Super Easy Chained Bead Friendship Bracelets

These are some of the quickest, easiest friendship bracelets to make, and inexpensive.  Just a beaded chain stitch using elastic cord and mini pony beads. I think they would make a good tween project for groups.

You will need:

• Elastic Beading Cord- I used Dritz Metallic Beading Cord
• Mini Pony Beads in various colors*
• Scissors

*Full size pony beads will work too. I just prefer the appearance of the small ones

Cut 16 inch lengths of the cord. If you're making these with a group i.e. a summer camp project or scouting group, it's easier to have the cord pre-cut.

About 4 inches from one end, make a loop with the cord crossed.

Hold the cord where it crosses, and make a loop with the longer end and put it in the first loop.

Pull to tighten.

Now you'll put on the first bead, just push the loop through it. The holes in the pony beads are big enough for the folded elastic cord.

Make a loop in the long end, and put through the loop coming out of the bead. Pull to tighten the first beaded loop.

Add another bead.

You'll continue adding beads in the same manner, 6-10 beads looks good. Then to the beaded section, make a loop and pull it through the previous loop.

Then instead of adding a bead, pass the end of the cord through the loop. Pull to tighten. Until this step it's easy to pull it all apart by giving the working end a tug, this step locks the beads.

Tie the ends in an overhand or square knot, trim ends. Because it's elastic, it's easy to put on and off. 

My grandmother used to make necklaces in a similar fashion. She would use a metallic elastic thread instead of cord, chain from the beginning and intersperse plain chains with beaded chains using plastic pearls. 

Friendship Bracelet Box

Since we got the Friendship Bracelet Maker, TG and I have been taking turned making friendship bracelets. Which inspired this quote art. Click for a larger version.

Which inspired this printable box. I hope you enjoy it! Click for a larger version. Print, cut, score, fold, glue!

Friendship Bracelets and My Friendship Bracelet Maker

You know those ideas that you wish you had? My Friendship Bracelet Maker is one of those. If you've ever knotted a friendship bracelet, you remember trying to keep strands separate while you were knotting, putting a safety pin in the knee of your jeans, or using duct tape to tape the top to a table while you were working. I used to make friendship bracelets for extra money and did all those things.
It really does travel well, and you or your favorite tween or teen can use it on a lap, it can be set down when you need to take a break without having to fuss with the threads. I made a couple floss type bracelets, but then decided to try it with my favorite hemp knotting technique. It worked like a dream.

To make the bracelet shown in progress above, you'll need:
.5 mm hemp twine
beads with a hole big enough for 2 strands of the twine. I used Czechoslovakian 5 mm fire polish crystal

Cut two strands of hemp, one 20 inches, and one 2 yards. Fold both strands in half and tie an overhand knot a half inch from the fold. Then string the beads on the two short strands. Those will be your core strands. If you're using the Friendship Bracelet maker, you clamp the loop under the butterfly, then the two core strands wrap around the center peg at the bottom.

Then you'll start tying the knots. I decided for mine to tie 7 knots between each bead. The knots are worked around the center cord like this.

Tie 6 knots which will create 3 "bumps" on each side, slide a bead up the core thread, bring the two working threads around the bead, and tie 7 more knots. Continue until it's long enough to tie around your wrist, ending with a knot section. Knot one working thread and one core thread together, and do the same for the other two threads. Trim evenly. When you're ready to tie it on to a wrist, thread one set of threads through the top loop, and tie in a square knot.

Making these using the Friendship Bracelet Maker works quickly compared to traditional methods because it's so easy to keep all the threads in right alignment, and I found the same was true for regular floss type bracelets. 

The My Friendship Bracelet Maker also has a case built in to hold your floss.

Check out lots of patterns on their Friendship Bracelet Maker's Facebook page.

The Friendship Bracelet Makers are available at Michaels. There are other versions including a smaller Traveler version and a Clipboard version.

A side note- My friend Teri has been considering getting one as a gift for a mutual friend. After seeing this one, she decided it was just perfect. My daughter is eager to teach the friend how to make friendship bracelets. Teri, who also tied a lot of bracelets back in the day agreed this was just brilliant.


I received a complimentary My Friendship Bracelet Maker to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.