My family is obsessed with music. Earphones never seem to last very long at our house but it seems a waste to just throw them away - especially if they come in different colors. So when a set becomes absolutely unusable don't disregard it's role in your musical life. Turn it into something new.
Step 1. Pull the earphones apart entirely down to the base. The two wires are usually stuck together and held in place by a white band, but if you pull the band to the bottom its easy to pull them apart.
Step 2. Make a loop 4"-5" (wrist length) below the earphones and knot it. You should be able to wrap the length around your wrist with some room to spare. The loop should be big enough to fit the two earphones but not so big that they fall out.
Step 3: If you have ever made a friendship bracelet, the rest of your work should be a sneeze. (Easy) All you're going to do from here on is tie knot after knot. With the loop away from you and the headphones toward you, knot the remaining cord by creating a backwards '4'. The cord goes over, under, and then back up through the hole in the '4'.
Step 4: One word. Pull. Make sure you pull tight so that the knot butts up to the end of the knot before it. You can always loosen the series later by spreading them out with your fingers if you need the length to be longer. Repeat step 3 to make more knots and don't forget to Pull! (Also, those are my fingers. I realize they are dirty, and short and need to be painted.) :]
Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4, knotting the remaining cord around your wrist-length piece between the loop and the headphones. Because you are repeating the same knot, in the same direction, you will see a spiral running length of the knots. (It's supposed to happen.)
The end! Just slip the two headphones through the loop and it will stay together! Now I bet you wish you hadn't thrown away all of your old earphones, huh? But that's okay - make some friends, listen to alot of music and twirl your earphones around while you're walking. Personal experience promises a broken pair to take apart very soon.
