Gimp Craze

[Kerrbear]

Hey everyone!

I was just wondering if you guys had huge gimp crazes at your camps last summer as well. The stuff was gold at ours, people were trading it left right and centre, counsellors were bribing / paying the van driver to buy some for them while in town, buying it on nights out, even bribing the campers for it! By the end of the summer no one could find it at any stores (it was a small town) anymore because we'd bought so much of it! Where did you guys buy it?

[Dave]

Gimp has always been a huge craze at our camp. It's amazing. I'd say it's one of the most popular things at camp next to ga ga. I can't do anything with it though. I'm going to have to learn before camp though because the kids always ask me and I always tell them I can't do it. :(

[Fleur]

*Shudder*

It was popular at our camp as well. And as the person who was reponsible for craft supply ordering last summer, gimp (or boondoggle as our camp calls it) drove me absolutely insane. That stuff was impossible to keep in stock. During my shopping trip before camp started, I pretty much cleared our supplier of their entire stock of it. Any time one of my orders arrived at camp, I had requests coming in from units and other programming areas which pretty much cleared me out again. Our buses go through it like crazy, but it's a good way of keeping the kids busy while travelling to and from camp.

We buy ours from a craft supply warehouse. But even though we're in a major city, there are a lot of other day camps that get their supplies from that place, so sometimes boondoggle can be a bit difficult to get a hold of.

[audur]

I already replied to the post over at the ACA message board... and managed to nearly start a fight. I'll NEVER learn not to try to be sarcastic online. Oh man.

Lanyards are, like my favorite thing ever. I take pride in designing the most ugly lanyards in the world - although the huge ugly-coloured one I worked on for weeks last summer turned out looking alright - kinda Mexican!

[prettysocks]

There was this one girl who had no mobility or ability to use any part of her body except her head (she drove her wheelchair with head controls), and she asked me one day if i knew how to tie a knot in a piece of gimp with my mouth. Well I didn't, or, had never tried, so I told her I'd try. I did try, and I finally got it, but it took 3 or 4 days. I found her as soon as I did it, and showed her, and she told me I'd tied it with my hands (which I hadn't!), with a huge smile on her face.

Just thought I'd share that little gimp story!

[camper]

awww what a cute story prettysocks! yeah its big at our camp every summer. but even bigger is usually string bracelets...one summer my girls were OBSESSED and we had the entire bungalow of 17 girls doing it at once, plus us!

[daisy_0144]

Please, what is it??? It sounds awesome that everyone loves it, but I have never heard of it or its called something different everywhere I have been.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I have to ask what it is as well!

[Fleur]

Good description of what it is (plus pictures): http://www.boondoggleman.com/what_is_it.htm

[daisy_0144]

Thanx...I'd never seen it done but one way! I'll have to see if I can teach some of those!

[Sparkes]

It's easy, once you learn how to do it. Though, it took me quite some time practicing. And then, I sent miles and miles of boxed lanyards home for people to take up space with...

[camper]

its lanyard, if you've heard of that.

[who_stole_my_loofa]

I'm not trying to start something but just so yall know- gimp is kind of a rude word. You should call them lanyards.. it's not really considered PC anymore (like in the same category as "i got gyped" instead of saying "i got cheated").

Anyway.... lanyards have not really been big at my camp since I was a camper.. which is kidn of sad because they are a lot of fun... but we are HUGE on friendship strings. I mean you cannot get away from them!!!

[powers]

I've never heard them called gimp either- we called them scoubidou or scoobies- and it was so popular with our girls last summer- we made a giant one out of old climbing ropes- it was cool!

[KiwiCRB]

We just call them lanyards... but they've never really been big at my camp. Friendship bracelets on the other hand...

[CAMPFRIEND]

I have to say that I think that loofa is right. I am not sure if I would ever call it gimp. We do lanyards as an arts & crafts program.

[Sparkes]

Well, I know it as gimp too, so it must be the Canadian equivilent for the American lanyard. And despite its other meanings (including one that means "to have spirit"), the primary dictionary definition of gimp is "a narrow flat braid or rounded cord of fabric used for trimming", I don't think it should cause a problem.

[Kerrbear]

I don't see the issue with calling it gimp either... what exactly makes it so "rude"?

[rockinsmiles]

For as long as I've been going to camp lanyards have never been that big. Maybe I could try to start a trend. haha. But first I need to relearn how to make them! Friendship bracelets were pretty big in my cabin last year. We used the typical embrodery thread and even tried yarn. Hemp is always the biggest thing at camp though. I mean guys and girls get into it and the it counselor's are in love with it!

