Woven Paracord Bracelet/watchband

Intro: Woven Paracord Bracelet/watchband

This tutorial will show how to make a paracord bracelet or watch band using a weaving method. More knot work with releated links and resources can be seen on my blog page, Stormdrane's Blog.

STEP 1: Supplies

Check out the Kitables link for a kit that comes with some supplies for creating this project.

For this project, you'll need approximately 10 feet of paracord, scissors, lighter, tape measure, hemostats, watch, and a 5/8" side release buckle. I used a 5/8" ITW Nexus contoured side release buckle, but you can use other less expensive ones like those found at Creative Designworks.

Paracord can be found at local Army/Navy stores, hunting/fishing outlets, and craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels, and from many online sources including ebay and amazon...

The actual amount of paracord that will be used depends on your wrist size, cord, and tying technique(tight/loose). My wrist is about 8.5 inches and I actually used around 8 or 9 feet after finishing the bracelet/watchband. So using 10 feet is usually a safe estimate for most folks, since having too much cord is better than coming up short when making your project.

*If making a watchband, the watch needs to have about 5/8" space between the lugs(where the watch pins go) so that 5 strands of paracord will fit.

STEP 2: To Begin

Measure about 20 inches from one end of your length of paracord. This is where you'll loop onto one end of your side release buckle. Once attached, you'll have the longer section which will be your working end and the shorter end which is just attached to the buckle ends and will be tucked in when finishing the bracelet/watchband.

STEP 3: Add the Watch and Adjust for Wrist Size

If making as a watchband, this is where you take the strands of paracord from the looped section of the buckle and run them over the watch pin, under the watch, and over the other watch pins. Then you loop the paracord around the other buckle end twice.

At this point, you'll measure the distance between the buckle ends for your wrist size. The distance should be equal to your actual wrist measurement. The weaving process will stretch this original spacing of bracelet/watchband about another inch after tightening as you reach the finishing point.

*Don't include the prong section half of the male end of the buckle in your measurement. It is snapped into the female half of the buckle when worn and isn't used in figuring the wrist measurement.

Now bring the cord ends back thru the watch pins, along side your first pass, and around the starting buckle end.

*If you're just making a paracord bracelet, you'll just be going from one end of the buckle to the other without adding the watch.

STEP 4: Begin Weaving

Now you begin weaving the long working end of your paracord. The shorter end will be left out until it's time to finish the bracelet/watchband, and tuck it into the weave.

This weaving process is called 'weaving with three warps'. You'll be going around the outer cord with your working strand, under the center two cords(which you treat as one cord), and around the other outer cord.

You weave it back over the center two strands and around the outer, continuing this process, back and forth. Try not to leave too much slack as you go to keep the weave uniform. Every couple of weaves, push your work tight, up towards the starting buckle end.

STEP 5: Threading the Watch

Once you've reached the point where your watch will be centered, push the watch tight against the woven cord and bring your working strand thru the pin along side the other cords under the watch, and back thru the other pin.

*If making the bracelet, there' s no watch in the way, so just keep weaving. ;)

STEP 6: Continue on the Other Side of the Watch

Continue weaving the paracord, keeping a uniform look, and tightening as you go.

A pair of hemostats can help work the cord around as you get close to the buckle end, making the last couple of weaves.

STEP 7: Finishing Up

To finish up, you'll take the working strand around one of the outer cord, so it's coming thru the under side of the bracelet/watchband.

*Check for a good fit on your wrist at this point. If it's too loose or too tight, untie, adjust your starting measurement longer or shorter to correct, and try again. I have to do this myself sometimes. ;)

Take your hemostats and work them thru about three of the center weaves, towards the buckle end. Grasp the working strand and pull it back thru the center weaves.

Trim the end with your scissors, quick melt the end to prevent the cord from fraying, and tuck it under the weave.

Now do the same with the shorter end of cord and you're done.

If you measure again, you'll see that the finished length is about 1 inch longer than the starting measurement. This will vary depending on your tightening of the weave as you go, but should make for a loose/comfortable fit.

Enjoy!

*Anyone that's worn a nylon/paracord bracelet/watchband knows it can get dirty and smell funky after a while of use. I use an old soft bristle toothbrush to scrub with soap/water in the sink to clean it(while it's on the watch(hopefully yours is water resistant/waterproof), and let it air dry overnight.

