I Completely Changed Friendship Bracelet Pattern #108984
What happens when you use a friendship bracelet pattern as a STARTING POINT instead of something you have to follow exactly? 🧵
Today I’m working with friendship-bracelets.net pattern #108984—but my plan from the beginning is to make it into something completely my own.
The original pattern gives us the foundation, and then I start following the individual strings to see where each color can actually go.
That’s one of the most important things to understand when you start designing your own friendship bracelet patterns:
The colors can’t magically appear wherever you want them!
Every string has to travel through the bracelet to get there, even when it’s hidden underneath other knots. Learning to follow those underlying strings gives you MUCH more freedom to modify patterns and create your own designs.
For this one, I’m planning a combination of blues, purples, and possibly white, with a contrasting color running through the darker sections. The colors I’m using while drawing aren’t necessarily the colors I’ll use in the actual bracelet—you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see what I choose!
I also decided to stretch the original motif into a longer design and give the bracelet a nice chevron-style start.
And because the design is so symmetrical, there’s a shortcut!
Instead of drawing the entire bracelet, I only need to design ONE QUARTER. Then I can copy, flip, and mirror that section to create the rest.
The result keeps part of the original motif in the center but transforms it into a much more elongated design.
If you like this pattern and would like to support my work >>>
Pattern #108984 gave me the idea—but I definitely didn’t leave it alone! 😄🧵
In the previous video, I redesigned friendship-bracelets.net pattern #108984 to make something uniquely my own. Now it’s time to actually MAKE the bracelet and find out whether those changes worked.
Spoiler: I really like this one!
The original design repeated the smaller diamonds only twice before returning to the larger diamond. I decided…why stop at two?
So I stretched that section out to FIVE.
That simple change completely alters the rhythm of the bracelet. Instead of having the large diamonds repeating frequently throughout the design, we get these longer sections of smaller diamonds before everything comes together again.
This is exactly what I want to encourage you to try with friendship bracelet patterns.
You don’t always have to follow a pattern exactly as somebody designed it. Learn how the strings move, understand how the design stays balanced and centered, and then start experimenting.
Take an idea and put YOUR stamp on it.
As for making this one, segment knotting worked really well. I could build out the right side, work the longest rows available, move over to the left, and then continue that ebb and flow through the bracelet.
⏱️ Total knotting time: about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
This is a 12-string bracelet made with single strands, so only six strings go up into the loop.
For the colors, I went with:
💙 Three shades of blue
🤍 White
💜 Two shades of purple/plum
If I changed anything, I might choose a light blue with a little more contrast from the white next time. They ended up quite close—but I still really like the way the different blues frame the diamonds.
And yes…I made a mistake. 😂
At one point I accidentally knotted over TWO strings and had to undo it. Fortunately, that was about as dramatic as things got!
The complete bracelet was also made during a livestream for my YouTube Members. Members can watch these bracelets being made in real time, hang out while I work, and ask questions along the way.
A huge THANK YOU to my Members for helping support the channel, akaawol.com, and the tools that make these videos possible. ❤️
Most importantly, I hope this inspires you to look at patterns differently. See a bracelet you like? Learn from it. Figure out how it works. Then change it, expand it, recolor it, and see what YOU can create.
👇 Would you make my modified version, the original #108984, or change it AGAIN?
Let me know in the comments!
👍 Like the video if you enjoyed it, and subscribe for more friendship bracelet tutorials and experiments.
And as always…
Don’t get your strings in a bunch!
#FriendshipBracelets #FriendshipBracelet #FriendshipBraceletPattern #SegmentKnotting #BraceletMaking #BraceletTutorial #JewelryMaking #DIYJewelry #Knots #AkaAWOL
