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Friendship bracelets: What are they and how do I make one?

Discover a variety of friendship bracelet ideas and make you and your besties the most beautiful creations!

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Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Hannah Bellis

Katie Dolan

Published: April 24, 2024 at 2:06 pm

Friendship bracelets are back with a bang! They're trending at the moment with both adults and kids. There's thousands of different styles of friendship bracelets that you can make, using thread, beads, looms, clay beads and much more.

Each bracelet made is unique to you – because you made it! Making it a very special gift for your best friends. In this article, you'll find plenty of ways to make friendship bracelets, and there's a tutorial to make your first woven friendship bracelet using embroidery threads.

Whichever you choose we know you'll have lots of fun making them, they're the perfect beginner-friendly craft for anyone and everyone!

Jump to:

What are friendship bracelets? 

Friendship bracelets are handmade bracelets that are given to friends and family as a special token of friendship and love. They can be made using a variety of materials, such as embroidery thread, beads, a loom, yarn and many more.

Friendship bracelet patterns

friendship bracelet patterns - main

If you've chosen to create your friendship bracelets using embroidery threads, then using a pattern can help you achieve the design you'd like.

There's lots of different designs out there which use a variety of knots. It involves knotting each thread colour in a certain way to achieve a pattern. For example, creating a repeating heart or a zigzag pattern.

If you'd like to have a go at this technique, check out our friendship bracelet patterns guide.

Friendship bracelet kits

friendship bracelet kits - main

If you love to have all the materials and tools at your fingertips then a friendship bracelet kit will be right for you.

You can choose the style of kit that you'd like, and inside you'll everything you need to create beautiful friendship bracelets. In our round-up, you'll find plenty of gorgeous kits, including a shining gold beaded bracelet with pretty charms, to a loom bracelet kit.

Clay bead bracelets

clay bead bracelet ideas - main

Clay beads are so pretty and so versatile! If you've never heard of them they're small round flat beads typically made from clay that are available in a variety of vibrant colours. They have a small hole in the middle of them so they're easy to thread.

You can choose to create a whole bracelet from clay beads or mix them with gold accents or letter beads for a unique look.

For lots of ideas and where to find clay beads, take a look at our clay bead bracelet ideas.

Taylor Swift friendship bracelets 

taylor swift bracelets 2
Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Taylor Swift and friendship bracelets go hand-in-hand! If you've ever been to or seen one of Taylor's concerts you'll know that her fans are mad about friendship bracelets.

Her fans will make lots of friendship bracelets, usually containing letter beads which spell out song names, album titles or tour dates. When they attend her show they'll trade friendship bracelets with other Swifties! It's a huge community.

Find out more about the Taylor Swift friendship bracelet trend.

Crochet friendship bracelet patterns

Free_friendship_bracelet_crochet_pattern_closeup

Did you know you can make friendship bracelets using crochet? It's a great stash buster for seasoned crocheters or a great introductory project for beginners.

You'll only need a small amount of your favourite yarn and any charms you'd like to add.

Get the crochet friendship pattern and start making.

How to make a chevron friendship bracelet 

All the different designs in this type of friendship bracelet are built up from the same basic knot, in a similar way to macrame. So once you've learned how to do this knot, you can do any of the patterns.

How to make a chevron friendship bracelet video

We have a full video to create this gorgeous chevron friendship bracelet, if you prefer written steps keep scrolling.

You will need:

  • DMC stranded cotton
  • Scissors
  • Wooden button
  • Safety pin

Step 1

How to make friendship bracelets step 1

To begin: Start by choosing 4 colours of stranded cotton for your friendship bracelet. Cut 2 x 60 cm of each colour, so you have 8 lengths of thread in total. Knot the 8 threads together at one end. Spread out the threads so that you have 4 on one side and 4 on the other side. Arrange the colours so that they are mirror images on each side. 

Take the outside thread on the right side (yellow for us) and loop it around the thread next to it. Then tuck the end through the loop. Keeping the second thread taut, pull the outside thread loop so it slides up the thread to the top. Do the same thing again, so you have made two knots in the outside thread.

