Adding Embellishments to Friendship Bracelets

A request came from a follower on Instagram, so I’m here to answer the question:

I opened with a bit on my personal bracelet because I want to express how important quality is to me. That bracelet was with me for a long time. It was there to say this is what art I enjoy. It was around as I got acclimated to Singapore and began to make new friends. It was with that in mind that led me to find a way of embellishing a bracelet without causing the cotton to fray.

In this video, I used synthetic catgut that is commonly used in leather work (I use it to sew bracelet work to leather to make ukulele straps). If you had access to a bead shop you might even find something even more durable.

I also used wooden beads that I picked up while in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The same area where I had gotten the clappers (little bells that sound like Tinker Bell when you walk). Not exactly the longest-lasting bead one could find, but it was something I had on hand for this demo.

Beyond that, it’s just normal embroidery floss that I’ve used. Even if you were using something else for the traditional knotting area I think you would get the same results. A bracelet that will last as long as normal even if it lost a bead or two.

It would be possible to navigate the catgut to have only used one piece to achieve the same look. However, if it wore out and snapped it could get pulled out so you would lose all the beads. The way I propose keeps things intact even if one of the beads were lost. It might be overkill, but for me, selling something that I know I’ve done my best at − and will last − gives me comfort.