Friendship Bracelets

Remember when you were younger and you shared friendship bracelets with your BFF? I love the idea of symbolizing friendship with a simple handmade bracelet. They’re personal, creative and they show the person you’ve taken the time to make them something unique.

A couple of months ago, I went to my local arts & crafts store and bought a starter-kit on How to Make Friendship Bracelets. I’ve already made a few for my friends and sisters but lately I’ve just been making them for myself. I’m the type of person that can’t stay idle for a long period of time so making bracelets keep me busy.

The Candy Stripe

There are various styles and patterns, but most are based on the same simple half-hitch knot. The Candy Stripe is the easiest pattern and great for beginners!

You will need 6 pieces of embroidery floss (2 each of 3 colors) cut to 24″ long.

Tie a knot about 3-1/2″ from the top.

Clip the knotted end to a clipboard or a sturdy notepad. You can also tape it to a table end or pin it to your jeans, whatever’s more comfortable for you to work with.

To simplify the instructions, let’s name the strings. Starting with the first pink string on the left, that’s string #1, then #2 (purple), #3 (white), #4 (pink), #5 (purple), and #6 (white). You will be working your way from left to right.

First, loop string #1 over and then under string #2. It’s important to hold string #2 straight and pull the knot taut with string #1.

Make the same knot with the same two strings. This is called a “double knot.”

Now move string #2 aside. Take string #1 and string #3 and make a double knot.

Keep moving string #1 through all five strings. You should end up with something like this:

Now that string #1 is all the way on the right, start moving string #2 along. Tie double knots, left to right, all the way across the other strings.

Keep moving the left strings across one at a time. You can now see the bracelet come to form.

Keep going until the bracelet is as long as you would like.

Gather the strings, tie a knot to secure and trim the ends if necessary.

Remember to be patient when you’re making your friendship bracelet. It’s easy and inexpensive, but the impact they leave on loved ones is immense.

For more bracelet styles and patterns, check out MakingFriends.com.