Braided Ribbon Friendship Bracelets

It's the Fourth Day of Christmas at CKC, and today Elizabeth is teaching us how to make one of her favorite accessories!

Aren't they gorgeous? I love the dainty little details as well as the added bling. These are sure to pair beautifully with all our mommy made creations! 

Materials Needed :

Glue Gun and glue sticks

 1/8 “ or 1/4 “  ribbon

Lighter

Small Resins , Bows or Flowers (girls)

Scissors

Cutting the Ribbon

Measure your child’s wrist.  You will then Cut 2 strands of ribbon, each one 4 times the number you got for your child’s wrist and then add 4.   If you are making the single Ribbon bracelet you will cut only ONE strand, but you will double your final number.

*Example: If your child’s wrist is 6.25”,  your ribbon would be about 29” in length. You would cut 2 strands from the ribbon of your choice.  Or, if you were using just one color you would cut ONE 58” long strand.

Making the Braided Bracelets

If making the single ribbon bracelet, continue below using steps a-c. If doing the double ribbon bracelet you will skip straight to Step 1.

a. Take your ribbon  and fold it so that  it’s longer on one side. ( This would be the side where you formed your first loop as shown in the photo.)

b. With the other side of the ribbon, you will now form a second loop

c. Once you have both loops, take the loop in your left hand and bring it in towards the inside of the opposite loop. 

Skip to Step 5 Below.

Step 1. Cut your 2 strands for the size you are making.

Step 2. Take your strands and tie them in a knot. (Once you have tied them in the knot, using your lighter, light it and quickly run it across the starting ends of each strand. This will seal the ends of your ribbon from unraveling).

Step3. Form 2 loops as shown in the photo.

Step 4.  You will now take one of your loops and bring it in towards the inside of the opposite loop. Once the loop is inside, you will pull down on the ribbon closest to you to form a braid/knot. 

Step 5. Continue alternating the loops by putting the loop inside of the opposite color and pulling the ribbon down to form the braid/knot. 

Steps 6 - 8 these photos shows the blue loop going into the white loop. Once the blue loop is inside the white loop, you will pull the white ribbon (step 8) to form the braid.   Continue to do this (alternating your colors) until you have about 1.5” remaining at the end of your ribbon.

Step 9. Your bracelet is almost complete and should look like the photo shown.

Once you have followed all of the steps above, you should now be able to complete your bracelet

Step 10. Tie the ends into a knot so that it doesn’t become unraveled.

Step 11. Trim the ends and use your lighter to heat seal the ends.

Step 12. Put a dab of hot glue on each end of the ribbons and you are going to fold them in towards the inside of the ribbon as shown in the photo.

Step 13. You are now going to glue the ends together by placing one end on top of the other.

Step 14. Your Bracelet should now look like this photo.  If you are making a boy’s bracelet you are now Finished. If you are making a girls version continue on to step 15.

Step 15. You will now be adding your flower, charm or anything you’d like to decorate your bracelet.

Step 16.  You will be adding the flower to the top of the bracelet where you connected the two ends on top of one another.  This will hide where you connected them, making your bracelet look flawless.

You are now done with your Braided Bracelet! How fun was that?! Friendship bracelets are great for girl’s camp, sleepovers, or to show your school spirit. They can be made in a wide variety of color combos and with different embellishments and such. It is a cheap and easy and fun activity for your child to do on their own or with friends as Christmas gifts.  ~ Elizabeth

Thanks to Elizabeth for this super fun tutorial! I can't wait to try it out -- I'm sure my daughter will insist that I teach her too. 

We hope you are enjoying all of our Twelve Days of Christmas freebies so far. Stay tuned for another one tomorrow, and don't forget to share this with your friends! 

Let's Create! ~ Kristen