Today’s project is a technique that once you try, you will want to do more of in lots of different variations. Wrap bracelets are really popular right now, and they are so much easier to make than they look. And best yet, you only need a few components to make your own one-of-a-kind DIY wrap bracelet!
Supplies needed to make your own beaded DIY wrap bracelet:
- 1 mm Leather Cord (I used this Black Leather Cord)
- Bead Strands – About 24 inches total. (I used 4mm Czech Glass Beads. If you’re looking for beads with a bit of shine, look for AB (Aurora Borealis) in the description.)
- Coordinating Thread (regular sewing thread works fine!)
- Small Eye Needle
- Button (for your closure – you can go as plain or as fancy as you like!)
- Scissors
Cut about 18 inches of leather cord for every wrap layer you want to make. For three wraps, I used 54 inches of leather cord. Find the halfway point of your cord, and tie an overhand knot to make your loop closure. Be sure that your button fits snugly through the loop you tied – not too tight or too loose.
Thread your needle. You’ll want to double up your thread for strength. I generally work with about 3 feet at a time, but any length you’re comfortable with will work fine, because you will need to add length a few times as you work anyway.
Tie the thread onto one side of your cord. I work from left to right, personally, so I tie my thread onto the left cord, and all my directions will work from left to right. If the opposite works better for you, feel free to reverse your direction – it will still work fine!
Now, secure your cord somehow. I like to clip it to a clipboard to hold it steady while I work, but any method of holding it still will work fine! Now – it’s time to add beads!
You will be working in a figure 8 pattern. To add your first bead, pass your needle over the left cord, and thread on a bead. Pass the needle under the right cord. To secure the bead, you’ll work back toward the left – pass your needle up and over the right cord, through the bead, and under the left cord.
Just continue this motion. Each time you pass to the right, add a bead between your two cords. Each time you pass left, thread it back through the bead hole. Keep your thread taut as you work. Your beads should line right up, secured between the two cords.
At some point (or 2 or 3 points), you will run out of thread. When that happens, just trim it off, thread a new length of thread onto your needle, and tie the two ends together with an overhand knot. You can trim off the excess thread – and then continue on!
You can check your length periodically against your wrist. You will want a finished beaded length of approximately 20-22 inches for three wraps. The variance will depend on how large a button you are using for your closure (because the closure will add some length) and how large your wrist is.
When you like the length, stop adding beads and weave a few figure 8′s around the two cords. Tie an overhand knot to secure the end.
Add your button closure. If your button has 2 holes, you can thread one cord up from the bottom of the button, and back down through the other hole. (If you have 4 holes, do this with both cords.) Then, knot it underneath. I like to add a dot of glue to help secure it, but that’s totally optional.
Trim the ends, and your DIY wrap bracelet is finished!
I love the look of three wraps, but you could easily do more or fewer! I also like the look of small beads that have a little sparkle to them, but stone beads, seed beads, large beads – all will give you a different finished look. Once you try one DIY wrap bracelet – you will want to see what other DIY wrap bracelet looks you can create!
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About Adrianne
Adrianne is a writer, artist, designer, wife, and mom of 2 kids. She blogs at happyhourprojects.com where the theme is tutorials and recipes that can be made in an hour or less. Her favorite projects are jewelry-making, paper crafts, and recycled crafts. She participates annually in ArtPrize, an international art competition, and she's the author of the book DIY T-Shirt Crafts: 50 Ways to Recycle a T-Shirt (August 2015).
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I love the color of these beads with the black cord. Can you tell me the name? Thank you.
Hi Joanne,
Gosh… I want to say it was a topaz AB color? It’s been over 2 years since I shared this, I am having trouble remembering off the top of my head, and I certainly don’t still have the packaging to check. Sorry!
What am I doing wrong? The beads look good, after finished sometimes the beads start sticking out past the other ones, No longer in line, Too tight maybe?
How can I print the directions for the wrap bracelets?
Hello. I really enjoy the tutorial. However, I am having a hard time with the addition of the new length of thread. When I knot the new thread to the old thread, I end up getting a knot that is too big to fit through my beads, and I am using 4mm bead. Am I doing something wrong? I’ve ended up tying the old thread AND the new thread to the leather cord and continued from there, which ended up looking so silly. What a mess. Any tips for me?
