Creativebug In celebration of our recently launched Makerie Channel we’re so excited to share this DIY from Emily Clark, one of the organizers behind the Makerie. Emily can also be found over at Tea With Lola where she blogs about cooking and crafting with her daughter. Read on for Emily’s fresh take on friendship bracelets.
Friendship bracelets were something most of us made in junior high for our best friends or maybe even for someone we were sweet on. I remember many summer days, sitting by a lake in the Adirondacks at camp, making friendship bracelets for all of my best friends. So, for a modern day twist on the friendship bracelet and summer camp, I decided to add a clasp and embellish with some beads.
Materials: 3 colors of embroidery floss, 2 small pinch crimps, 2 jump rings, 1 clasp that you find comfortable, small beads to embellish the bracelet, thread for attaching the beads,1 embroidery needle, small scissors,1 safety pin, needle nose pliers
Step 1: Cut 3 pieces of embroidery floss to 36” each. Fold the three pieces of thread in half and tie a small knot at the top. You should now have 6 pieces of floss (two of each colorway). Use your safety pin to attach the floss to your pants or a pillow so that you can begin.
Step 2: Arrange your floss so that the opposing colors match up with the two in the middle matching. Starting on the left, wrap color #1 around color #2 to make a knot. Do this again so that you have two knots in total on color #2. Continue to use color #1, knot it two times on color #3.
Step 3: Move all the way to the right side of the bracelet and with color #1 on the right side, wrap it around color #2 to the left of it and make two knots. Continue working toward the middle of the bracelet and knot color #1 around color #3.
Step 4: You are now in the middle and should wrap and knot color #1 around the other color #1 two times. Next move on to color #2 which is at the outside edges of your bracelet. You will follow the same pattern you used for color #1 and soon you will see a chevron pattern forming.
Step 5: Continue to knot until you reach your desired length for the bracelet. Keep in mind that you will be attaching a clasp so you might want to stop knotting a bit sooner than you’d think.
Embellishing: Once you have the bracelet as long as you’d like, it is time to embellish it with your beads. I used a Gutermann gold colored thread and some very neutral colored beads.
Step 1: Thread your needle and tie a knot. Flip the bracelet over so that you can see your work and make sure your thread catches a good enough piece of the bracelet before trying to attach any beads.
Step 2: Flip the bracelet over again and working from the top, thread your beads on one at a time. Secure each bead by taking the needle to the back of the bracelet and then back to the front before moving on to the next bead. I doubled back through all the beads at the end to secure them even more.
Step 3: When you have all the beads on that you want, tie a knot in your thread on the back of the bracelet making sure to catch some embroidery floss so that your knot will be strong.
Finishing: I love that these bracelets can be worn and removed as you please instead of having to cut them off or wear them until they fall off. This part makes them feel so much more grown up to me!
Step 1: Get your small pinch clamps, jump rings, clasp, pliers and scissors.
At the end of your bracelet, cut off just where you stopped knotting. It’s okay, these are knots and you are going to put the pinch crimp right over the end. You can pinch these on with your fingers or the pliers.
Step 2: Go ahead and do the same thing at the top of the bracelet, just below your main knot that the safety pin went through when you attached these to your pants or pillow.
Step 3: Attach a jump ring to both pinch crimps and then attach the two parts of your clasp to each jump ring.
You’re done! Admire it and then pass it on to a friend. Go on…get creative and think of other ways that you can embellish this. Happy Summer from the Makerie Team!