Obsession Du Jour: Friendship Bracelets


After years of rolling my eyes at other girls' armparties, once gain I retract my own statement. You see, I used to wear loads and loads of bracelets, festival bands, spikes, rubber bands and friendship bracelets stacked on top of each other around my wrists in high school... And then I got tired of the look. Wearing tons of stuff around your arm started feeling tired, overdone, ubiquitous, hence I was like F THAT SHIT I'M OUT. And I stopped wearing muchos accessories altogether.

UNTIL NOW.

I don't know if you're aware of this fact, but friendship bracelets are (like Hansel) SO hot right now. They remind us of simpler times, but more importantly, they look FUNKY! And they are fun + easy to make. I'm pretty sure that anyone can master the simple stripe or chevron pattern, in case they are using the right supplies. 



WHAT YOU NEED: embroidery thread (borduurdraad). Comes at about 1-2€ for about 8 meters of thread. I bought my supply at Veritas, they have a nice selection of colors! Try to work out what kind of bracelets you want to create beforehand, so your colors are coordinated appropriately. I went with some brights, some pastels and some darker hues for maximum variety in my options!



WHAT YOU'LL DO: is explained here perfectly, including pictures. Yeah I know I'm lazy, but why fix something if it ain't broke? One note I have: be sure to use long enough strands of thread. I have tiny wrists and get by with about 80 cm per thread of one color, so if you have normal wrists you'll need more. You don't want to end up with a bracelet that's too short to tie!

If the explanation of the knotting method isn't clear to you at first(you're not alone), just check out this link for a clear pic and a video. This is my first attempt. I tied the end to my little toe, which I do not recommend if you aren't ultra flexible. I got a cramp in my hip SEVERAL times.


WHAT YOU'LL END UP WITH:

I based my work on the chevron pattern but worked some variations in there. Doesn't look perfect up close, but still pretty alright from a slight distance :-D Once you get the hang of the basic chevron style knotting, you'll be able to improvise and insert some of your own designs in there. Just stay focused so you don't mess up (too much).


But be warned: making friendship bracelets is pretttttty addictive. Have fun!

12 comments

  1. Hahaha armparties is such a great word :D
    Yeees, i remember the days when I braided tons of these bracelets with my girlfriends, it wa sso cool back then. Funny how every trend returns after some years :)

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  2. Arm party! How have I never heard that before?? I used to be the same way! I wore a lot of bracelets that stayed on 24/7, even when they got grody - but it's so hard to do that in the summer. It's too hot for that shiz!

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  3. Mijn zusje en ik hebben een tijd terug ook geïnvesteerd in een hele hoop kleurrijke draad, met fijne armbandjes tot gevolg! (Al moet ik toegeven dat die kleine ze altijd maakt voor mij haha, zij heeft er meer geduld voor dan ik én vindt het heel leuk om te doen!)

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  4. I'm not a huge accessories fan, but I've been looking out for some cute friendship bracelets for a while now. Really want to try this myself, so big thanks for your advice:-)!


    XxX A.

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  5. ik ben je vriend, je vriend wil een bandje.

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  6. I LOVE IT!


    xxhttp://www.eugenemarseille.com/

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  7. ik gebruik altijd iets dikkere macramé draad wat ook wel een mooi effect geeft


    http://raspberryblonde.blogspot.com

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  8. Oh wow! I haven't thought about friendship bracelets since school! i should really do this, creating an arm party sounds like a cool little project

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  9. Make us all a bracelet :p


    http://in-so-mnia.blogspot.be/

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  10. ooit, heel lang geleden kon ik dat. Helaas :D

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