Andy S. Murray (The NetArcher) ~ Everything Interesting Blog: Scoubidous Strands / Boondoggles

What are Scoubidous Strands? (Not Scoobidous or Scooby Doo the Cartoon Dog)

In the last couple of weeks my children have been coming home from school talking about Scoubidous. I just thought that they
were talking about Scooby and Scrappy Doo from the Warner Bros. Cartoon fame. I was wrong! But the problem I had then trying to find information about them online was that I didn't know what to type in Google to find them. Some of the words I used were:

Scooby Doos
Scoobidoos
Scubidoos
Scubi dous
Scoobi Keyrings
Braid Keyrings
Boondoggles
craftstrip
craftlace
gimp
lanyard
plastic lacing
In France, it's called Scooby-doo!

There are a number of trademarked names for this product. The best known of which is probably RexLace, made by the Pepperell Braiding Company. Another is CraftLace, made by Toner Plastics.

So what are Scoubidous?

They are the latest craze to hit our shores.
Scoubidous are fab keyrings that you can make out of craft strings, created especially for them. The kids say,

"If you believe you can do it you'll be even better at it!".

THE KIDS ARE GOING MAD FOR THESE ITEMS

It is suggested that these are not for children under the age of 3 years old as they could potentially swallow them or get them tied around their necks.

So, if your children are driving you mad, like mine, where can you buy these Scoubidous?

I've just done some searching online, here is a list of some of the places I've found them:

Searching for Scoobidous / Scoobidoos

eBay - Under the Clothes, Shoes & Accessories > Girls' Clothing > Age 6-7 > Accessories Crafts > Other Crafts
Langley Toys - Norwich
The Entertainer Toyshops

Scoubidous, can cost you anything between £2 to £5.

How do I use them?

You can plait them
Wear them
Make bracelets
Make hairslids
Make necklaces
Make keyrings

Often when you buy them they come with instructions, or believe it or not, you can buy books on the subject. Here are some book titles:

Scoubidou Fun - The book by Lorraine Burn
Scoubidou Fun Time - By Yoarra
Scoubidous Books at Amazon

Here are just some of the different design names - Square stitch, Brick stitch, Fluted Columns stitch, Cobra stitch, Pentagon stitch, Dragonfly zipper, Corkscrew stitch.

Interestingly, in american this trend is called Boondoggle. The dictionary entry for boondoggle is:

boon·dog·gle Informal
n.

An unnecessary or wasteful project or activity.

A braided leather cord worn as a decoration especially by Boy Scouts.
A cord of braided leather, fabric, or plastic strips made by a child as a project to keep busy

All research done by Andy Murray (The Netarcher)