How to Make a Simple Macrame Bracelet

Macrame may have seen it's most popular days in the 1970s, but the trend has not died yet. While you rarely see macrame wall hangings and plant holders anymore, simple macrame bracelets continue to be popular accessories and gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Twine (yarn, hemp, embroidery thread, leather strips)
• Scissors
• Bracelet clasp with ring
• Safety pin
• Beads (optional)

Instructions

1. Choose the twine you want to use for your bracelet. You can use just about any type of twine, as long as it is not so slick that it will not hold a knot. You might consider yarn, hemp, embroidery thread or even thin leather strings. Make your bracelet from a single color or multiple colors, depending on your personal tastes.

2. Find the end of the twine, and wrap the string loosely around your wrist four times. Hold the twine where it meets the end on the fourth wrap, and unravel it from your wrist. Using the piece of twine that you are holding onto, double the twine, and cut so that you have one long piece of string. Use this string to measure another of equal length.

3. Double the twine, and hold the center so that it forms two small loops. Slip the loops through a small metal ring, as sold with bracelet clasps. Place the ends of the twine through the loops and pull tight, securing your twine to the ring.

4. Anchor the ring to your pant leg or other steady object using a safety pin so that the twine is firmly held in place as you work your macrame knots.

5. Create a simple square knot by pulling the two center strings tight and holding them between your teeth. Place the right string over the two center strings and underneath the left string. Now, draw the left string under the center strings, and slip it up through the loop created in the right string. Hold the center strings tight, and pull out on both the left and right strings, tightening the knot around the strings.

6. Continue with the exact knot technique to create a spiral pattern around the bracelet. If you prefer a flat bracelet, alternate your knots, first crossing the right over the center and under the left, and then making the same knot by crossing the left over the center and under the right.

7. Add beads to your bracelet at anytime by slipping the bead over the two center strings and forming the next knot below the bead. When your bracelet is your desired length, tie the four strings onto the opposite end of a bracelet clasp, and trim the extra twine.