Friendship Bracelet

CEBU, Philippines - Kids, how was your summer, so far? Have you been out and enjoying the outdoors? Have you made new friends? Summertime sure presents good opportunities for meeting people and making new friends. It's also a time for learning new things, too. What new things have you learned?

Well, if your summer has so far been all play and fun, it's okay. But, as summer is now coming to a close, you may still learn something you can share with your classmates when you head back to school. Would you like to learn a simple yet nice craft to do? You can make your own friendship bracelet. 

Here's how:

1. Choose several strands of embroidery thread in various colors. The more strands you use, the wider the bracelet will be.

2. Measure and cut your first strand. Measure a length of thread that is slightly longer than the distance from your fingertip to your shoulder and then cut it.

3. Use the cut strand to measure and cut the remaining strands. Hold the cut strand up to the remaining strands and cut them the same length as this first strand.

4. Tie the strands in a knot and pin them to a stable surface.  Pinning is better than taping because the pin ensures that the bracelet will stay in its position.

5. Spread the threads out. Spread out the threads so that the colors are in the order you'd like the stripe patterns on the bracelet to be.

6. Make a few short braids in the bracelet before you begin making the pattern.

7. Knot the thread on the far left around the thread immediately to its right. You need to make the "half-hitch" knot to do this correctly.

8. Knot the thread that was on the far left around the remaining threads from left to right.

9. Continue knotting the thread on the far left around the remaining threads from left to right. Every thread will end up on the right when you're done, and you'll start with a new color of thread every time, unless you've placed two threads of the same color together.

10. Continue knotting the thread until the bracelet is long enough for your wrist.

11. Braid the ends of the bracelet (optional).

12. Add charms or beads to the end of the bracelet (optional). To give your friendship bracelet some more flair, thread some small beads or charms onto the strands and then tie them in a knot to secure them.

13. Tie the second end of the bracelet in a knot. Make sure that the knot doesn't take up any of the length you need to wear the bracelet.

14. Trim away the additional string. If you still have a lot of string left over, you can cut it short with a pair of scissors.

15. Tie the bracelet together.

16. Put the bracelet on. Rock your new friendship bracelet.  Give it to a friend or you can sell some if you like. You can use it, though, as gift to a newfound friend.

 (Helpful Source: wikihow.com)