Making Friendship Bracelets with Cute Pictures. Suzanne McNeill
Introduction
Friendship bracelets are everywhere. You may have noticed them at markets, summer camps, fairs, or festivals. Maybe even a special friend has made one just for you, or you for them. Most are made with colorful geometric designs, but did you know that you could add names, words, and even short phrases to your bracelets? Picture bracelets are slightly more advanced, as you will need to follow a graph to create each image, but the basic knotting is the same, and once you master the technique, you’ll find yourself customizing bracelets for friends and family, or sharing them at school, church, in clubs, at camp, or with fellow teammates.
With colorful strands and patience, you can create a bracelet with your own name or make customized gifts for family and friends. Your creations will impress everyone who sees them. In this innovative book, you will find new ways to make colorful bracelets, using special techniques with basic knots and versatile designs.
Happy knotting!
Did You Know?
Friendship bracelets are supposed to be worn by friends every day and every night, no matter what, until they fall off. When tying the knots around each other’s wrists, friends should share their wishes and dreams for the future with one another.
© 2021 New Design Originals Corporation, www.d-originals.com, an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing, 800-457-9112, 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.
Making Friendship Bracelets with Cute Pictures is an original work, first published in 2021 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The content contained herein is copyrighted by Fox Chapel Publishing and was produced by Amelia Johanson and Kerry Bogert. Readers may make up to 6 copies of the charted patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.
Print ISBN: 978-1-4972-0546-8
eISBN: 978-1-6076-5913-6
We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].
For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at [email protected], with 9781497205468 and Making Friendship Bracelets with Cute Pictures in the subject line.
Picture Bracelet Basics
Parts of a Bracelet
Basic Supplies
Materials
Floss in assorted colors (6-ply embroidery floss, pearl [perle] cotton size 5, or craft strands, such as those by DMC®, Anchor®, or Prism®)
Tools
• Tape (masking, duct, packing, or quilter’s)
• Safety pin
• Scissors
• Hard knotting surface (any flat, sturdy surface you can apply tape to, such as a clipboard or knotting board)
• Soft knotting surface (a pillow, jeans pantleg, etc.)
Optional Supplies
• Needle with a large eye (size #20 tapestry needle works best), for troubleshooting
• Anti-fraying solution (like June Tailor® Fray Block™), for gluing the ends of the strands
• Clothespin with spring or bodkin, for keeping the knotting strand untangled
Reading Charts
The thing that makes picture bracelets different from other friendship bracelets is the charts used to knot the designs. It might sound tricky at first, but once you’ve knotted your first motif each new picture after that gets easier.
• Each square represents two knots on the background strands of floss.
• Work the first row from left to right and the second row from right to left. Continue this pattern for the rest of the bracelet (see chart above).
• When the color changes on the chart, switch to using the background strand of floss to make the knots (see here).
• It’s easy to skip a row, so be careful! Mark a row complete by crossing it out with a pencil or use a sticky note to cover rows you’ve completed (see Troubleshooting here).
• Charts are shown vertically, so they are in the same position as you’re working.
• Rows are side to side and columns are top to bottom on the charts shown.
This book shares dozens of designs beginning here, as well as extra blank charts you can use to make your own custom designs (see the inside back cover).
Determining Bracelet Sizes
The length and width of a bracelet depend on a bunch of different factors. With a tape measure and your picture chart, you can have a bracelet that fits just right in a few simple steps.
Fig. 1: Background rows plus the number of rows in your chosen picture will determine your finished length.
Length
While a bracelet’s length depends somewhat on how tightly you knot, most bracelets are between 5” and 6” (12.7 and 15.2cm) long, not including the loop or braided ties on either end. The overall length is determined by the design you choose, plus the number of background rows before and after your letters. For most, 12–14 rows will equal about 1” (2.5cm) of the bracelet.
To customize the length, wrap a tape measure around your wrist (or a friend’s wrist). This is how long you will want the finished bracelet to be (again, not including the loop and braided ties). Use the chart below to decide how many rows you need for your bracelet length.
| Bracelet Length | Total Number of Rows |
| 5” (12.7 cm) | 60–70 rows |
| 5 ¼” (13.3cm) | 63–74 rows |
| 5 ½” (14cm) | 66–77 rows |
| 5 ¼” (14.6cm) | 69–81 rows |
|
6” (15.2cm)
|