!

Check out the orange flag and button, I heated up fun-foam and stamped it to make 3-D squishy embellishments.

Here is a closer look at the button:

Well, that was my fun for the day. Thanks to UKmaryanne for sharing her totally awesome baker’s twine idea, I do hop you’ll try it, it is such fun and s quick to make and it looks just like the real thing for a fraction of the cost!

Today’s projects qualify for the following challenges: A Spoonful Of Sugar, Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge , Top Tip Tuesday, Bunny Zoe’s Crafts (bright cards for boys), Incy Wincy Designs, KB Cute Monday, Stamp with Fun , Aly’s Sunday Challenge, Card Cupids (pastels-pink and green cards), Pile It On , Fussy and Fancy, Paper Cutz, Art Impressions Stamps Challenge  and Aud Sentiments Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

118 thoughts on “Make Your Own: Baker’s Twine!”

  8. The card is great, but the frugal tips is even more fantastic. I’ve been wondering how I was ever going to afford some of that beautiful twine I keep seeing. Now I’m all set. I’ll be working on some tomorrow you can be sure. Thanks for sharing with us at Paper Cutz.

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  9. For the first time since I’ve been reading your blog I have to say I’m sitting her dumb founded that anybody would waste a afternoon paiting stripes on twine with ProMarkers.

    There is nothing that is FRUGAL about that. Sorry! The crochet thread sucks the ink right out of your markers and before you know it they are dry and they are not cheap. Yes, one is affordable but when you want a range of colors and are on a limited budget then are not.

    I find this a great waste of money and time. The bakers twine is not that expensive to begin with. You can find great deals of assorted packages on many sites including Ebay. Or do as my daughter and I did and buy a large spool of the colors we wanted and share them which even made the cost cheaper per yard.

    Just my personal opinion and not out to intentional offend you but to me it’s not frugal in cost or time.

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    1. Hi Sande L.,
      I found it great fun to make, not a waste of time at all:D I love all of the pastel colors of striped twine out there but at $5 a tiny spool for each color I like it was not cost effective for me to order it and it does not use much ink either. If you see the video you will notice that you wrap the twine around a ruler tightly and draw a few strips around the bulk of it (I did not color one stripe at a time LOL!) I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea but I had a ball making it!

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    2. Did you watch the whole video? She wrote that she used a cheap marker for this since the twine drinks up the color. I think it’s a great idea if you want some bakers twine to match the colors you use on your project!

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      1. Lindsay and Kavi…

        I’ll admit it was exactly the reaction I expected from the majority of the people who would post. Very few people are honest enough to share their person opinion for fear of offending the author. Me…I am not and I would in turn hope that if I posted or made a suggestion someone who be honest with me. And an opinion is that…the feeling of another.

        I will quote….”Hello folks! I spent a good part of the afternoon making beautiful bakers twine with plain cotton thread (#10 crochet cotton) and my ProMarkers. Check it out, it looks like the real deal, no?”

        With that said….you lost me. I did not bother to watch the video. You clearly stated you spent the good part of the afternoon and used your Pro Markers making the FRUGAL version of baker’s twine. From that statement it did not seem frugal in time or in using your promarkers. Something that took hours and use expensive markers was not frugal to me. If in the video you did not use those makers you should have stated that in your statement. I might have been more inclined to watch. I really had visions of the ink being sucked out of my markers. And the Baker’s Twine is not that expensive…to begin with especially if you, as I said buy a spool and share with a friend.

        For example on Etsy….Bling Bunches Sampler Pack (15 yards each of 11 colors) – 165 yards total for $22. That would last for a very long time.

        Again, my opinion. Not intended to offend. And I did not find it frugal in use of time or in use of Pro Markers.

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        1. No Worries SAnde L. :), I spent the good part of the afternoon because I was enjoying an audio book and making 30 colors (I was also stopping to make cards too) I made some with promarkers, sharpies, markits, chartpack and copics and they all worked. Use what you have:) I would have to spend a fortune to buy all of the colors I want so for me this was much cheaper and I can have every color!

