DIY Polka Dot Friendship Bracelet

Friendship bracelets have always given me a sentimental feeling — they can bring back thoughts that might be easily lost. Just by looking at them I feel a lot of warmth close to my heart. These bracelets are often given to me by close friends, by my sibling whenever she travels, or picked up by myself when I go to places that I don’t want to forget. In this post I’ll show you how to make a simple summer friendship bracelet for yourself or your friends.

What you need:

Embroidery thread — two colors of your choice

A small pair of scissors

An embroidery needle

Tape

Step one: Cut 4 (or 8) strands of colored embroidery thread at around 75 inches — I use 8 threads to give it a little more thickness. Group the thread together and fold in half to create a loop. Tie a knot about 1 inch below the loop and secure to a table with tape, then separate your strands into 4.

Step two: Start with string 1 and loop it over and then under string 2. Hold string 2 straight and pull the knot snug. Do this again so you have a double knot.

Step three: Using string 1, repeat these steps to create two knots around each of the remaining strings (strings 3 and 4).

Step four: When the row is complete, do the same again — this time using string 2 to create the double knots around string 3, 4, and 1, in that order.

Step five: Keep doing this pattern (using string 3 as the “knotter”, then 4, and then 1 again) until the bracelet is as long as you want it. When you get to the end, split the group of thread in half and tie a knot.

Step six: With the two separate sections, start to braid each one and tie two small knots at the end of each to secure.

Step seven: Using the other color of embroidery thread, start embroidering little dots all the way across the friendship bracelet, like so:

** To do the knot I just keep threading in and out at one spot — making a kind of circular shape — until I’m happy with how it looks.

And there you have it, a fun polka dot friendship bracelet to give to someone special over the summer!