How To Make A Fancy Braided Friendship Bracelet

Hello sports fans!

Wasn’t this a great weekend for sports? Did you catch a baseball or soccer game, the NHL or NBA playoffs, or maybe the Kentucky Derby? There is so much to choose from this time of year!

Today I’m here with another easy project for showing off your team colors on game day, no matter what you choose as your favorite sport! Lightweight and perfect for the summer months, the finished bracelet looks a lot more complicated than it really is!

It’s also a great project for teens or pre-teens, for a new way to impress their friends with a fancy friendship bracelet (yes, these string bracelets are still around and more popular than ever with the kids)! And they can tell their friends this is the Japanese style of braiding called Kumihimo!

I made my personal bracelets in my favorite team colors. I also made the pretty rainbow bracelet, to make it easier to follow the steps and the pictures, and because rainbows are pretty!

Step 1 – Collect the Supplies

Embroidery Floss (rainbow floss sets available HERE)
Cardboard
Pen
Scissors
Ruler (optional, not shown)

Step 2 – Prepare the cardboard

Cut the cardboard into a circle, 4 or 5 inches in diameter
Place 8 marks around the edge of the circle, evenly spaced
Cut a slit at each mark in the cardboard
Punch a hole in the center of the cardboard

Step 3 – Prep the embroidery floss

Cut 7 pieces of embroidery floss, each about 2 feet long
Align the ends
Tie a simple overhand knot near those ends

Push the open ends through the hole in the cardboard, and pull until the knotted end reaches the hole (make a second knot if needed, so it doesn’t pull through)

Loosely pull one thread of embroidery floss through each slit in the cardboard (you will have 1 slit without a thread)

Step 4 – Braid

Position the slit without a thread directly in front of you
Take the top right thread, and move it to the empty slit

Rotate the cardboard to position the “new” empty slit in front of you
Take the top right thread, and move it to the empty slit

Repeat these steps, and watch the braid grow under the cardboard!
Continue until the braid is the right size to go around your wrist.
NOTE: straighten out all the loose threads once in a while, so they don’t get too tangled
It also helps to periodically pull down on the braid as is it forms, to keep it straightened out

Step 5 – Finishing up

Once the braid is the size of your wrist, carefully remove all of the threads from the cardboard, and pull your braid out

Use the loose ends to tie a knot at the end of the braid
Tie another knot about ½” from the first, leaving a loop just big enough for the knot on the other end
Trim the loose ends