Friendship bracelets are smart and fun casual bracelets that are given to friends and acquaintances.
They are given as a sign of bonding and tender care, and as such, they are continually being made and gifted throughout the world. There are no hard and fast rules as to how a friendship bracelet should be made.
There are super simple bracelets (and it is okay to give these), but the best type of friendship bracelet follows simple patterns and are often made of embroidery floss.
The weaving pattern for friendship bracelets represents the importance and value given to the friendship. The craftsmanship that is extended toward the making of the bracelet also indicates the strength of the bond between the two people.
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Friendship Bracelet Patterns
There are three easy to make bracelet patterns that you can choose from. We will be discussing each of these types of models, as well as other details that will make it easier for you to decide which patter is best for what you are planning to create.
Chevron Friendship Bracelets
Chevron friendship bracelets are considered the most straightforward design for friendship bracelets, but they are also the dominant or “mother design” that is the basis for all other variations.
The chevron bracelet is considered an upgrade of the candy stripe version, which is easier to create and is often done by children. Chevron friendship bracelets are created with at least three strings, but you can extend that to however many chains you want, from six-stringed patterns to eight-stringed patterns.
In the beginning, it might be a little tricky to master, but if you have some experience with candy-stripe bracelets, this should not be that much difficult to accomplish.
What people commonly use is embroidery floss, but you can also make use of regular yarn of different colours. Take note that you can use the same colour for all the strings, but we encourage you to expand the colour horizon and use different colours for each series since the materials aren’t that expensive.
You will also need a pair of scissors and a place to pin the central axis of the strings when you start braiding or weaving the lines across each other. People who make friendship bracelets regularly recommend using the thickest and most durable yarn or floss that you can find, so the resulting bracelets will be more resistant to wear and tear.
The best chevron bracelets are made with at least eight strings or pieces of floss or yarn. If you are using anything thinner, we recommend increasing the specific number of lines to ten.
It might take a little longer to complete, but you will be able to create something durable and truly beautiful for gifting. Getting used to weaving multiple strands also prepares you for more complex projects involving letters and beads.
Friendship Bracelets with Letters
Friendship bracelets with letters are the bomb because you can add initials and full names to each friendship bracelet that you create. If you have ever thought of creating a more complex and more memorable friendship bracelet to your closest friends, we recommend this variation of the chevron bracelet.
Additional ideas: why not add your friend’s birthdate? You can also add individual elements to the bracelet, like your friend’s favourite colour, favourite animal, and favourite anything! The point is we are going to turn a regular chevron bracelet into a canvas that you can ‘draw on’ using just the threads in the bracelet.
For complete materials for friendship bracelets with letters, we recommend going to a craft store or buying online.
These may not be available in larger supermarkets (it depends on the supermarket, sometimes they’re there, sometimes they’re not). You will likely spend less than $25 for all the stuff that you need, but if you are feeling adventurous, you can probably expand to using different kinds of cords like elastic cords and cotton cords for making your other friendship bracelets.
Take note however that the thicker cotton cords cannot be woven or braided, and these are used for alternative designs that do not involve the traditional braiding (as is the case for candy-stripe bracelets and chevron bracelets).
Before starting on your project, we recommend that you study and master the different kinds of knots used to create patterns on bracelets. Some of the knots that are important to making bracelets include the forward knot, the backward knots, the forward-backwards knot, and the inverse formation, the backwards-forwards knot.
The forward’s knot is the most basic type of knot, and it moves to start from the left, moving on to the right.
The backwards knot moves in reverse: it starts from the right, moving on to the left. The forwards-backwards knot and its inverse form are used to change the general direction of the thread when creating a pattern on the braiding.
If you have eight to ten different strings on the canvas, things are bound to get a little confusing, so we also recommend that you learn how to create a DIY bracket loom.
These can be made from cardboard, old folders, and some tape. As long as the bracelet’s strings are kept at a central axis, and you are not getting confused with which line is going to be braided next, your loom is working.
Beads Friendship Bracelets
Beaded friendship bracelets are lovely because they can be created with fewer strings if you want, and you can also employ other kinds of cords and chains to make your design come to life.
This type of friendship bracelet can be created with leather cords and thicker cotton cords, as well as elastic cords. We recommend that you use the thickest cords or strings that you can use, but they should still fit into the drill hole of the beads that you want to use. The beads used for this kind of bracelet can be as simple as plastic letter cubes, or they can be as luxurious as rhinestones.
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