How to Decorate Barrettes With a Friendship Bracelet Design

Friendship bracelets come in a wide variety of designs.

Friendship bracelets are a popular craft in which you weave craft floss or yarn in a specific pattern of knots that forms a band of geometric patterns. The colors and wide variety of friendship bracelet designs make them a wonderful pattern with which to decorate barrettes. In this craft, you will use small beads to replicate a friendship bracelet pattern on the top of a barrette. Just like regular friendship bracelets, you can exchange barrettes with your best friend when you finish.

Things You'll Need

• Size 10/0 beads in multiple colors
• Photo of a friendship bracelet
• Graph paper
• Colored pencils
• Plain plastic barrette
• Glue
• Craft floss

Instructions

1. Fill in squares with colored pencils on graph paper to block out the pattern you intend to create. Using a photograph of a friendship bracelet or a real friendship bracelet as a guide, copy the colors of the woven knots row by row to approximate the bracelet design, filling in one square to represent the width of each thread.

2. Glue beads to the barrette row by row according to the pattern you created on the graph paper.

3. Tie about 10 pieces of craft floss with colors matching your pattern into a knot 1/2 inch from the ends to simulate the knotted end of a friendship bracelet. Cut the knot off, leaving about 1/4 inch on the other side of it. Repeat to create a second knot.

4. Glue the 1/4-inch ends of each knot to one end of the barrette so that the knot hangs over the edge. The barrette should now resemble a friendship bracelet.

Tips & Warnings

• For an easier craft, use larger beads. If you want to make a more finely detailed design, use smaller seed beads and apply them using tweezers.

References

• Dummies.com: How to Make Decorated Barrettes; Heather Dismore