How to Make a Black Leather Bracelet With a Square Knot
Square knot bracelets, called boondoggle bracelets or friendship bracelets, can be made from a variety of materials. Commonly made of a flat plastic lacing called gimp, they can be made of any other material by hand, from hemp to leather. Making a square knot bracelet out of black leather produces a bracelet that you can gift to anyone, male or female, and you can tie it so the bracelet does not need an extra clasp.
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Two strips of leather lacing, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet long
- Beads or tags that fit over and slide along your laces to mark them
- Toothpick or embroidery needle
- Scissors
Instructions
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Knotting the Bracelet
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1
Measure your wrist with a tape measure. You will need to know the diameter of your wrist, or the wrist of the intended recipient of the bracelet, in order to know how large the bracelet should be.
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2
Lay your two strands of leather in a cross formation. Make the middle points of each strand touch in the center, with the top strand lying horizontally over the bottom, which is oriented vertically. Mark the top of your cross with beads or labels as "one," the left, "two," the bottom, "three" and the right arm of the cross, "four." Pick up both strands, placing the center points of the laces between your forefinger and thumb.
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3
Fold lace one over the top of lace two. Fold lace three over lace four. This winds the bottom strand around the top strand.
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4
Pick up lace four and weave it over and then under the loops formed by lace one -- at the top of the cross. Weave lace two in the same pattern -- over then under -- lace three. Pull the four ends to tighten the first knot and put your thumb back at the center point again.
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5
Turn your knot over and repeat the square knot on the other side so both sides look the same. Your number markers will reverse, so lace three is now on top of the cross, and lace one is at the bottom. Fold lace three to the left over lace four and three to the right over lace two and weave in the same pattern.
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Continue to knot your bracelet with the same square knot -- weaving the vertical around the horizontal laces and then passing the horizontal arms over then under the loops formed by the vertical laces -- until your knotted leather is the length of your wrist measurement plus a 1/2 to 1 inch longer.
Closing the Bracelet
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7
Trim the ends of your leather lacing so they form a point on one side. Don't trim them close to the end of the knotted section yet -- you will make one final square knot and can trim the excess later.
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Bring the ends of your bracelet together. You have the starting end of your bracelet and the end with the trailing bits of leather lace or the working end. The square knot on the starting end looks like four loops that meet along the center axis with an open side on one side. Match up your working end with the starting end so that a lace extends above the open side of a loop on each side.
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9
Loosen the loop on the top left of your starting end with a toothpick or needle, being careful not to break the lace. Feed the lace from the working end that matches up with that loop into the loop, from the outside of the bracelet toward the inside of the knot. Pull it so the ends of the bracelet are held about 1 inch apart. Repeat the process so all four laces are threaded through the loops on the starting end, making sure they are not tangled inside the bracelet.
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10
Tighten the final knot down by gently pulling on the laces that are opposite each other on the cross -- pull on the top and bottom together, then on the two sides -- until the bracelet is pulled together and the join is nearly invisible.
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Trim the ends close to the bracelet itself. If your leather is stiff, wait a day or two to give the leather time to loosen slightly before you trim, to be sure the ends don't pull into the center of the knot and unravel it.
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Tips & Warnings
Put a crimp band in a metal of your choosing over the join if you are concerned that the knot won't hold. Buy a C-shaped band or a solid crimp band that fits over your bracelet. Slide it on before you make the final knot and then crimp it with pliers after you trim the ends.
References
- Photo Credit Medioimages/Photodisc/Valueline/Getty Images
