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Paracord bracelet with a side release buckle

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introParacord bracelet with a side release buckle

This tutorial will show how to make a paracord bracelet with a side release buckle. When made on a larger scale, you can make this for use as a dog or cat collar as well. I get my paracord from the Supply Captain and the side release buckles from Creative Designworks . More projects, links, knot references can be seen on my blog page, Stormdrane's Blog .
Paracord bracelet with a side release buckle
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step 1Materials

You'll need paracord, or equivalent 1/8" diameter cord, a tape measure or ruler, scissors, side release buckle, and a lighter(torch lighter works best). The amount of cord…


step 2Measure wrist

Wrap the paracord around you wrist and make a note of where the cord meets. Hold this point next to your ruler or tape measure and that's your wrist size.


step 3Find the center of the cord

Hold the ends of the cord together and find the center of the loop. Take the center of the cord and pull it thru one end of the buckle(either side of the buckle, it doesn'…


step 4Finding the bracelet length

Take buckle apart and and pull the free ends of the cord thru the other part of the buckle, sliding it up towards the attached part. You're going to measure the distance b…


step 5Start making the knots

The knot used for the bracelet has a few different names, cobra stitch, Solomon bar, and Portuguese sinnet. Take the cord on the left side and place it under the center st…


step 6Continue knotting

Keep tying the knots until you have filled the space between the buckle ends. The knots should be uniform from one end to the other. Tie each knot with the same tension t…


step 7Trim the excess cord and melt the ends

You can now use your scissors to trim off the extra cord closely to the last knot you tied. I trim one at a time, and use my lighter to quickly melt the end I cut, wait a …


step 8You're finished

If you did everything correctly, it should look something like this finished one. Once you know what you're doing, you can vary the amount of cord used by making the knots…


step 9Other variations.

Once you have the hang of the basic bracelet/collar, you can add another layer of cobra stitches overlapping first set of knots, called a king cobra stitch. The amount of …


318 comments
1-50 of 318
Oct 22, 2009. 5:39 AMQuipe says:
Loved this instructable!

Of course, it didn't seem as easy for me because I don't have the means to order online, so had to get the buckle from somewhere else and make it fit the paracord.

Had to make do with a match instead of a lighter (all the lighters in my house were conky) so the burning part turned out a little messy too.

Oh well, it was still successful! Here's the end product:


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Aug 14, 2009. 9:21 AMstealthy329 says:
this is cool!
but how is this a "survival" bracelet?
Oct 15, 2009. 8:15 PM2nd.LT.2011US.ARMY says:
550 Cord is just somthing you want to have on yourself any time in thefield. Where I train we call it dummy cord. It simply means if youforget you rifle we dummy cord it to you so it will always be withyou. 550 cord is a need in the field.
Aug 15, 2009. 10:48 AMStormdrane (author) says:
Some folks call it a 'survival' bracelet because it allows you to easily carry/wear a length of paracord on your person for various 'survival' tasks, like securing a shelter, sewing thread, fishing line, snares, repairing broken bag/pack straps, etc...

*Note, that if you don't practice using paracord for 'survival' tasks, it's probably not going to serve you very well in a 'survival' situation.

Knowing how to tie various knots and their appropriate applications makes a paracord bracelet a piece of 'gear' with many uses instead of just something to make and wear showing off your favorite sports team's colors. ;)
Oct 6, 2009. 8:52 PMthe dc says:
It is not that hated
Aug 5, 2009. 6:29 PMjanglur says:
thankyou where do u get the contour ones i popped some off of a backpack but there not bent
Oct 5, 2009. 7:04 AMRick G says:
I got my clip off of a dog collar from wal mart
Aug 5, 2009. 7:18 PMStormdrane (author) says:
You can find some at Creative Designworks . Some others on ebay . Or you can look for cheap dog/cat colors that have the buckles to scavenge, at walmart, big lots, etc...

