I Scrapped the First Design… This Friendship Bracelet Pattern Is WAY Better
Sometimes a design just doesn’t work—and that’s part of creating!
I actually started this project once already, didn’t like where it was going, scrapped the video AND the design, and came back the next day with a new idea.
This time, I moved the starting point toward the center to see what would happen to the continuous path. My suspicion was that it might create more of an S-shaped curve…and it worked!
In this video, I work through the pattern design, follow the two continuous lines from beginning to end, fix a couple of mistakes along the way, and experiment with flipping the finished section until the full design appears.
The result is a long, winding S-shaped friendship bracelet pattern made with 16 strings. Now comes the next challenge: actually making it!
One thing I love about designing friendship bracelets is that you don’t always know exactly where an idea will lead. Sometimes you have to experiment, make mistakes, scrap something completely, and try again.
What do you think of this version? Would you make it?
If you like this pattern and would like to support my work >>>
I took friendship-bracelets.net pattern #7809, expanded it from 12 strings to 16, changed the layout…and accidentally created one of the most confusing friendship bracelets I’ve made in a while. 😅
The idea started with a little math and experimentation. Instead of beginning the design on one side, I moved it to the center so the line could travel all the way across and return. Then I flipped the design twice to create one long, continuous S-shaped path.
And it worked!
But actually MAKING it was another story.
The individual knots aren’t especially difficult—most are simple left and right knots—but keeping track of where I was in the pattern became surprisingly challenging. I actually had the pattern open in GIMP and crossed out each section as I completed it. Without doing that, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten lost.
So now I have a question for you:
👉 Is this an intermediate friendship bracelet pattern…or does needing that much concentration push it into EXPERT territory?
If you make it, I really want to know what you think!
⏱️ TOTAL KNOTTING TIME: Just over 2 hours
🧵 STRINGS: 16
🎨 COLORS: Red and beige
📈 DIFFICULTY: Intermediate…maybe? You decide!
One important tip: don’t skimp on the red strings. Those strands travel through the entire design, and there aren’t backup red strings waiting to take over.
Also watch the shape of your bracelet as you knot. This pattern naturally wants to curve, so small adjustments while you work can help prevent the finished bracelet from becoming banana-shaped.
💬 Made this bracelet? Share your finished version—or your work in progress—on Discord. I’d love to see it!
🌐 Find more friendship bracelet tutorials, patterns, and projects at akaawol.com
A huge THANK YOU to my YouTube Members for supporting the channel and helping pay for the string and supplies that go into these tutorials. Members can also watch the real-time bracelet-making videos. If you’d like to join, hit the Join button next to Subscribe!
Thanks for watching, and as always…
Don’t get your strings in a bunch!
#akaawol #FriendshipBracelets #FriendshipBracelet #BraceletTutorial #Knots #JewelryMaking #DIY #Craft #BraceletMaking