Step 2

How to make friendship bracelets step 2

Pick up the next thread along and hold it nice and taut. Use the same knotting thread as you did for step 1 (that’s yellow for us). Loop it round the taut thread and tuck the end through the loop. Pull the thread so the loop slides up the taut thread to the top. Do a second knot just like this.

Step 3

How to make friendship bracelets step 3

Pick up the next thread along and hold it nice and taut. Use the same knotting thread as you did for step 1 and 2 (that’s yellow for us). Loop it round the taut thread and tuck the end through the loop. Pull the thread so the loop slides up the taut thread to the top. Do a second knot just like this.

Step 4

How to make friendship bracelets step 4

Leave the thread you have been knotting with (yellow for us) in the centre. Pick up the outside thread on the left hand side. This should be the same colour as the one you have been knotting with on the right hand side!

Hold the thread next to it taut and loop the knotting thread round it. Pull the end through the loop. Keeping the second thread taut, pull the outside thread loop so it slides up the thread to the top. Do the same thing again, so you have made two knots in the outside thread.

Step 5

How to make friendship bracelets step 5

Pick up the next thread along and hold it nice and taut. Using the same knotting thread as you did for step 4 (that’s yellow for us), loop it round the taut thread and tuck the end through the loop. Pull the thread so the loop slides up the taut thread to the top. Do a second knot just like this.

Step 6

How to make friendship bracelets step 6

Pick up the next thread along and hold it nice and taut. Using the same knotting thread as you did for step 4 and 5 (that’s yellow for us), loop it round the taut thread and tuck the end through the loop. Pull the thread so the loop slides up the taut thread to the top. Do a second knot just like this.

Step 7

How to make friendship bracelets step 7

You have now made two knots on three threads on each side of your friendship bracelet. Both knotting threads are now in the middle of the friendship bracelet. You want to swap them, so that the thread that was on the right-hand side is now on the left-hand side, and the thread that was on the left-hand side is now on the right-hand side.

No need to make any knots. Just pass one thread over the other so they are on different sides.

Now you go back to step 1 and start knotting again in the new colour that is now on the outside edge of your friendship bracelet.

You can repeat steps 1-8 as many times as you need to to create a friendship bracelet the right length for you and your friends.

Friendship bracelets that everyone will love

The best thing about friendship bracelets is that they're fun and easy to make, and each one you make will be completely unique to you! Your friends and family will adore these little tokens as you give them out. With our guide, you'll discover your favourite type of bracelet making, and you can get started right away. 

Expand your style with a jewellery making kit 

If you've loved making your own friendship bracelets the next step is to start expanding your jewellery making skills. The perfect place to get started on your next project is with a jewellery making kit. 

Jewellery making kit for adults

Hannah Bellis

Knitting Editor, Gathered

Hannah has worked on Gathered for 3 years, since our launch in 2019. At school Hannah learned to knit collaborating on dorcas blankets – now she edits our knitting section. She inherited her love of stitching and embroidery from her talented grandmother, and her passion for thread led her to be Editor of The World of Cross Stitching for six years, where she famously made all team members dress up as Paddington Bear to be hidden in the magazine pages. Card making is a more recent passion, developing from her position as editor of Cross Stitch Card Shop. She loves using kinetic techniques to make cards that move – she was editor of Papercraft inspirations magazine for over four years, creating loads of card making video tutorials at www.youtube.com/PapercraftTV. Her ever-expanding craft stash stretches to sock yarns and circular knitting needles, too. She has an allotment and loves harvesting and preserving her own produce – her office jambola is an annual event.

Katie Dolan

Digital Assistant, Gathered

Katie Dolan edits the needlework sections of www.gathered.how – focusing on our embroidery and cross stitch articles, alongside filming and editing videos for our Arts and Crafts tutorials. She has a wide range of craft interests including embroidery – she particularly loves all things pop culture and a less traditional approach - The Simpsons and Rick & Morty are among her favourites to embroider. When she’s not crafting, she’s usually fuelling her Harry Potter addiction with a Sunday film marathon.
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