make best Friendship Bracelets

Kids can create these friendship bracelets in their favorite colors to share with friends! There’s nothing sweeter than a token of friendship to keep for years to come.

Why we love this project

Traditional bracelets are tied on while the giver makes a wish for her friend. Once the bracelet finally falls off, it is said the wish will come true. Even though ours is made with a button closure, I’d still make a wish as I give a bracelet to a friend. That’s what friendship is about!

Friendship bracelets are all about patterns. This candy stripe diagonal pattern is a great one for beginners. You work in a pattern of making 2 knots per strand as you create a diagonal woven pattern.

If you’re giving this bracelet as a gift, pair it with a cute personalized stenciled frame with a photo of you and your friend!

Craft supplies you will need:

• Embroidery Floss – 3 assorted colors
• Scissors
• Tape
• Button
• Extra piece of floss approx. 12”

Craft information:

• Age Level: 10 years old
• Mess Factor: Minimal
• Time to Complete: 1 hour
• Cost estimate: 50-99 cents per bracelet

Craft Tips:

• It is easier to work at a table. Have the loop end taped about arms-length on the table and let the floss hang off of the table right in front of you.
• If you want to take a break from knotting, finish the row of knots, then tape down the strand of floss on the far left, separate from other strands. When you are ready to start, simply remove the tape and start a new row of knots.
• If your bracelet starts to curl you can “block it” to make it lay flat.  When your finished bracelet is done, tape it to a flat surface. Make sure it’s pulled nice and taut. Spray it with a good amount of water and let it dry like that. Then remove the tape.

How to Make Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelets:

Measure your wrist: Use the extra piece of floss to wrap around your (or your friend’s) wrist one time. Take floss off your wrist, holding the spot where the floss “connected” and cut that. This is the approximate length your bracelet needs to be.

Measure the floss: The general rule is to cut pieces of floss the length between your fingertips and shoulder. Hold the end of the floss in your fingers and stretch your arm out, do this 2x so you have 1 long piece of floss, double the length of your fingers to shoulder. Do this for all 3 colors of floss.

Make the loop for button closure : Take the 3 strands of floss together and fold them in half. Make an overhand knot at the fold, creating a little loop at the where you are tying the knot. This will be the loop for your button closure.

Tape down the loop end to the table.

Arrange your 6 strands of floss in the order you want. The strand all the way on the left is the one that will make the first row. You will knot it around all the other strands of floss.

Start with the 4 Basic Knots

Even the most sophisticated friendship bracelets are tied with the same simple knots.

There are four basic friendship bracelet knots that you need to learn. Once you learn the right knots, you’ll be able to make and design your own BFF bracelets with ease.

Each of the four knots is composed of two half knots – called half-hitches. The four basic friendship bracelet knots use two half-hitches stacked together in different combinations.

• Forward knot : forward hitch + forward hitch
• Backward knot : backward hitch + backward hitch
• Forward-Backward knot : forward hitch + backward hitch
• Backward-Forward knot : backward hitch + forward hitch

For a full explanation of the different types of friendship bracelet knots, with lots of diagrams and pictures, be sure to read How to Tie the 4 Basic Friendship Bracelet Knots .