Man is a social animal and everyone needs friends. Friendship knows no boundaries and as a gesture of appreciation for that friendship, people around the world exchange friendship bands or bracelets. The idea of making and exchanging friendship bracelets began in South America and was based on the legend that the recipient of the friendship band or bracelet could make a wish. And when the friendship bracelet falls off, the wish apparently comes true!
So let us look at some easy ways to make friendship bracelets.
1. Very easy friendship bracelet for beginners (with 3 strings)
This is an easy friendship band which requires three threads or strands. You can use any attractive looking strands made from wool, silk, etc. These are readily available in craft stores.
Method
- Take three woolen strands of different colors and knot them up at one end about 10 cm below the end. Attach the tied end of the three strands to a hook. Alternatively, you can stick it with a tape to the surface you are working on. The key is to ensure that the three strands can easily be pleated while their top knotted portion is held firmly in place.
- Separate the three strands and make a loop using the left and middle strands to make a knot at the top just below the tape. Now make a loop with the right and middle strands.
- Repeat this process, alternating between the left and right sides until you get a beautiful bracelet.
- Tie off the end and your bracelet is ready.
Check out this video that explains this method in detail.
2. Easy friendship bracelet with beads (using 3 strings)
You will need
- Scotch tape
- Alphabet beads (these are readily available at craft stores). You can also use any colored beads with holes to weave a thread through them.
- Three different colored woolen strands. You can measure these from your wrist to your shoulder and add a few inches to be on the safe side. Make sure that the strands can fit through the holes in the beads.
- Scissors
Method
- Tie a simple knot to join the three strings, approximately 10 cm from the ends of the strings.
- Tape the strings to your work surface just below the knot. You can also use a hook or a writing pad with a clasp to hold the strings firmly in place.
- Separate the strings.
- Make the pattern of number ‘4’ by crossing the leftmost string and the middle string. Loop the leftmost string through the ‘4’ all the way to the top. Now make a ‘backward 4’ with the same two strings and make a knot again.
- Repeat the backward and forwards ‘4’ and continue looping with the right and middle strings.
- Repeat with left and middle strings –forward 4, loop, backward 4, loop.
- Again repeat with the right and middle string – forward 4, loop, backward 4 and make a loop.
- Continue till you have a knotted string pattern up to an inch long.
- Now select the alphabet beads you wish to use in your friendship bracelet.
- Weave the first alphabet bead through the central thread.
- Secure the bead in place by making a knot with the leftmost thread using the same pattern of 4 (described above) with the central thread just below the bead. Also, make a knot with the rightmost thread by looping it with the central thread under the bead using a pattern of ‘4’.
- Add all the alphabet beads to the central thread and keep making two knots under each bead using the left and right threads with the central thread.
- Once all the beads are used up, you must repeat the backward and forward ‘4’ looping with the left and right threads. (Each side makes two loops with the middle thread using backward and forwards ‘4’). Repeat until you get the same pattern as you did before at the top of the bracelet.
- End the bracelet by cutting off the extra length so that each of the three strands is of the same length. You can now make a double knot with the three threads.
To understand this better, do check out this video.
3. A simple way to make a friendship bracelet with 4 strings
- Take four different colored strands of wool or yarn.
- Tie a simple knot using the ends of each of the 4 strings.
- Hold the strands in place using tape or even your writing pad with a holder as above.
- Separate the 4 strands. Let us imagine them to be in the order left to right as 1, 2, 3, and 4.
- Take the leftmost strand (strand No.1) and make a ‘4 pattern’ with the strand right next to it (strand No. 2). Make a loop or knot with the two strands. Repeat once again (strand No.1 is knotted twice with strand No.2).
- Now make a knot with strand No.1 and strand No. 3. Repeat (knot strand No.1 with strand no.3 twice)
- Now make a knot with strand no.1 and strand no. 4. Repeat (knot strand No.1 with strand no.4 twice)
- Now you will have a different colored strand on the leftmost side. Knot this with each of the three strands on its right (two times each).
- Continue down the bracelet, knotting each of the leftmost strands with the remaining three strands. Remember: you need to knot twice with each strand).
Repeat until to come to the end of the bracelet. Leave some room at the end to make a knot with the four strings while ending the bracelet. Check out this video.
4. Chevron friendship bracelet
For making a Chevron friendship bracelet, you will need four strands in color A and four strands in color B.
- Trim all 8 strands to about 80 cm length.
- Knot to join all 8 strands together about 10 cm down from one end of all 8 strands. Insert a safety pin in the knot or use Scotch tape or washi tape to secure the 8 strands to your work surface.
- Spread the strands out underneath the taped knot so that you have (from left to right) two strands in color A, 4 strands in color B, and again two strands in color A.
- To create the chevron friendship bracelet, bring the first thread over the second, passing it under and bringing its end through the loop. Draw up closely to tighten the knot just below the tape.
- Repeat the procedure; this means you need to make 2 knots with each of the strands. Two knots make one stitch.
- Take the threads on the far left and create one woven stitch on the thread to the right-hand side of it.
- Continue with this thread repeat to make one woven stitch on the next thread and then the thread following it.
- The initial thread will now lie in the center.
- Continue with each leftmost strand.
- Be sure to draw up each of the little knots you make. This is necessary to keep the Chevron pattern nice and tight. It is important not to have any holes or gaps in the Chevron pattern.
Here is a different way to do a Chevron friendship bracelet.
There are many websites that provide DIY friendship bracelet patterns. We hope the above easy ways to make friendship bracelets help you out.