[Flukie]

We call it gimp in Massachusetts - never heard it called anything else until my Campus GS kept asking what the heck it was. Lol. In NY it is lanyard. In WI, something else. So it really depends where you are from. And I have never heard a camper use gimp in a derogatory manner - obviously, it could be, but most of them probably haven't heard it used that way...

It is HUGE at our camp. I have trouble keeping it in stock. We'll definitely be ordering more this summer.

[tajarbud]

The definition:
gimp n. A narrow flat braid or rounded cord of fabric used for trimming. Also called guimpe, guimpure. Rexlace is the commercial/brand name.

Campers and staff keep coming up with new designs. Sometimes I thought we should purchase shares of the company, since we went through so much of it. ;)
I made one once---about 3" by the time it was complete :speechles
Nobody could believe that I had done it myself!! :D

[who_stole_my_loofa]

Gimp is a DEROGATORY word for someone with a disability. You won't find derogatory terms in the dictionary.. but that doesn't mean it's ok to use them!!!

[CAMPFRIEND]

I think that you are right Loofa!! I am not to sure if people would be to fond of the word the way it is used..

[tajarbud]

OK, we seem to be stuck here...the word 'gimp' does have an offensive connotation to it when it is intended as offensive slang.
The intended use, as originally used in this thread was not used in an offensive fashion. :)

[campCardinal]

I think the point they are making is that it might just be better to refer to them as lanyards or boondoggles or something. I understand that it wasn't used in an offensive fashion at all, but some people might not take it that way. Not to mention, parents might not like it being called that...

I've always heard it referred to as lanyards. It's big at my camp too.

[melon4382]

We always have gimp crazes going on. It's one of the fave activities of campers during arts and crafts along with string bracelets.

[happy_camper]

Our popular free-time crafts very from year to year - mainly it's w/e the campers see the counselors making, they want to make it too. Gimp was HUGE one year when we had a counselor who was AWESOME at it. I mastered the square design, but that was about it. We also do the traditional string bracelets, though they are not HUGE. Hemp is ALWAYS big!! Last year one of my campers taught me to hand crochet, which I is now my current addiction.

[Kanga_Roo]

Yah, we just call it lanyards at my camp... but our arts and craft shed lady refused to hand out any this past summer, and no one really minded. all the girls would ask, but she would teach them how to knit or crochet or make string or bead bracelets, and they would be fine. the counselors and CITs were allowed to get some if they wanted though. they just had to tell the campers that it was from home. some campers did bring some from home too, which was completely okay as long as they shared with everyone or no one.

personally, i love them. i remember making HUGE ones that spiraled and were like 12 strings or something.

[YUrocks!]

Gimp is a DEROGATORY word for someone with a disability. You won't find derogatory terms in the dictionary.. but that doesn't mean it's ok to use them!!!

Thanks for bringing that up! It's so true. We struggle to find a new name (I wish I'd known about Boondoggle) and ended up just calling it plastic lacing, which is what our craft supplier calls it to avoid using offensive language.

[laurathistle]

In the UK it's called skoobeedoo(z) (I guess the spelling is someting to to with copyright)

[Pooka]

Boondoggle has always been huge at my camp. Unfortunately, I missed the boondoggle-making gene.

happy_camper, do you know of a site that can explain hand crocheting? One of my campers could do it last year, and it amazed me. It seemed like she ended up making necklaces for half the kids on camp!

[happy_camper]

I don't know if it is actually hand crocheting, but that is what the camper called it.
All you do is take the end of a ball of yarn and put it under itself (to make a loop) then grap the same string through the loop. Repeat over, and over and over, until you have a looong crochet string. You can leave it at that, or crochet that string to make a double-crochet anklet/bracelet/etc. I made a really long crochet string then doubled it over and tied knots in it to make a cool lanyard for my whistle.
I can't find a site! Sorry! :(

[happy_camper]

I found a website, but there's no pictures.
http://www.mycraftbook.com/craftidea.asp?craftID=142

Just make a loop, grab the string through the loop and continue.
Very easy!

[Pooka]

Neat, thanks! Hopefully I can get good enough grasp of it by summer, so I can teach it as a boondoggle alternative.

[erin90]

in australia we call them scoobies

[Smudge]

that is what they are called in the UK 2.