Suzanne McNeill - Making Alphabet & Picture Friendship Bracelets: Over 200 Designs from Cats and Dogs to Hearts and Holidays, and Instructions for Personalizing

Making Alphabet & Picture Friendship Bracelets

Print ISBN 978-1-4972-0573-4

eISBN 978-1-6374-1081-3

2022 New Design Originals Corporation, www.d-originals.com, an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing, 800-457-9112, 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Making Alphabet & Picture Friendship Bracelets is an original work, first published in 2022 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The content contained herein is copyrighted by Fox Chapel Publishing and was produced by Amelia Johanson and Kerry Bogert. Readers may make up to 6 copies of the charted patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to .

For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at , with 9781497205734 Making Alphabet & Picture Friendship Bracelets in the subject line.

Friendship bracelets are everywhere. You may have noticed them at markets, summer camps, fairs, or festivals. Maybe even a special friend has made one just for you, or you for them. Most are made with colorful geometric designs, but did you know that you could add names, words, and even short phrases to your bracelets? Picture bracelets are slightly more advanced, as you will need to follow a graph to create each image, but the basic knotting is the same, and once you master the technique, youll find yourself customizing bracelets for friends and family, or sharing them at school, at church, in clubs, at camp, or with fellow teammates.

With colorful strands and patience, you can create a bracelet with your own name or make customized gifts for family and friends. Your creations will impress everyone who sees them. In this innovative book, you will find new ways to make colorful bracelets, using special techniques with basic knots and versatile designs.

Happy knotting!

Did You Know?

Friendship bracelets are supposed to be worn by friends every day and every night, no matter what, until they fall off. When tying the knots around each others wrists, friends should share their wishes and dreams for the future with one another.

Basic Supplies

Materials

Floss in assorted colors (6-ply embroidery floss, pearl [perle] cotton size 5, or craft strands, such as those by DMC, Anchor, or Prism)

Tools

Tape (masking, duct, packing, or quilters)

Safety pin

Scissors

Hard knotting surface (any flat, sturdy surface you can apply tape to, such as a clipboard or knotting board)

Soft knotting surface (a pillow, jeans pant leg, etc.)

Optional Supplies

Needle with a large eye (size #20 tapestry needle works best), for troubleshooting

Anti-fraying solution (like June Tailor Fray Block), for gluing the ends of the strands

Clothespin with spring or bodkin, for keeping the knotting strand untangled

The thing that makes picture bracelets different from other friendship bracelets is the charts used to knot the designs. It might sound tricky at first, but once youve knotted your first motif, each new picture or letter after that gets easier.

Each square represents two knots on the background strands of floss.

Work the first row from left to right and the second row from right to left. Continue this pattern for the rest of the bracelet (see chart above).

When the color changes on the chart, you switch to using the background strand of floss to make the knots. More on how to knot on .

Its easy to skip a row, so be careful! Mark a row complete by crossing it out with a pencil or use a sticky note to cover rows youve completed (see Troubleshooting on ).

It may be helpful to turn charts vertically, so they are in the same position in which youre working. If youre making a word bracelet, start with the first letter of the word and move to the next to keep from misspelling words.

Rows are side to side and columns are top to bottom on the charts shown.

This book shares dozens of designs beginning on ).

Picking out the colors for your friendship bracelet is almost as fun as giving the finished bracelet to a friend! The bracelets in this book are shown in suggested colors, but feel free to experiment and make the designs your own! You cant go wrong when picking colors, but if youre going for a specific look, here are some tips to help you choose.

RED
Warm, excited, determined, courageous

ORANGE
Cheerful, enthusiastic, creative

YELLOW
Lively, optimistic, organized, happy

GREEN
Relaxed, honest, harmonious

BLUE
Loyal, reliable, calm, honest, patient

PURPLE
Powerful, mysterious, magical

GRAY
Careful, traditional, intelligent