Learning how to make beginner friendly friendship bracelets? I can help you out!
I have been making friendship bracelets for a long time, and once you get the hang of making them, you will make them in bulk in no time.
Learning how to make friendship bracelets is as simple as can be, especially the most popular bracelet pattern you have probably seen, the chevron pattern.
This blog post will show you how to read a bracelet pattern, start and finish your bracelet, and make the chevron, diagonal aka candy stripe, heart, zig-zag and a diamond design.
5 Beginner Friendly Friendship Bracelets Tutorial
I love making friendship bracelets for my friends and me. If you have been to camp, you have probably seen many other campers wearing them around their wrists or water bottles.
How To Read A Pattern
There are thousands of bracelet patterns for you to make. Most of the time, you can YouTube a video on how to make the bracelet you want.
But for the more uncommon ones, you most likely will come across a pattern instruction. Do not panic because they’re pretty simple to read.
First off, there are four types of knots to know:the forward knot, the backward knot, the forward-backward knot, and the backward-forward knot.
I know it sounds a little overwhelming, but I promise you it is not.
💡 Tip: Always make two knots, do not pull too tightly, and pull the string upwards.
Knots
These are the basic knots for creating a friendship bracelet.
You will see these arrows on all the friendship bracelet patterns you come across when making these bracelets.
Forward Knot
Step 1: Make a number 4.
Step 2: Loop string around the string beside it. Make sure the string goes through the loop. Pull upward.
Backwards Knot
Step 1: Make a backwards number 4.
Step 2: Loop around the string. Make sure the string goes through the loop. Then pull upwards.
💡 Note: The forward-backward and backward-froward knots are combinations of the forward and backwards knots.
Rows
Next, you will see the rows. Now, depending on the bracelet pattern and if it is a repeating pattern, it may only show you eight rows, whereas others have twenty.
Start with the first row and go on to the second row so on and so forth. Then, when you reach the bottom of the pattern, start back at the top and continue until you have your desired length.
Example:
1- knot knot knot -1
2- knot knot knot -2
3- knot knot knot -3
You will also see “ABC…” I ignore looking at it. Instead, I look at the colour string and which one goes with what string.
You do not need to copy the colours, but layout your colours the way you want them to be and follow the pattern.
💡 Tip: Use a sewing needle to help undo knots.
Starting And Finishing
This section will explain how to start and finish your bracelets.
Starting
For me, I like to do two different ways of starting my friendship bracelets. First, the loophole or I knot 12 centimetres away from the end of the embroidery floss.
Finishing
For all of my friendship bracelets, I always braid the loose string. For the loop, depending on how many strands of string I have, I either like to separate them as evenly as I can and create two braids or one single braid.
Adjustable Square Knot
The adjustable square knot is the best way to finish off your bracelet because it is adjustable! But, of course, you can make this a bracelet as well.
How to do a square knot: For explanation, I will say the colours in the example.
Step 1: Tie the white string down.
Step 2:Make the letter P with the right side white string. With the left side white string, make sure it is on top of the right side string.
Next, tuck the left string underneath both (right and green) strings and go through the middle of the P.
Step 3: Pull upwards.
Step 4:Repeat the same thing but in the opposite direction. Keep going to the length you desire if you are making a bracelet.
I like to make six knots if you use it as an adjustable knot (three times on each side).
Popular Bracelet Patterns
These are the most popular bracelet patterns.
Chevron
The chevron pattern is most likely the first pattern you will learn because it is the most straightforward bracelet to make, and you can use as many coloured strings as you wish.
💡 Note: My bracelet example uses five different coloured strings.
Step 1: Separate your string into the colour order you would like and make sure you mirror the exact coloured string on the other side.
Step 2: On the left side, take the first string on the outside and make a forward knot – keep doing this until you reach the middle.
Step 3: On the right side, take the first string on the outside and make a backwards knot – keep doing this until you reach the middle.
Step 4: Once you reached the middle, take the left side string and make a forward knot.
There you go! It may look a little odd at the beginning, and that’s normal.
Keep repeating the same steps with the following coloured strings until you have reached the length you want.
Diagonal “Candy Stripe”
Another super easy pattern to learn is diagonal, or “candy stripe.” Again, this bracelet can have as many strings of colour as you want.
💡 Note: My bracelet example uses four different coloured strings.
Step 1: Separate the string in the colour order you will like.
Step 2: Start from the left and make a forward knot to the last string. Leave a small gap as you go down the line for the first row only.
That way, it will start you off for the string to go diagonal.
Step 3: Repeat until you have the length you want, and finish it off!
Zig-Zag
This pattern only uses four-string and has forward and backward knots, making it a great starter for beginners.
The zig-zag pattern on friendship-bracelets.net is #41944.
Heart
The heart pattern looks intimidating, but it is an excellent stepping stone for beginners to move forward to a slightly more complex bracelet pattern.
The heart pattern on friendship-bracelets.net is #1112.
Diamond
The diamond pattern has many rows to work with, but it is relatively easy to do. The majority of the pattern is forward and backward knots, with some forward-backward and backward-forward knots. However, it looks beautiful when you finish!
The diamond pattern on friendship-bracelet.net is #81658.
Friendship-bracelets.net is my favourite place to look up patterns. They have hundreds of bracelet patterns to choose from, ranging from using four strings to sixty-six strings!
Conclusion: Beginner Friendly Friendship Bracelets Tutorial
Now that you know the basics of making friendship bracelets go crazy and make a whole bunch! Have fun making them!
Have a good day 🙂
