DIY Gift Ideas #1: DIY Chevron Bracelet (or Anklet) Tutorial

Boo!

I hope you're all well, and looking forward to the weekend!

I've been obsessed with DIY/Arty things, so have lately decided to make bracelets (which you can easily turn into an anklet) and share a tutorial with you guys - I hope you all find it useful :)

It's pretty simple, as long as you get the hang of two simple knots - Forward & Backward Knot - which are shown below. 

I've numbered most of the pictures, so If you guys are unclear about any part just let me know in the comments below so I can redo/reshow you:) I'm sorry if any of this sounds patronising/too easy, it's not meant to be! I just wanted to make sure I had enough detail, because I know when I first started, it was really confusing, but that might just be me haha. Also I'm sorry about the different backgrounds, I wasn't in spot for too long:p 

Possible Tools:

• Embroidery floss (or equivalent)

• Ruler with Inches 

• Scissors

• Clipboard/Sellotape/Heavy Item 

Measurements I used:

• Each individual strand ~30 Inches

I'll hopefully be posting a tutorial on how to make the adjustable knot in the next few days, so stayed tuned if you're interested in that!

Tutorial

1)  Select the colour you would like your bracelet to be.

2) I only used 4 individual strands because I wanted to achieve a thinner bracelet. The more strands you use the thicker your bracelet will be, and I guess you could say the clearer the Chevron shape will be. I'd advise those who are making this bracelet for the first time, to make a bigger one - so have maybe 8 individual strands (4 colours) - I have a little sample of a one I completed earlier below, with 4 different shades of red/pink.

Tie a knot a few inches away from the beginning of the strands, so this 'excess' material can be used for tying the bracelet when you're done.

3) When you're working on the bracelet, it's not ideal to have it moving about, so secure it in place either with Sellotape, heavy item, clip board, clip etc

4) Arrange strands in order, laid out separately, and to achieve the Chevron Shape, most importantly each half should mirror image one another to achieve the chevron effect.

In this picture below it may seem as though I've just gone against what I've just said, but I've actually started making the bracelet.

5a) FORWARD KNOT. With your first strand (here the light blue) make a number 4 by placing the first strand over the second strand (dark blue).

5b) Then take the end of the First Strand (light blue) and loop it under the Second Strand (dark blue).

5c) Pull the end of the First strand (light blue), whilst holding down the second strand (dark blue), in order to achieve the below effect.

5d) Pull tight and you're already half way finishing the Forward Knot! 

5e-f) The important thing to remember about both Forward and Backward knots is that you have to do two knots or loops to make one complete Forward/Backward Knot. so here, repeat steps 5a-5d to achieve a complete Forward Knot.

5g) Here's what a complete Forward Knot should look like.

5h) Just a picture of how the back of the Forward Knot looks like. 

6) Having completed one forward knot you can move onto the next strand, using the same principle as steps 5a-5f to create another forward knot, until you make a row on your last strand (so here it will be my 2nd light blue strand, which will be the Fourth Strand, as a whole).

7) Now you have completed the first row of the bracelet. 

8) BACKWARD KNOT: this is basically exactly the same as a Forward Knot, but the number 4 this times is Backwards. So basically follow steps 5a-5h by mirror image - remember to do two loops to make one complete Backward Knot.

9) Now you have made one complete row of Forward and Backward Knots, and the outcome should look a little like this: 

10) If you've actually mastered the Forward/Backward Knot, you can actually start your bracelet from this step - I prefer doing a few simple rows before going into the 'detailed' part of the bracelet as I feel that the bracelet gets scrunched up at the start. But it's totally up to you.

Anyway, you do one forward knot and one backward knot. 

11) You're then left with (here) the two light blue strands in the middle. 

12) Do a backward knot to create the centre point of the chevron shape.

13a) Now your first Chevron Shape is made! It probably doesn't' look very clear at the moment, but after a few, the bracelet will take a better shape :)

13b) From the picture above in 13a you can see that the strands have crossed over, ensure that the strands 'face' the correct direction. 

14) Now complete the Chevron Shape with the dark blue strand.

14a) Continue with this pattern until desired length.  

15)  This next part is optional, and depends on your preference. Once you have reached your desired length you can straight away make a knot to secure the pattern in place. If not, complete the pattern to the photo on step 11.This is to even out the pattern. I also carried out the below steps as I had started the bracelet with a similar pattern. 

16-17)Complete several rows of Forward and Backward Knots 

18) Tie a knot.

19) With the 'excess' material complete two sets of plaits- one on each end of the bracelet.  I realise that there are 4 strands but you need 3 for completing a plait, so I took the two dark blue strands as if they were one. 

20) Now you can tie a simple knot to ensure that the bracelet doesn't fall off. 

Now your Chevron Bracelet is done and dusted :) 

Also treat yourself to a yummy ice cream hmmm...

I hope that helped everyone:)