          Have a nice day and always feel free to speak freely here:)

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  10. I love that idea…. I actually ordered some bakers twine. Now I wished I hadn’t . Thanks for the tut. and love your blog too.
    Crystal

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  12. Thanks for the great idea! I’m all about frugal ideas, too, and I think this is a great frugal tip. It’s not for everyone, but neither are some of the other frugal measures my family takes on a regular basis.

    I have quite a bit of crochet cotton here, since I also crochet. I’ve been wanting some neat “thread” to go through my button stash when I use them on cards, so this will definitely be my solution.

    Of course, I love the “old” look, too, so I may just tea dye some of it for the vintage-looking buttons. Thanks again for a great idea!

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  13. This is just amazing. I can’t wait to try it. I have a lot of crochet thread. I can’t wait to make my own variety of custom colors.

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  16. OMG, again mouth hit the floor ….. 🙂 wonderful cards. Love the colors and you’d never know it’s not the real thing (the twine).

    Wow!

    hugs

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  17. I think this is a wonderful idea!I bought a sampler of the twine on etsy and am very stingy with it, but this opens up a whole new world of twine! Plus, having the ability to make custom colors to match your project is awesome! I’m sure Sharpies or Bic markers would work as well as Copics or other pricey markers, and they are permanent, too. I’m off to AC Moore to get some white twine. Thank you!!

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  18. Well aren’t you just the smarty pants! So brilliant and so wonderful of you to share! Thank you! Lovely projects and the twine looks just perfect on them! Have a lovely day!

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  19. Wow, what a cool idea! Now you can have whatever colour you want! Great projects. Thanks for sharing it with us at LCI this week, hope to see you again soon. Pami x

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  24. Thanks for this great idea- how fun to make the twine in colors to match your project. Your cards are awesome!!!

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  29. Thanks for posting this Lindsay! I love the look of the baker’s twine and this way I can give it a try without purchasing one of those huge rolls.

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  30. Thank you so much for this idea. I was just about to cave and by some even though I found it ridiculously expensive for twine when your post popped up in my Google reader. Thanks for the idea!

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  34. What a fab idea!
    Gorgeous cards and love your stamping into the foam 🙂

    If you pop back over to Top Tip Tuesday and add a pic of your twine, with ‘TIP’ after your name, you’ll be entered for the Top Tipper prize too 🙂

    Thanks for joining in with Top Tip Tuesday’s ‘Open Challenge’ this week 🙂

    Carol x

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  36. that is awesome going to have to try this out myself!
    awesome cards!love them do you use Copics? i just got meself some 🙂 and still trying to “figure” it out!

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    1. Hi Michelle, I have copics, promarkers and prismacolors, they all work so well togther! Scrool through my blog and you can see some of the cards I have made, there are some tutorial too to help you get started as well!

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  38. Hi Lindsay,
    Just a quick note to say thanks for this tip. What a great way to make bakers twine in a pinch. I love it. I have a small and humble blog and just had to give you a shout out cause your post lit a spark in my creative mojo. Check it out if you have a moment in you busy schedule.
    http://www.lysaandhueyink.blogspot.com
    Thank you again for great ideas and for inspiring all of us.
    Lysa

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  39. Wow. I think you got more comments about my tip than I did 🙂 Thus is the power of the internet. I am so glad you liked it – I LOVE your cards, and love all the soft pastel colours you made. I did, as I said, use really cheap markers for two of the samples, but they only come in red, blue, green and black (have you tried black and white? it looks fab) I get what the poster who thinks “this is not frugal” is saying but living in the UK bakers twine is a lot more expensive, if you can even get it (only from shops that buy the huge comes for $8 to $10 and re-wind very small cards of it then sell for triple the price, or commercial versions, with “food starch” added to it) I didn’t want to order from the US (although I am American, no visitors scheduled for a while, to carry it across the pond :)) nor did I want an enormous amount of one colour! So fo me, it IS frugal as I can make a yard of it in minutes. Literally, it takes about as long to make as it takes to watch the video LOL! And I can match, EXACTLY, my project.

