Friendship bracelets are most commonly made with embroidery floss, although they can also be made with wool yarn or other materials. Friendship bracelets are one of the most popular and long-lasting fashion accessories. When I was in middle school, I used to make them for my buddies. When you handed a friendship bracelet to a friend at the time, they were meant to make a wish. The request was granted when the bracelet fell off.
Embroidery floss is the most common thread used for friendship bracelets, but you can also create them with wool yarn or other materials.
Friendship bracelets are one of the most popular fashion accessories that have stood the test of time. I remember making them for my friends when I was in Middle School. At that time, when you gave a friendship bracelet to friends, they were supposed to make a wish. When the bracelet fell off, the wish came true.
Today, you can see friendship bracelets worn by children, parents, sports teams, and business people. They might be decorated with colored beads, buttons, and bangles, and created with various colors of embroidery floss, wool yarn, polyester string, nylon, and rayon string.
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Can You Use Wool for Friendship Bracelets?
You can use any type of wool, cotton, or acrylic yarn for friendship bands. Keep in mind that the bracelet will be thicker depending on the type of yarn you use.
Here are the common yarn weights, with zero being the thinnest yarn and seven the heaviest. The heavier the weight, the thicker your friendship bracelet will come out.
- 0 – fingering yarn
- 1 – super fine yarn
- 2 – fine yarn
- 3 – light, worsted yarn
- 4 – medium, worsted yarn
- 5 – bulky, chunky yarn
- 6 – super bulky
- 7 – jumbo yarn
When planning the size and thickness of your friendship bracelet, consider the weight of the wool yarn to get the proper sizing.
What’s the Best Thread for Making Friendship Bracelets?
Although it’s a personal choice, most people who make homemade friendship bands prefer embroidery floss. It’s available in hundreds of vivid colors. The floss has a sheen that makes a gorgeous finished bracelet, and it’s very durable.
You can find embroidery floss in any craft store. It’s also used for cross stitch projects, embroidery, crochet, and needlepoint.
There are different types of embroidery floss. Some floss is more expensive than others, but they all make wonderful friendship bands.
These are the most popular types of embroidery floss for friendship bracelets:
- Embroidery floss – good for beginners through experts
- Rayon thread – silky thread that’s difficult to work with
- Craft thread – inexpensive and good for beginners and children
- Cotton thread – similar to yarn and available in various weights
If you’re just learning how to make friendship bracelets, select an economical thread until you become more proficient. Once you get the hang of all the knots and weaving, move up to better-quality threads and embellishments.
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What Tools Do You Need to Make Friendship Bracelets?
Craft stores sell friendship bracelet makers, but you don’t need them. People have been making these bracelets without tools for decades.
All you need is a piece of tape to hold the end of the threats onto your work surface. It helps if you have a small crochet hook for pulling the thread through the knots if necessary.
I think it’s nicer to make the whole bracelet by hand, rather than using a friendship bracelet maker. It’s more personal and I get more satisfaction making the whole bracelet with my own hands.
What Knots Do You Need to Know to Make a Friendship Bracelet?
If you’re a beginner, you can simply braid a bracelet using three strands of floss. But, if you want to design a fancier bracelet, learn a few knots to make it more interesting.
Making friendship bracelet knots is similar to macramé. You can create basic bracelets, knowing just a couple of knots or complex bands with chevrons, stripes, or zigzags.
Overhand Knot
This is the knot you need to start your necklace and to secure beads, charms, and other embellishments. You also end your friendship band with the overhand knot.
All you do is make a loop with the floss. Insert one end of the floss into the loop. Pull the end through to finish the knot.
Lark’s Head Knot
You use this knot when you want to attach other pieces of floss, cord, hoops, or rings to the bracelet.
Just fold the cord in half, so it looks like an upside-down ‘U’. Place the loop under the other piece of floss. Pull the two trails of the floss through the loop. Pull it tight.
Forward Knot
When you make a forward knot, you start with it on the left. Put the left thread on top of the right one. It should look like the number ‘4’. Then loop the left cord under the right one and pull it up. Repeat this step, and you’ll end with the right thread on the left side.
Just keep doing this to make your bracelet.
Square Knot
The square knot, also known as the flat knot, is a basic macramé knot. You need three cords to make it. Two for tying and one base cord. You can also make it with four cords. The secret is to keep the base cords tight as you work. This makes the knot come out flat.
- The basic way to tie a square knot is to attach your floss cords in the right order. Then, bring the left cord over the middle one, and under the right cord.
- Next, you bring the right cord up through the loop between the left and center cords. Pull the right one and the left one to tighten them.
- Bring the right cord over the center one. Then bring the left one over the cord from the right and under the center cord.
- Carry the left cord over the right. Pull the right and left cords to tighten. Just continue these steps to make the bracelet.
Beaded Square Knot
The square knot is the basis for the beaded square knot. You use this knot for attaching beads to either the base cord or the tying cords.
Follow the first three steps for the square knot, then string a bead on the center cord. Continue with the steps and attach a bead whenever you get to step three.
How Do You Make a Striped Friendship Band?
Whether you use wool yarn or embroidery floss, a striped friendship bracelet shows how much you care about your friend. Practice learning the forward knot before you begin.
You can use four or six pieces of different colored cord to make stripes. If you want it even wider, just add two more pieces of thread.
Here’s the basic method for creating a striped friendship bracelet:
Start by tying all your strings together at the end and taping the knot down on your work surface. Keep the colored cords in order, and start making forward knots. Keep going until you only have about three inches of cord left. Tie a knot to finish off the bracelet.
As you go along, attach embellishments to dress up the friendship bracelet. Beads, charms, sequins, shells, or anything that catches your eye.
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