Hmm. I am wondering if you are just using thread that’s thicker than what I did. It’s a snug fit when I added it, but I have never had trouble pulling it through. Other than trying another kind of thread (perhaps a different brand?) then my other suggestion would be another style of beads. I’m sorry it’s not working for you!
Thank you, darlin’! Now these bracelets are so easy to do! <3 And I really love them ~
Hi-first thank you for putting out a tutorial- I am new to this and your directions were very easy to follow. I have a question for you- how long does it take you to make a three wrap bracelet? I’ve been at this for 2 hours and am not done yet. I know it has to get easier as I go- at least I hope so! Thnx-Trisha
It will get easier as you go! I make a lot of jewelry, this one took me just over an hour if I remember correctly. (Sorry, it’s been since last year since I made one.) But it’s always my goal to have a finished piece in an hour or less – sometimes projects do run a little long, though. Hang in there. 🙂
For the wrap bracelet how long does the fish line have to be? So that I don’t keep running out
If you mean the thread, it will depend on a lot of factors. If your beads are smaller, you will use a LOT more than if you are using larger beads, because you’ll be weaving it many more times. For this size bead (4mm), I used around 10 feet of thread, doubled (so 20 or so feet total). But that’s a LOT to try to work with at a time – anything longer than an arm’s length is going to be difficult to keep from tangling while you work with it. You can certainly try it in a continuous length but I got frustrated trying to weave with more than 3 feet at a time because I had to un-knot my thread so many times from where it had gone slack as I used it. It was a huge waste of time for me, until I got a length closer to the length of my arm, and then the weaving went so much more smoothly.
Question: how many beads do I need for wrap bracelets
7 inches for each wrap. The actual number will vary depending on the size beads you are using.
my bracelet came apart after I sold it on Etsy. I was so embarrased! What did I do wrong?
Hi
I made this bracelet to sell on Etsy. Someone bought it and said the thread came apart along with the bead. I was so embarrased! I loved the bracelet too! I’m wondering what I did wrong. I even used the heavier thread wildfire.
Hmmm, without seeing what happened, it’s tough to say. I am wondering if it was tied tightly enough at either the start or the end?
I had two fall apart so I ended up buying one at a reasonable price so I could try to figure out what was going on.
What worked for me is adding a spot of glue to each knot and good thread.
This is what I use: Glue: GS Hypo Cement Thread : Wildfire or K.O.
happy beading!
Thank youFor the great instructions, your jewelry is great!!!_
I must be so stupid… I thought I had to cut the leather cord in 3 lots of length…. after doing this I thought to myself… am I suppose to have done that…. was it meant to be 54 inches folded in half and the knot put in to make three wraps!!!! I am a total beginner and feel like my brain has gone on holiday
Hello Adrianne, I have tried this bracelet many times and it always comes out twisted. Any ideas on what I can do to stop it from being a twisted mess. I did a three wrap and a single wrap. Same thing happened.
Thanks!
Hi Marilyn – it sounds like one of your cords may be longer than the other within the bracelet. If you are using leather that was recently coiled, this can happen. You want to pull your two cords as evenly as possible as you work. A couple things you can try are uncoiling your leather a few hours before you get to work, or even clipping the leather cords to your work surface at the bottom – try a binder clip or a chip clip. The more even they stay as you work, the less twisting you should encounter.
I’ve experienced twisting as well. My solution is not to pull the thread too tightly. It worked for me so hopefully it will work for you.
Cheers,
Evelyn
Thank you for the instructions, they motivated me to go out and buy some supplies to make some for my daughters for Valentine’s. I’m a complete newbie when it comes to making jewelry, so a very basic dumb question: are you separating each bed from the strings of beads? Part of me says no, because they’re already nicely strung together, but part of me sats yes because how else would you get your needle through the bead hole?
Thanks again, hope to hear from you soon!
Hi Sage! Yes, you will be unstringing the beads from the way they come packaged and you will be adding each bead individually. If you look closely, you’ll actually see that each bead is stacked horizontally, rather than strung end-to-end like they come in the packaging.
Good luck and I’d love to hear how your bracelet turns out! 🙂
Good thing I asked! Can’t wait to get started- so basically I could use any 4mm beads then? Wow, the possibilities are endless!