    Anyway, I’m blathering on. I just wanted to thank you for spreading the word and I think your examples are very pretty. I did see pastel chisel tip Sharpies in Hobby Craft in the UK (like a much more expensive and very small Michaels LOL!) so that would be MY tip for frugal markers to make the twine. And to the poster who mentioned dyeing it. Works a treat – you can dye it completely with any sort of stamp ink refillers quite nicely. Just be careful of Distress ink as that is reactive with water. I’ve shied away from it but if you did give it a go I would do a small length, make sure it is dry 100% (iron it maybe) then dip in water to see if it runs at all. If not, you are good to go.

    thanks once more – I’m def. bookmarking this for return visits.

    Mary Anne
    (ukmaryanne)

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    1. Thanks for the reply Mary Anne! I see you have a blog so I will link to that in my post so others can check out your other FAB ideas!

      I’m telling you I had a ball making my twine and all the markers I tried worked beautifully! It is addicting to make:)

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  43. Ah well not everyone can like every tip.
    I think it’s brilliant, it’s hard for me to get hold of Bakers Twine where I live and I don’t want one big spool of one colour.
    Sounds like a good way to entertain the kids too!!!!
    Thanks for having a great blog.

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  45. I absolutely love this, you ROCK my socks off! Thank you so much. Why waist all of our scrapping or crafting dollars on diff colors of twine when we can do it ourselves!

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  47. Wow, just Wow! Thanks for sharing your video. The *mark* of a true crafter is making something useful and enjoying it. I think this is a wonderful idea…I have wanted to try baker’s twine before, but haven’t found any in stores. I’ve seen baker’s twine used in crochet before and definitely want to try that – and this would be a great way to make enough colors to use. Again, a wonderful idea and thanks so much for sharing!

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  48. Wow! What a great idea, thank you so very much for sharing this with all of us. I look forward to making some of my own twine.
    Thanks again!

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  49. You are so cool! 🙂 I have been wanting to purchase all the fun colors of baker’s twine but could not bring myself to pay some of the prices and then shipping on top…..now I don’t have too. Thank you.

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  51. Wow how nifty you are hope u dont mind I posted it on my blog just started it still not even sure what I am doing on it!!!!
    Thank u so much for sharing this no more ordering it now!!!

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  53. this is awesome! i’ve been looking for a pretty way to package things i make and this is perfect. beats the plain jane twine i was going to use. and i can roll thru wally world for the materials!

    yay!! can’t wait to make some!
    thanks for sharing! angela

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  58. Love this tip. I was going tomorrow to buy some twine and was searching this morning for the best deal since I wanted in different colors. Your tutorial saved me like $30….
    I will post a link to your post on my blog next Thursday if that´s ok with you!

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  60. Wow, pretty cool idea! Trying ths afternoon! Thank you for the idea and the video! I have cheap dollar store markers, bics and sharpies in loads of colors of course! I can’t wait to get started!

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  61. This is wonderful – I have lots of pens/markers, tons of cotton strings of various sizes and I have not been able to bring myself to buy the expensive baker string just because it is the in thing now. But, I can make it and have it in the color I want for a specific job for nothing but stuff I have all around me. Thank you!!!

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  66. Thank you SO much for sharing!! I’ve been wanting to buy some bakers twine for weeks now. But just haven’t found the NEED to spend money on it! haha now I can make my own!

    Chrissy @ ForMamas

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    1. thanks! one caustion, you might not want to use markers on the string if you are baking with it though;) But is is great for decorative packaging of your hommade treats!

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  74. I just discovered your blog today and have bookmarked it. Love the idea for the baker’s twine. Using this tip I can get exactly the right shade to match any card or scrapbooking page I am working on. Off now to check out the rest of your blog. Keep up the good work.

