2. Italian students decided to create something taken from our cultural heritage to
gift our Turkish friends. They’re objects that our parents and our grandparents did
and taught us: the “scubidu” bracelets or key rings.
They have become fashionable again in the past decades, but our grandparents
used to make these cords and strong threads to bind small things together,
especially keys or working tools, so as to hang them from a wall.
The bracelets are made of knots similar to
the ones that are used for many laces, such
as macramé and tombolo (bobbin lace), but
their history probably derives from seamen
knots and nets.
3. Scubidu bracelets started to become fashionable in Italy during the 60s, but their
origins are not clear: some say they were introduced from France in the 50s,
others say they were first made by soldiers as a pastime in the barracks, some
others also claim that their name derives from the mispronunciation of a song,
named “Scoubidou”, by Sacha Distel..
Nevertheless, our parents and even our teacher Francesca remember their
grandmothers knotting threads in similar way to make cords and keyrings!
There are also nice stories linked to them:
Once upon a time, a teenage girl started to wave
four threads together while thinking to her former
boyfriend, calling it “scoubidou”, and as if by magic,
the boy apologized and they dated again!
Two different colours mean LOVE
Four different colours mean PEACE
Three similar colour threads
and one different mean BEST
FRIENDS FOREVER
4. Some of us students learned the tricks to create the bracelets from
their parents and grandparents especially Marta and Alice, and then
taught the rest of us. The best were the girls!
5.
6. Here we are working in our classroom…
Marta is teaching Tamara
