A friendship bracelet is fun to make, easy to give and very nostalgic. My kiddos enjoy creating things that they can give to family and friends. When I was younger I liked to make many things. One thing was beaded jewelry. Another craft I enjoyed working with was oven-bake/polymer clay. One more crafty activity I enjoyed was making friendship bracelets out of floss, or craft thread. There are so many patterns and designs to try out. For my boys, I decided to have them learn with this simple pattern.

Materials needed to make this friendship bracelet

First, gather the necessary materials. Craft thread or embroidery floss is, of course, is first on the materials list. Next, cardboard, at least 4″ in all directions, is needed. Scissors are needed to cut a 3″ to 4″ circle out of the cardboard. A pen or other writing utensil; a ruler; a compass and tape are the rest of the materials for this project. I tried to use an empty ribbon spool for the loom. It was already a round piece of cardboard and there was a convenient hole in the middle for the working bracelet to go through. That did seem to work, however, the notches could not be cut very deep. Sometimes the floss did not stay in place.

Prepare the loom

• If not already done, use the compass to make a 3-4 inch circle on the cardboard. Cut out the circle and poke a small hole (about 1/4″) in the center.
• With the ruler and writing utensil, draw 4 lines from one side to the other, equidistant from each other. **As when cutting a pie or pizza, with 8 equal-sized pieces. Number each line, clockwise from 1-8. **See the picture below as an example of how the ‘loom’ should look.
• With scissors, cut a small notch (1/2-3/4 inch) on each line, from the edge towards the center of the circle.

Prepare the floss

• Select the desired floss (color, texture, etc.)
• To measure, have the recipient sit or stand straight and stretch one arm out to their side. Hold the end of the floss in front of or at the recipient’s nose. Stretch the other side of the floss to the fingertips of the extended arm. Cut the floss to that length.
• Repeat for all 7 strands of floss. **Either choose 7 different colors or some of the same. In the Step-by-step visual aid (below), pink, green and white were all used twice.
• Hold all 7 strands together and tie a knot on one side, about one inch from the end.
• Push the knot through the center hole in the loom. (See picture below.)

Set up the loom

With the knot on one side of the loom, the rest of the floss is through to the top side. Separate each strand of floss and insert into each notch, beginning with number one and ending with number seven. Number eight will be left empty to begin the friendship bracelet. (See Starting Position below, in the Step-by-step visual aid.)

To simplify, I have included a visual step-by-step below of each step to make the bracelet. With #8 empty, count back counter-clockwise 3 spaces (to #5) and move that strand to the open spot. Continue counting back 3 spaces for each strand to create the bracelet. Keep the tension on the floss consistent.

Step-by-step visual aid

Continue in this pattern until you have reached almost the end of the thread, or until it is as long as you would like. Tie a knot on the end to secure it.