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  77. Someone sent me this link and I must admit with a plethora of cheap markers on hand it is fun and easy to do! Twine is very expensive here in Sweden, so I am always looking for ways to replicate materials as needed. Thanks again for sharing! 🙂

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  81. Jeepers Creeper Wowza BU!!I was asked where would one go to BUY twine for a great price, and if there were any sites that offered bulk. I’m calling them tomorrow to check out this GREAT invention. BY GUM By Golly, this might put them out of…well no but the making of one’s OWN COLOR now “THAT’S THE BOMB!!

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  82. this is a great idea to work with what I have. Simply because I have so much crotch thread and sometimes I find it at the Goodwill. Thanks for this tip

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  85. I Think it’s a really great idea!!! Especailly when you don’t use it much
    and need a particular color for a card. I do keep a spool of white cotton
    string / thread around and I do have some copics………..so easy peasy!
    Thanks for your idea!

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  92. Thank you so much for sharing this idea. I have been wanting bakers twine, but too cheap to buy any. I have tons of crochet cotton on hand i could make some of this. Again, Thank you so much for this quick, simple, cheap idea.

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  93. Not sure I can add any comment not already said, but really like your blog and love the idea of making my own baker’s twine. We’re kindred spirits (frugal crafters) and in my retirement, love to repurpose, recycle, etc. Found your blog recently and enjoy regularly visiting you. That said, I do have one question. Why is it necessary to use permanent markers? I have water-based markers and will probably at least try some for this project. Just wondering before I make a bunch. Thanks for all your great ideas. Really, really enjoy your enthusiasm creative mind.

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    1. Hi Laurie,
      You can use waterbased markers but they will not soak through as well as permanent ones. I had great results with promarkers, copis BUT the cheaper Sharpie and Bic MArket ones worked just as well so use any cheap permanent markers, this will droy out the waterbased ones retty fast I think. You can even go to the dollar store and get the no-name permanent markers, they don’t work well to color with mut they are just fine for this. Good luck!

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      1. Thanks. I just left a comment on your blog – found cheaper permanent markers and have had fun playing for an hour or so. Made 5 colors and they look great. Thanks.

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  94. I found some Elmer’s Painters permanent markers at Walmart today and had to try this right away. Immediate success. Am I stoked!!! The results are awesome and it did not take that long. Loved doing it and love the end product. Thanks so much for the tip. I check out your blog almost daily – can’t wait for the next great tip. Thanks so much.

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    1. that’s great Laurie, happy colcoring! you can use the markers to color rhinestones, brads, beads and string!

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  95. This is the perfect solution for me! Thank you so much for posting this fabulous idea. I didn’t need or want to order a large amount, AND I needed several different colors. I would have spent a fortune! This way, I was able to make just what I needed and the exact colors I needed. Thanks again!!

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  96. This is GREAT! No need to store…just make as you go!!! I already had a bunch of crochet twine a friend had given me that I didn’t really use that much…this makes them look soooo cute! Thanks!!

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  99. I just picked up a bag full of 16 crotchet threads for $4.99 at Goodwill and I can’t wait to give this a try. I already have a few different color sharpies so I have a feeling I’ll be able to create a ton of pretty bakers twine. Thanks so much for sharing! Awesome video tutorial too 🙂

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    1. have fun striping that string! I cannot take credit for the video, it was made by UK Maryanne, she has an awesome blog too, I linked to her in my post, check her out!

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    1. have you checked your spam folder? you might find them in there and then you need to add the email they come from to your adress book;)

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  101. TFS. love this idea. I just won’t pay the price that companies are asking for Bakers Twine. this will solve that problem. xoxo

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  102. Until you mentioned the other day about using printer ink, I foolishly (!!!) recycled quite a bit of printer ink (wrong printer, refill-it-yourself, etc.). Now I wonder if I had it back, could I mix in a bit of fabric medium and have oodles of ink to use on this project, which would be permanent due to the fabric medium.

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  103. Thanks for sharing! I just tried with twine from a big white roll from the dollar store and some Sharpie pen. That will be sooo handy! Espacially since I can make the exact color I need. 🙂

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