Sep 26, 2009. 9:26 AMkevinkm77 says:
With this, can you unravel it and use it as paracord?
Sep 26, 2009. 10:54 AMStormdrane (author) says:
Yes, the paracord bracelets/watchbands can be taken apart, so that the paracord can be used for something else if needed.
Sep 14, 2009. 7:17 AMchiali says:
thanks Stormdrane! i got it i got it! :) but just one more question pertaining to the king cobra stitch bracelet - you've taught us to add another inch to our measured wrist length for a comfortable fit....but when it comes to doing a king cobra stitch bracelet, is the same method good for a nice fit or do we need to add more to the length? i asked cos the king cobra stitch is definitely thicker than the regular cobra stitch thus making the diameter of the bracelet smaller as the end result.....no?
Sep 14, 2009. 7:10 PMStormdrane (author) says:
I usually add an additional 1/2" to 1" to the amount for the single cobra stitch measurement when tying the king cobra stitch, for a comfortable fit. So instead of adding just 1", I'd add 1.5" to 2". YMMV :)
Sep 14, 2009. 8:27 PMchiali says:
ok, thanks :) what's YMMV by the way? haha.
Sep 14, 2009. 9:13 PMStormdrane (author) says:
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary, meaning your results may vary. Everyone may follow the same directions using the same materials and end up with different results. :)

Sep 14, 2009. 10:45 PMchiali says:
alright, got it ;) i guess it depends on the tension applied, but i usually do really tight knots...makes the bracelet looks more.....tough :)
Sep 10, 2009. 4:24 PM! xD ! says:
Nice instructable!

A guy I knew used this technique to make a belt, it was pretty beastly. Jus' sayin'.

-xD
Sep 4, 2009. 9:50 AMStormdrane (author) says:
You can also look at the 'Paracord Lanyard Project ' to see the king cobra stitch being tied, used as a lanyard.

Sep 4, 2009. 8:11 AMchiali says:
HELP! I've seen the previous pictures that stormdrane has linked but I still don't get it.....how do you start the king cobra stitch? And if I'm using a different piece of cord for the king cobra stitch, do i need to leave a gap at the starting of the cobra stitch?
Sep 4, 2009. 9:48 AMStormdrane (author) says:
Look through the older comments on this instructable, dated March 16, 2007. I put a few links for photos showing a quick adding of a second strand for a king cobra stitch over the bracelet.

If you want to use one single strand for the king cobra bracelet, just start off with twice as much cord as for a regular cobra stitch bracelet, and once you've tied to where you'd finish that, the extra cord is knotted over the bracelet like the photos shown in the comments section.

Once you get the hang of it, you can narrow down how much cord you actually use for your wrist size when making the larger king cobra stitch, also called a doubled Solomon bar or doubled Portuguese sennit.

Aug 30, 2009. 10:15 AM15zhangfra says:
hey, thanks man, you made my day with this instructable
Aug 29, 2009. 7:06 AMarvindhimalayan says:
nice this is good
Aug 24, 2009. 4:26 PMmattam55 says:
I went to Target today and right at the front of the store they have their dollar section, in it they had the side release buckles on dog collars for $1.00. I bought a few of them and looked at mine and the one stormdrane has and they look identical. I just saved the collar part for another project. Thanks for the awesome Instruct!
Aug 23, 2009. 10:19 PMallemander says:
Please indicate the measured size of the side-release buckle used here.
Available sizes on eBay include 3/8", 5/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 2", etc.
Thanks very much!
Aug 24, 2009. 12:26 AMStormdrane (author) says:
The particular buckle used in this instructable is a 1/2" curved side release buckle from cdwplus.com .

Aug 22, 2009. 10:44 AMBigMac96 says:
I make these for friends and I am making a flyer to go with them. Can I use some pictures from your Instructable?
Aug 22, 2009. 12:27 PMStormdrane (author) says:
I appreciate your asking, but if you intend to make and sell paracord bracelets, that you use photos of your own work to represent what you intend to sell. I'm sure that if you don't have your own camera, you could probably borrow one or have a friend take a photo with theirs for you to use. Thanks.
Aug 19, 2009. 1:12 AMCuraidh says:
wow, great article, helped alot. My bracelet worked out perfectly
.
Aug 16, 2009. 7:52 AMyoda-iz-my-idol says:
i made it ad it is sweet
Jun 29, 2009. 1:53 PMfencecop says:
Easy to understand. Thanks. The first part of the braclet looks a bit chewed up. I added a micro-compass and improved my technique after that. Cool.
Aug 16, 2009. 12:52 AMkdewitt says:
How did you add the micro-compass? Where did you find a compass that would work?
Thanks,
Aug 16, 2009. 1:16 AMfencecop says:
Hey kdewitt,
I got the compass on FT Leavenworth clothing sales. Its not a bad one, however rough times with it mite damage it. Ill post a pic if I can do that. If not my email is fencecop@yahoo.com
Be safe
Aug 13, 2009. 12:39 PMTinkerWorkshop says:
Hi, Storm.

How easy is it to "open" this bracelet, just in case you need this cord?

