Did you have friendship bracelets with your childhood friend from school? They are a physical representation of the love you have for your friend, especially because you usually make them with your own hands.
There are different ways to make friendship bracelets. What did you make them with? You can make them with colored beads or you can use macramé. But what is macrame exactly?
What is macrame?
Macramé definition:
Macramé (pronounced “macromay”) is a technique that implies using several strands of yarn, cord, or waxed thread and tying them in different ways to create simple or more intricate designs.
What can you do with macramé?
There are several projects you can make with this technique that can be used to decorate your house or for personal use.
- Friendship bracelets
- Plant holders (click here to find the best Macrame plant hanger tips)
- Curtains
- Earrings(2 ways to make macrame earrings )
- Clothes
- and so on…
What’s the origin of macramé?
Macramé can be traced all the way to the 13th century in Arabic regions, although it seems to have been created in Chine, hundreds of years before. Macramé meaning is not clear, but it is believed that it was simply created as a decorative technique to combine with hand-woven textiles.
How to make friendship bracelets with macreme?
The easiest pattern for making bracelets requires 2 strands of thread.
First measure one strand that doubles the diameter of your wrist. This strand will be the base for your bracelet, and then get another strand that you will use to create the structure of the bracelet with the pattern.
This strand should be at least six times longer than the base strand, as the knots will consume quite a lot of material.
It’s better to have surplus thread than not having enough. Fold the base strand in two and attach the curved end to a small wooden plank with a nail or a paper clasp. This will give the strand the necessary tension to make it easier to work on.
After you have prepared the base (let’s now call it “B”), fold the second strand in half and place it under the B strand.
Make sure that both sides of the thread are equally long. In this instance, you can secure this thread with another clasp or a clip.
Grab the left strand (let’s now call it “A”) and place it over B strand, creating a + shape. Grab the right strand (now, “C”) and place it across the now bent B strand, and under the A strand, later coming out through the hole created between A and B, to the left of B.
Pull both A and C all the way up to the top to secure it. There you have your first stitch!
Now, all you have to do is repeat this process all the way down B strand until the bracelet is long enough for your wrist.
This pattern will create a spiraling pattern, or else you can start one stitch with strand A and the next with C to make a flat pattern.
You can watch this video about how to make a macrame bracelet with a spiral knot:
Now you know what is macrame! You can make bracelets with this technique or you can make any other kind of project!
You can also learn how to make awesome Nail decals DIY with your Cricut machine and enjoy sharing it with your friends.