How to Start an Asymmetrical Friendship Bracelet (Pattern 27)
Today we’re looking at Pattern 27 from friendship-bracelets.net, and this one brings up a really interesting challenge:
It’s not symmetrical.
Most friendship bracelet patterns mirror across the center line, which makes starting them pretty straightforward. But Pattern 27 doesn’t follow that rule—it’s offset, which means the colors don’t match evenly on both sides.
So in this video I walk through how to start an asymmetrical bracelet pattern, including how to balance the strings so you can still create a loop start.
Here’s the key idea:
The pattern uses three black strings, three yellow strings, and the rest orange, but they aren’t evenly distributed across the center. Because of that, a teardrop loop start won’t work, since that method requires identical colors on both sides.
Instead, we adjust the layout slightly when making the loop so the pattern can still begin cleanly.
For example:
• One black string on the left, two on the right
• Two yellow strings on the left, one on the right
• Even numbers of orange strings on both sides
This allows you to still use a loop start, braid start, macramé loop, or kumi setup, even though the bracelet itself isn’t symmetrical.
Once the bracelet gets going, the pattern actually becomes very beginner-friendly. There are no zigzags—just repeating diamond structures and long rows that make the rhythm easy to follow.
If you’re curious how it turns out when tied, tomorrow’s video will show the full bracelet being made.
Huge thanks to my YouTube Members for helping make videos like this possible. Their support helps cover materials, equipment, and all the little things that keep the channel running.
If you like this pattern and would like to support my work >>>
Today we’re tying Pattern 27 from friendship-bracelets.net, the pattern we designed and set up in the previous video.
This bracelet highlights a really useful technique for when bracelet colors don’t line up evenly on both sides at the start.
The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple:
two strings just cross over at the beginning.
Once those two strands switch sides, the bracelet can start normally with the standard setup I use—working across the group of strings to create that clean, organized start before the pattern begins.
If you’re new to bracelet making, this is a great little lesson:
• Sometimes patterns don’t balance across the center
• A simple string crossover can fix the problem
• After that, you can begin the bracelet normally
The pattern itself is very beginner friendly. There are no zigzags or complicated directional changes, just repeating shapes that make the bracelet easy to follow once you get into the rhythm.
One interesting thing about this design is the visual effect of the colors. The yellow almost looks like it’s sitting above the orange background, while the darker brown acts like a shadow, creating a kind of drop-shadow effect in the pattern.
It actually makes the bracelet look more dimensional than you might expect from such a simple design.
Another detail I had to keep an eye on while tying this one:
the yellow string gets used much more than the others, so I occasionally stopped to count rows and make sure I didn’t go past my template length and run out of string before the tassels.
Looking at the pattern afterward, I also noticed something interesting—the yellow line meets right at the center, which means the pattern could potentially be flipped in the middle to create a different visual effect. That might be something fun to experiment with in a future bracelet.
Huge thanks to my YouTube Members for helping keep the channel going. Their support helps cover things like string, lighting, equipment, and editing tools so these videos can keep happening.
If you try this bracelet yourself, feel free to share it over on Discord. I always enjoy seeing the different color combinations people come up with.
More tutorials and bracelet patterns:
https://akaawol.com
👍 Like the video if you enjoy beginner-friendly bracelets
💬 Comment if you’ve ever had to adjust strings to start a pattern
🔔 Subscribe for more friendship bracelet tutorials and pattern experiments
#akaawol #friendshipbracelet #braceletpattern #bracelettutorial #diycraft #jewelrymaking #friendshipbracelets #craft
And as always…
Don’t get your strings in a bunch.