Cheers.
~T
Aug 15, 2009. 10:09 AMStormdrane (author) says:
The bracelet can easily be untied to use the cord if needed. It may take a couple of minutes or longer if you made the knots tight.
Aug 11, 2009. 7:38 AMYourmum90 says:
Hi, Storm, I have followed most of your steps and managed to get a two coloured cobra weave braclet with a knot, i have used a single piece of paracord to go round my wrist and then weaved over that with a cord (two different coloured melted to make one long one) i am now finished and have the cobra weave down at which point i am turning the braclet up the other way and weave again the other direction to create a king cobra.

My question is when i reverse the weave do i do it the same way or do i have to flip it over to the back? it does not look right for some reason the weaves do not sit nicley over the single weave. any ideas? sorry for the long comment
Aug 11, 2009. 8:30 AMStormdrane (author) says:
For the king cobra to fit evenly over the underlying bracelet, make sure the knots aren't too close together, but evenly spaced. As you tighten each of the king cobra stitches, it'll actually spread out the first layer slightly, so you can leave a bit of room for that expansion when you tie the first part. Look at the paracord lanyard project to see how the king cobra fits over the first layer.

Aug 12, 2009. 3:24 AMYourmum90 says:
Hi,

Thanks for this, i had another go last night and it looked right, not to sure what i was doing wrong. The only thing i still cannot get the hand of is the lanyard knot. I prefer todo my braclets with a simple knot and loop and the lanyard knot would be perfect for the job. I have checked lots of tutorials and i still can't do it. Is anyone in the UK nr Stansted Airport that can help, i bit of a long shot but its doing my nut in.
Rich
Aug 12, 2009. 4:57 AMStormdrane (author) says:
If you haven't seen my video tutorial for the lanyard knot, you might give it a try. Use the pause/replay button if it seems to fast to follow.

Other tutorials for it are also linked in the blog post.

Aug 6, 2009. 10:04 PMfireruler12 says:
how did you make the one with two different color cords in the fourth picture at the bottom. the picture with two of the overlapping
Aug 6, 2009. 10:27 PMStormdrane (author) says:
For a two toned version, you sew, melt, or glue two different cords together, then loop onto a buckle end keeping the joined section in the middle as the core that you'll knot over. Follow the knotting directions from there.

For the king cobra paracord bracelet(also called a doubled Solomon Bar,/doubled Portuguese sinnet), you're just overlapping the bracelet as the core using the same knot.
Aug 6, 2009. 11:11 PMfireruler12 says:
cool thanks thatts going to help a bunch ill put up a comment when i am done and a picture of it as my icon so you can see it if you want
Aug 5, 2009. 11:54 AMjanglur says:
(removed by author or community request)
Aug 5, 2009. 12:15 PMStormdrane (author) says:
Different size buckles can be used, 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", or even larger. It's up to you which is preferred, but I've most often used the 1/2" and 5/8" curved/contoured buckles.
Jul 29, 2009. 1:38 PMbulletprooftaco says:
where can you buy paracord?
Jul 28, 2009. 2:44 AMsharlston says:
they look like giant shoelaces are they?
Jul 28, 2009. 4:11 AMStormdrane (author) says:
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord">Paracord</a> has many uses, and some folks have used them to replace shoe/boot laces. <br/>

Jul 24, 2009. 7:54 PMMiss Twist says:
Absolutely wonderful...I shall add this to my ever expanding list of cord weaving.
Thank you.
Jul 18, 2009. 9:14 PMMikeyNCat says:
You did a great job on these instructions. I just thought I would add that for a beginner like myself, I did this on a table with plenty of room, and I taped down the female end of the buckle. This helped keep everything still as I tried to manage the cord for the knots. I hope this helps the beginners.
Jul 13, 2009. 6:42 PMjohnboyrebel27 says:
Hey I just added a piece of wire clothes hanger to the inside of my Para-Bracelet. Its completely concealed and has many uses. improvised fish hooks, Fish/frog spear, pot holder/hook, small tongs, etc. All I did was after i finished making the bracelet was I slid the wire into the bracelet loops and snipped it off to length. then i shaped it to fit my wrist. its light and has many uses. please let me know if you find this helpful.
Jul 11, 2009. 9:28 PMjohnboyrebel27 says:
I just made this bracelet. It took me about 20 min. tops. I am practicing wilderness self reliance and this will be a handy item to have if in a pinch. Worth its weight in gold!!!!!
Apr 16, 2009. 7:04 AMdianapieri says:
Where do you get the buckles? Great Instructable, by the way!
1-50 of 318

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