Exactly! And not just any 4mm beads, but literally any kind of beads! I love the looks of rondelle beads as well, if you find something 6x8mm or smaller. I really like these, too: http://www.consumercrafts.com/store/details/catalog/jewelry-beads-bead-strands/1999-4385 and it would give you a totally different look; something more chunky. But for the thinner wraps, stick with 4mm. 🙂
I am excited to make these for all the girls in my family! Your instructions are easy to understand! Thank you!
love it,,will be making several for gifts…thankyou for the easy ideas…Sure happy I found you
Thank you so much for this really handy tutorial. I made my very first bracelet yesterday and blogged about it on Random Crafting Adventures. The steps were very easy to follow and my bracelet turned out really well. I did have trouble with the technique for tying on a new length of thread (mine kept getting tangled), so I improvised and found a technique that worked for me. I am now busy looking for new supplies so I can have a go at making a few more. I hoping to make a few as little Christmas presents for friends.
Adrianne, I had another go at this bracket using slightly different supplies. I couldn’t be happier with the way the bracelet worked out. I blogged about it on Random Crafting Adventures. I’ve achieved almost exactly the look I was going for. Thanks again for the tutorial.
I am SO anxious to try making this bracelet. I want to surprise my Granddaughter with it for Christmas! The instructions are concise and look easy to follow. Even a 75-year-old with arthritic hands can do it. Yay! Thank you, SO much. (Gonna go get the makings, tomorrow!!). ~0;-)
Hi. I just wanna know how did you sew through the leather cord? Isn’t it hard enough to sew through the leather cord? Thanks 🙂 BTW. This is really cool 🙂
Hi Abby – you don’t even have to see through! The needle is just to make it easy to pass the thread through the hole in the bead in either direction. You can just wrap the thread around the leather – the holes in the beads are sufficient to hold it all together.
Hey thank you so much. I really thought you are sewing through the leather cord. That’s why I had a hard time doing the bracelet. Thank you so much. 🙂 I really adore your work. Have a nice day and once again thank you so much 🙂
Hello, I am in the middle of making my first wrap bracelet. It is turning out nicely however I have found myself with not enough thread to complete the project. Would you please tell me how to add thread to my bracelet. Thank you for you help… I just love your tutorial.
Judy
Thanks Judy! I tried to show a photo of how it looks when you need to add more thread above – just use an overhand knot to tie a new length onto the old one, and trim the ends down. When you keep adding beads, the extra “tails” should fit into the beads to help conceal where you had to make the addition. Good luck!
THANKS!!!
Thanks for such concise and simple instructions!!
Can’t wait to start!
there are so so pretty! I put a link to your blog on mine for 8 DIY bracelet projects!!! http://schulmanart.blogspot.com/2013/08/8-diy-bracelets-projects.html
Thanks for the tutorial! I’ve been eyeing a gold one up at Club Monaco but have had a hard time justifying the price. I had no idea you could make one so easily!
Beautiful bracelet I have already made one of your bracelets, can’t wait to make this one. Could you tell me what glue you use?
Thanks Rose
I’m so excited about this tutorial. I’ve purchased all the products necessary, including beads in sizes 4mm, 6mm and 8mm plenty of black leather cord, thread, needles and buttons and plan to spend a day in the park teaching the homeless ladies how to make and sell these.
What a wonderful how to. Can’t wait to try it.
I can’t wait to make this! I have three daughters, and they all love new things made by Mom. I might even show them how to make this, LOL. Thanks for the tutorial! Love it!
I love the look of wrap bracelets…thanks for the tutorial!
~Kim
Really cool bracelet! I love all of your projects!
Adrianne always has winning projects and this is another one! 😀 LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Awesome!! I love it!!
Pretty bracelet!
This is totally gorgeous and I just LOVE it! I definitely need to make one of these and appreciate the fabulous tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing and am pinning this sparkly beauty. Have a great week!
Such a nice tutorial ….I love the ease you have in the wording of the instructions so I even feel I can make one. Thank you.
This looks like even I can make this : – )Thanks!!
WOW – I made jewelry for several years and then quit, but now looking at all of YOUR great ideas I might get back into it again!!!
Sweet!!! Thank you! 🙂
Beautiful! I have tried to make this once, teaching myself. It did not go well! Thank you for your clear directions!
Angi Mullis dj2isme@aol.com
This is awesome! I think I might have to try this next week when I’m on vacation, camping. I prefer earth tones and less glitz. I am sure I can find some great earthy beads and use some brown leather. Thanks for the fabulous easy to follow tutorial. 🙂
Melissa