*A note on paracord shrinkage:

Ubraidit.com mentions that paracord may shrink as much as 10%-12%(especially black and kelly green), so they recommend soaking the cord first. They note that it's the inner strands that shrink, not the outer sheath. I believe they use 450 or 650 grade paracord, which I think, has a few loose fibrous polyester filler cords instead of the usual 7 twisted nylon strands, found in 'Type III 550 mil-spec paracord which isn't supposed to shrink up. I've mostly used the mil-spec type paracord, so if it's shrunk on me, it's not noticeable. YMMV ;)

Comments

[YodaD]

Hi, have you tried doing a band on those watches with very little space between the pins and the body?

Have a few of these sport watches and would love to replace the bands

Cheers

[eijiwolf]

You can also reduce the number of strands to three; the weaving will have to be modified slightly, but it should still work.

[JoeK57]

I had to improvise, but like the other guy was saying it might be easier to make two separate bands, one for each side

[Stormdrane]

For watches with thinner attachment sections, I've used gutted paracord, and done two piece watchbands to work with those type watches. You just have to experiment with different paracord designs and options base on the variety of watches out there.

[eijiwolf]

If you have a watch with removable pins, you can make the band two-piece and easily swap colors (or a fresh one in when the used one is being cleaned).
Insert an ersatz pin (e.g. a toothpick, a nail - careful about rust - or a cocktail skewer) in the pin-end of the band lest it become unraveled.
(I have an old WWWW Longines where the pins are fixed, but most modern watches have the pins removable afaik. I still find it more practical to have a two-piece...)

[Brucestauf]

I did the necessary sign up but every time I try to download the pdf instructions, I’m asked to verify my email, which I’ve done..again! Why the loop?

[Penolopy Bulnick]

I'm sorry you are having issues with the PDF download. What tends to help is, please sign out, clear your cache and cookies, and sign back in again. Most of the time this will fix it :)

[Jracey]

I just made one of these. Great tutorial. I wear a suit and tie everyday so paracord does not work. I made myself an ankle bracelet. Turned out very nice.

[GrassNinjaDave]

Good afternoon! Thanks for the awesome instructable. I want to make one of these for my Garmin Fenix 5X. but, i want to be able to swap bands quickly and easily. The Fenix incorporates a quick release system on some of their bands. Have you tried making anything that might work with them? I am currently considering cutting up a spare silicone band and incorporating it. I just am not sure how to attach the cord to the silicone. I attached a couple lings to bands on Amazon in case you have not seen what i'm talking about. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

https://www.amazon.com/ANCOOL-Garmin-Fenix-Width-S...

https://www.amazon.com/TRUMiRR-Watchband-Release-S...

thanks again.

Dave

[Stormdrane]

It might be possible to carefully cut some holes/slots in the band just below the quick release system part, allowing you to anchor your paracord to it, much like a side release buckle.

I've not tried that myself, so I'd recommend maybe practicing with a scrap piece of material to see what would work best, like individual holes or a pair of slots ...

[EdC95]

I've made two of these over the last year or so. Thank you to Stormdrane for making this instructable and making it with great detail and pictures. If you follow these directions precisely and don't try to amend them or take shortcuts (I tried and the results were far less than perfect lol) you'll be able to do this easily and have it come out perfect every time. Sorry no pics, but I used a camo colored 550 paracord and made a 1 piece band for a Timex T45181 Resin Combo watch. It looks great because the watch has a drab green housing and a tan face, so it's a natural pairing. The other was a black, white and gray 550 paracord one piece band for a Timex T49828 Metal Combo watch. That watch has a steel housing with a brushed finish and a white face and is my personal favorite out of all 17 of my watches, regardless of which band is on it. Yes I have a watch problem lol. Either way all I have to do is remove 1 of the pins to change the battery. It only takes an extra 45 seconds or so to change the battery versus having the original bands, and that includes putting it back together and having the watch wearable and ready to go again. Also, it's extremely easy to change the bands back to original if need be. After you wear the watch for a while, the paracord band will hold its shape after removing the watch from it, so you don't have to worry about ruining the band by removing it.

[huffer23]

Hey stormdrane, I was wondering how wide the band is.

[Stormdrane]

Width will vary by the actual cord you use, and paracord can vary in thickness/width of the strand from one manufacturer to another, and how tight or loose you tie the bracelet/watchband. The tan one in my photo has a tied width of about 7/8" thick.

[aganzenmuller]

Hello, I'm looking for this exact band that is functional with a fitbit tracker as my original is both broken and I don't like the look. Have you made one?

[kaosfury]

Maybe try using micro paracord? I made a women's watch band with that and it turned out nice.Should work for smaller spaces between lugs.

[a4ali]

Very Nice

[sdinesh0506]

nice

]

[pedro.kozlakowski]

This is really nice, I'll definitely try to do this.

[AliMemar]

Dear,

just I can thanks a lot

[bahrul ami]