Macrame Friendship Bracelets and an Amazon Giveaway

Good morning, I’ve got lots of fun stuff for my friends today!  I’ve teamed up with #MyFavoriteBloggers to chip in on a little giveaway, and we’re sharing a mini-blog-hop full of friendship-themed projects and recipes that you can make.  I’m going to show you how to make 2-tone macrame friendship bracelets today.

This is a project that I originally shared over at Crafts Unleashed.  If you read here often – you know how much I LOVE hemp bracelets and woven fiber jewelry pieces.  I’m going to show you how you can make your own – on the cheap!  You just need a couple inexpensive supplies (and they will last for several bracelets)!

You will need:

• Bamboo or hemp cord – the 20-lb weight is perfect.  (If you’re using something lighter weight, cut it longer as you will be making more knots.)
• Buttons
• Scissors
• Craft glue (optional)
• Work surface to secure your bracelet as you make it – a clipboard works great, or go old-school and safety-pin it to your pants or a pillow while you work!

To get started, cut two lengths of twine about 7 feet long.  (This will be a little longer than you need, but it’s better to have a little too much than not quite enough!  If you’re using a thinner cord, you should cut it longer since you will be making more knots.) They can be the same color, but I like to make them two different colors – coordinating colors are more fun!

Measure down about 12 inches, and double up the cord. This will give you two lengths of 12 inches, and 2 that are 72 inches. Tie an overhand knot. This will be the loop for your button closure, so be sure your button fits through this loop.

Now, secure your bracelet to your work surface. You can tape it down, pin it to something – I like to use a clipboard to hold it steady while I work.

Separate your strands, leaving the two short ones in the middle, and the two longs one on the sides. Now, take one of the long strands and tie it around the two middle strands. If you made friendship bracelets as a kid, this will be a really familiar knot. In my photo above, I’m using the darker cord.

Then, make a second knot with that same cord.

Now, alternate to the other cord (in my case, the light green one). Repeat the process, making two knots. Keep alternating sides, making two knots on each side.

When you have enough length (about 6.5 inches woven length – more or less if your wrist is larger or smaller than average), make an overhand knot to tie off the bracelet. You can add a small dot of craft glue to help secure it if you wish. If you do glue it, you can cut two of the tail ends off close to the knot.

Then, take your remaining two cords and use them to tie on your button closure. Knot your cords underneath the button – and again, you can use a dot of glue to help secure this knot. That’s it!

These are fun gifts to make for friends, especially for warm-weather wear and camp-type activities, since you hardly need any supplies.  Once you get the technique down, they also make up really quickly. I made all 3 of these in an hour.

If you’re looking for some other friendship-themed gifts to make, see what my friends are sharing today!

Melanie ~ It Happens In A Blink ~ Friendship Gift Pillow Boxes, Emily ~ The Benson Street ~ Amish Friendship Bread, Amy ~ One Artsy Mama ~ Friendship Bracelet, Adrianne ~ Happy Hour Projects ~ Macrame Friendship Bracelets, Bethany ~ Pitter and Glink ~ Friendship Gift Tag and Mason Jar Label (Free Printable), Kara ~ Happy Go Lucky Blog ~ Tea-riffic Friend Gift, Kadie ~ 7Alive All Livin’ in a Double Wide ~ Simple Finger Loom Rubber-Band Friendship Bracelets

Now, we’ve got more than just cute gift ideas – we want to give one of our friends a $35 Amazon gift card!  We’ve all pitched in to give a US or Canadian reader a chance to win.  Just be our friend on Facebook to enter.  (Because when we choose a theme, we really embrace it, LOL.)

Rafflecopter will walk you through how to get your entries in below.  Thanks for coming by today, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway