This is my first instructable and I hope you enjoy it.
I will show you how I made a wide paracord bracelet with a side release buckle. This is also a good plan for a collar for you dog.
I will show you how I made a wide paracord bracelet with a side release buckle. This is also a good plan for a collar for you dog.
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Signing UpStep 1: Pick your colors
First step is picking your colors. The optimal types are 2 colors that contrast.
Also for your side release buckle I recommend a 1" size. This allows you plenty of room to insert the cordage. The 5/8" size I used just made it very tight to work with.
To figure out how much paracord you will need, measure your wrist where you want the bracelet to sit at. Take that measurement and multiply by 12 to get your approximate start length. You should have plenty of cord left over at the finish. It's better to have too much than not enough.
The color you want as the outside one should be your wrist measurement times 12. You should make 2 lengths of this. The color you have for the inside will be twice as long as the outside color or 24 times your wrist measurement.
Loop the strands onto your buckle using a cow hitch knot
One tip is to make sure you keep the same pattern going and not switch which cord goes over and which one goes under. If you do switch the order it will make the pattern look disjointed.
Also for your side release buckle I recommend a 1" size. This allows you plenty of room to insert the cordage. The 5/8" size I used just made it very tight to work with.
To figure out how much paracord you will need, measure your wrist where you want the bracelet to sit at. Take that measurement and multiply by 12 to get your approximate start length. You should have plenty of cord left over at the finish. It's better to have too much than not enough.
The color you want as the outside one should be your wrist measurement times 12. You should make 2 lengths of this. The color you have for the inside will be twice as long as the outside color or 24 times your wrist measurement.
Loop the strands onto your buckle using a cow hitch knot
One tip is to make sure you keep the same pattern going and not switch which cord goes over and which one goes under. If you do switch the order it will make the pattern look disjointed.
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your center cord will be the 8 inches plus 8 X 12 length,
the the two outside cords will be ruffly half that. 8inches plus 8 X 12 / 2 or in other words 4 X 12 plus 8 inches.
If you have a 7 or nine inch wrist then adjust accordingly.
By using this method for figuring the amount of cord, you will limit the excess cord that you would normally waste.
This is a beautiful weave/knot pattern. I have used it to make wristbands, Dog collars, and I have even made a full length (45") dress belt. For the belt, it WILL take many hours to make; it took me 17 hours to finish.
I hope this helps.
spiritwild09@hotmail.com or spiritwild09@gmail.com
He also said you might have some left over so it's just a liberal swag anyway!
There you can get them fairly inexpensive. I buy them in a 100 count package.
First of all, the 1 foot per 1 inch of bracelet for the outside colors and 2 feet per 1 inch for the inside colors is far too much. I made my belt 40 inches long and used 80 feet for the inside colors and 40 feet for the outside colors. By the time I finished the belt I had ~24 feet both ends of the inside color, and what should have been ~5 feet of the outside colors left over.
Another thing to keep in mind is that cords #2 and #5 don't actually do anything, so they only need to be as long as the item you are making. I forgot to subtract the 16ft 8in that I didn't use off one side of the outer cords, so I ended up with #1 being 36ft 8in where it should have been only 20ft.
To end the belt I crossed the inner strands like I was going to start another line and fused those with the two outer strands.
All in all it was a very simple project (all be it time consuming), and the belt has functioned pretty well. I haven't worked out how I'm going to do the loop that most belts have ~1 inch from the buckle, but I'm going to try running some cord through the back of the belt and making a Solomon bar around the top.
BTW: I'm sorry for the spelling mistakes but I'm belgian and still in school.
If you do use paracord some paracord will shrink and tighten up when exposed to water/sweat. To combat this, soak your paracird in water for a few hours then let it air dry.
I know some people are having trouble deciding on how much rope to use. The way I measure it is, I take my hand with the rope, line it up on my shoulder. Take the other end of the rope stretch it out all the way as far as your arm can extend. Fold the rope and do it again, make sure the ends are the same length. If your doing the item in a single color, do it four times, two colors, do it twice. It's safer to have extra rope at the end so you can fasten your ends into the weaves without cutting yourself short. Once you've done it a few times, just apply the method to all other designs.
I can post pics if ya want!