How to Make a Friendship Bracelet

This fun and easy project was one recently featured at an Etsy team meet-up. These are great fun to make on a Saturday night. You will need:

1. Scissors
2. Embroidery Thread
3. Fingers
4. Time
5. Ruler (optional)

Perfect for you and a friend to do.

Pick any 6 colors that appeal to you. Generally people will mix and match warm and cool colors. Purple is both a warm and cool color. You can find embrodiery thread in any arts and craft store. I like to use DMC cotton thread as it holds up and is very durable. You can find it at Michaels (where we got ours). I like Michaels because they have such great coupons. In general, with 6 colors, you can make 10 bracelets. This is a great sleepover or BBFs project.

Warm Colors Are:
White
Yellow
Orange
Pink Red

Cool Colors Are:
Green
Blue
Brown
Black

Cut your thread. You need sections 3 feet long in each color you selected.

A quick secret is to the distance between your fingertips and nose is roughly 3 ft. for everyone!

Take all the threads at the top and tie them together into a knot. Normally people secure the knot under something to hold it steady while making the bracelet. Clipboard. Box. You name it. Simply something to hold it tight.

Spread out the colors in the order that you want to tie them in. I tied them in the following order:

1. Purple
2. Orange
3. Blue
4. Red
5. Green
6. Yellow

To tie your first knot. Take the strand you will have to tie the first color (purple) with the last color (yellow). Tie the purple in a knot over yellow thread. This is the first row and color. Repeat a second time.

Now, you are going to tie the second row. Take the orange thread. Tie a knot below the purple knot. Repeat a second time. Each time you make a knot on a friendship bracelet, you tie it twice. Next pick up the purple thread and tie a knot. Repeat a second time. You should notice a general downward angle to your knots.

Two colors down, you should be feeling pretty confident. Pick up the next thread in order, blue. Tie the blue thread twice to the yellow as you did for rows (one and two), then purple, then orange.

Starting to notice a pattern?

By this time you should feel you are getting the hang of this. Pick up the red thread on your left. Start tying two knots in order from left to right: yellow, then purple, next orange, and lastly blue.

Ok, take the green thread on the far left and knot all the threads in order from left to right: yellow, purple, orange, blue, and red.

Your last color is yellow. It should be sitting on the far left. Tie two knots around each thread in order from left to right: purple, orange, blue, red, and green.

Keep repeating rows tying the knots from left to right as if you were reading each time.

When you are done, tie your thread at the end and cut off any excess. Voila, instant friendship bracelet.