Memorial Day is right around the corner, which is the unofficial-official-start-of-summer! Every time we get to shorts and sandals weather, my ankles get a new bracelet. Are you the same way? Whether it’s a tradition for you, or you just want to try something new, I have a surprisingly simple ankle bracelet design to show you today!
There’s a lot of room for variation with this design depending on the beads you like. I used the double-row look to incorporate two separate colors, but you can get a different look with any combination.
Supplies needed to make your own bead and hemp ankle bracelet:
- Hemp Jewelry Cord (I love this variety pack from Darice, you can use any thickness to suit your beads. I used six 24-inch strands of 10 lb. hemp for my ankle bracelet.)
- Seed Beads – you know you have some laying around! If not (or if you want a new color for the new season) choose either 6/0 or 8/0 size. I used size 8/0 in this project.
- Set of 5mm Glue-on End Caps
- Lobster Clasp
- Aleene’s Jewelry & Metal glue
- Scissors
- You will also need a pin, clip, or clipboard to hold your bracelet while you work
First things first: trim your hemp cord to six strands of 24-30 inches. Why the range? Well, hemp is made from several strands wound together. As you string beads onto it, it can begin to unravel. If this starts to happen, you should trim off the frayed end to keep working. The size of hole in your bead will make the most difference in how much your hemp will fray as you work. The larger the bead, the less fray you will have, but if it’s a snug fit, you will want it a little longer. You can always trim off excess when your bracelet is finished, but you can’t add more length if you run short.
Tie your six strands together with an overhand knot. Then, secure the end to your workplace. I clipped mine to a canvas board because that is what I had handy, but a clipboard will work well for woven bracelets, too!
Separate your strands into three groups of two strands each. We will be making a basic braid, but to give the bracelet weight and texture, we are doubling up the amount of cord going into the bracelet. On the outermost strand, thread on a bead, and begin to braid. I begin working left to right, but it makes no difference.
When you get to the other side of your braid, again, thread a bead onto the outermost strand, and braid the two strands to the center. You will continue this pattern for the whole bracelet. In my case, each time I pulled from the left, I added an orange bead. Each time I pulled from the right, I added a red bead.
This gave me two separate rows of color. You could incorporate even more colors, or you could make the whole bracelet a single color – this is where you make the pattern your own! Continue adding beads into your braid like this for the length of the bracelet, which should be a final braided length of 8 to 9 inches. (The range accounts for your own preference. Standard ankle bracelets are 9 or 10 inches, depending on which size the wearer prefers. We will be adding one inch of length when we add the clasp at the end.)
When you reach your desired length, tie an overhand knot to secure your braid.
You can trim the tails quite short, because we will be gluing on ends caps. I LOVE these end caps, particularly for woven bracelets like this. Let me show you a closer look of how the set comes:
A toggle clasp is included with the 5mm set, but for additional security, I like to replace it with a lobster clasp. Toggle clasps work well for bracelets, but as much movement as your legs do, I don’t recommend them on ankles. You can save the toggle findings for a future jewelry project!
All you have to do is trim your bracelet “tails” to the length of the cap, which is roughly 1/4 inch. Add a dab of jewelry glue to the inside of the cap, and cover your bracelet tails. Give it a good twist to ensure that it fully coats, and allow it to dry. Do this for both ends. It will be dry enough to finish your piece in about 5 minutes, but give it at least 30 minutes before wearing your bracelet.
Now, just add a jump ring and lobster clasp to finish your piece (or, if you opted to make it wrist-sized, you can use the toggle clasp that comes with the end caps) and that’s it!
If you are new to jewelry and findings intimidate you, or you know you will be wearing it all summer long, you can also make this a friendship-style bracelet, and leave the tails long to be tied onto ankles (or wrists) for the season. Enjoy!
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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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Love your anklet. I can’t fine the end caps around here though. Been looking at Hobby Lobby and Wal Mart. Wanted some for another project.
Joyce, I’ve never been able to find them locally either. I order from Consumer Crafts, here’s a link to the ones I used: http://www.consumercrafts.com/store/details/catalog/jewelry-cord-kumihimo-braiding-findings-and-kits/1999-4711
Here’s a little trick I use when beading hemp, string etc. I dip the ends in clear nail polish then roll it between my fingers. It keeps the hemp from fraying and kind of makes it’s own needle for beading……. 🙂
So very pretty, it’s gorgeous. This will be a great project with my 13 yr. old G/D. Hope she’ll be interested. Maybe she can show Grama how to braid again. Been so long I forget which one is which to braid when, lol.
Love the look of the hemp and beads. Can hardly wait to get all I need to make them. G/d is on vacation at the beach in San Diego right now so I’ll have to wait for them to come back. So glad you shared this project. I’m a little slow seeing all the great jewelry projects you gals have shared. Wish I had ink to print them all out right now. Happy summer
I am so excited about trying this! I just got back from Florida, and spent $1.99 each on something just like this. I can braid, so I thought I can do this! Gonna make some for friendship bracelets for my 2 bestfriends!! Thanks so much!!
WAHH! I got this tutorial bookmarked c; XX
Your jewelry is always so beautiful. I’ve never made any jewelry before but your tutorials make me want to!
This looks like a great project to do with my daughters(19 & 22). Quality time with Mom. LOL
Love it!
Thanks for all of the detailed instructions. Yet another great summer project to do with my 13 year old daughter. At this age, she’d rather be on the computer, etc. so I am compiling a list of projects to keep her busy and also so that the two of us can spend some quality time together. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this. Thank you for making such clear and easy to follow directions. One question though, about how many beads do you think you used? I have some old jewelry I want to salvage beads from but I want to know if I’ll have enough.
Okay that is a tough call, because it will depend totally on the size of the beads you use and the thickness of your cord. But to give you an idea, when the bracelet makes up, you need approximately as much beads as what would make up one strand then length you want it. So – if you’re braiding a 9″ braid, you would want 9″ of beads (half for the top “row” and half for the bottom). If you are using 4mm beads, there are 6-7 4mm beads for each inch strung, so you would need around 60 beads for a 10″ ankle bracelet. If they are smaller, you need more, or larger, you need less. I hope that helps you to estimate!
Thank you very much for your reply. It’s really helpful.
Hey! Even *I* can braid! I really think I can do this! Thanks for the tutorial Adrianne- I am totally doing this with my girls. 🙂
I find that your ideas of do-it-yourself are really Great!
I do not very well speak English because my language is French,
See you soon on my blog or on your blog
Audrey
Patatipatatarte.wordpress.com
Thanks for giving such good details. I haven’t made jewelry before and so many sites make the assumption that you know more than I do.
This is so gorgeous and summery and fun! Pinning now!
How long do you think it should be if I wanted to make a bracelet? I usually wear 7 in ones.
Your end caps and clasps will account for approximately an inch, so this should be braided about one inch less than you want your final length (which will include your knots, too). For you, 6 inches (and about 5.5-5.75 inches of actual braiding in between your knots). But for anyone else wondering the same thing – just subtract an inch from your preferred final length!
I can’t wait to try this!