Introduction: The Easiest Paracord Bracelet You'll Ever Make.
I'm a gumball machine junkie. My mom used to give me quarters to use in the machines outside the grocery store when I was a kid. I've had too many rubber cockroaches, sticky handfuls of Sprees, fake mustaches and those jumping-half-balls-you-turn-inside-out-and-wait-for-them-to-pop-things to count. The bane of my quarter-fueled adventures, however, were bracelets. Clearly, to 7 year old boy, a bracelet was a waste of a quarter, compared to a superball or plastic paratrooper, but because that was what the fates had given me, I'd worn them anyway.
Flash to 20ish years later and lots of spare time, Instuctables taught me about paracord and in a drink of nostalgia I've recreated these simple bracelets and now you can learn how to make them without the gamble of wasting a quarter!
Step 1: Materials
Easy enough. You'll need:
-Paracord, about a foot
-Scissors
-A lighter to melt the ends
Step 2: The First Knot
This bracelet is very easy. Basically we're making 2 slipknots; 1 for the main loop and a 2nd to keep the slack tidy.
You'll need roughly a foot of paracord to start. My wrist is about 8" around (I measured, this isn't something I offhandedly know) and after tying the knots I still ended up trimming about 2" off, but its best to have too much cord than too little
You'll need roughly a foot of paracord to start. My wrist is about 8" around (I measured, this isn't something I offhandedly know) and after tying the knots I still ended up trimming about 2" off, but its best to have too much cord than too little
Step 3:
Arrange your cord in a loop shape with the right-hand side (we'll call this "Strand A") crossing over top the left (and this "Strand B" {Strand B has the burnt end in these pictures})
Step 4:
Continue to drag Strand A underneath the main loop
Step 5:
Hold onto the piece of Strand A that is crossed under the main loop and begin to close the knot by pulling on Strand B. Make sure you do not close your new loop, this is where your wrist will go.
Step 6:
You're done with the main loop for your bracelet! You'll probably need to manipulate the position of the knot on the cord to ensure you don't slide the knot off the cord. Adjust the size of the loop so that it fits easily over your knuckles.
Step 7: The Second Knot
You could wear the bracelet like this... but it'd be ugly. So now we have to take care of the excess cord while keeping the bracelet adjustable.
Step 8:
Lay the bracelet flat with Strand B out to the side (pic 1). Bring Strand B up, under the main loop of the bracelet (pic 2), then back down, over and to the right (pic 3). Draw the cord under itself (pic 4) then back through the newly made loop (pic 5), tighten this knot and you're nearly done!
Step 9:
All you need to do it cut off the access, melt the ends, squash them down (another member on Instructables suggests spitting on your thumb and mushing, it works well but you have to be manly to do it) and you're done!
You can adjust the size of your new bracelet by sliding the knots alternatively together or away from each other.
You can also offer your bracelet to a pet, as I did with Kiwii, a monk parakeet. He has no strong feelings one way or another towards paracord bracelets.