CRAFTS 4 EVERYBODY

These are "friendship bracelets", they come in all shape and colors and the girls had their go with them in our first class together. Friendship bracelets are easy to make and could look great on your wrist for ages.

For traditional friendship bracelets, you tie a bracelet to your friend's wrist and they leave it there until it falls off by itself. There are many different kinds, including round ones, flat ones, and the cross knot friendship bracelet, but the candystripe friendship bracelet, shown here, is the one of the easiest to make.

1) Buy embroidery thread, sometimes called embroidery floss, at a craft or sewing store. Embroidery floss is thicker than normal sewing thread, and comes in many colors. You must have more than one color to create a striped effect. The more colors you choose, the wider the bracelet will be.
2) Take the first color and wrap it around your wrist 2 times,or from your elbow to your finger tips(More accurate!). The length you now have is the correct fit for your wrist, but if you use more string than this it makes it easier to keep going at the end of the bracelet.
3) Cut a piece this length from each of the other colors.
4) Tie a knot at the top.
5) The far left string (red) over the string to the right (green) creating a shape like the numeral four.

6) Pull the first string through the "opening" in the four and then pull it up and tighten to make a knot. Repeat this step again on the same string.
7) Pull the first string over to the right and repeat the steps above, but using the next string in each case.
8) Work this way for all the strings to complete the first row of all the same color horizontally.
9) Start the next row using the string to the far left (green).

10) Repeat all the steps until you have the row finished.
11) Keep going until the bracelet is long enough to fit around your wrist comfortably. To make sure it fits well, try it on your wrist, there should be enough extra room that you can fit about 2 fingers in next to your wrist, since the bracelet can shrink in water and become too tight (although it will stretch back out when dry).

12) Tie the loose ends of your fitted bracelet with a square knot, just like how you started the bracelet.
13) Tie the bracelet onto your wrist (or your friend's) at the right length with a knot, like the first part of tying a shoelace, but do it twice - this is a square knot. It helps if you can get someone to help you here, but it can be done alone.
14) Trim any loose ends. You can also add charms or beads to the ends for decoration, simply slip them on the floss and tie a knot beneath them.
15) Bracelets are excellent to show true friendship, so give your finished bracelet to a good friend! And if you need a gift for your friend this is a great idea !