Save keeps your ticked steps. We email you a link, no password.
Steps written out by Crafting Step by Step from Cutesy Crafts' video (opens YouTube) (5:52). Published .
The chevron friendship bracelet is the bracelet that lives in everyone's childhood camp memories. The V-pattern looks complicated, but it's only two knots - forward and backward - repeated in mirror image. Once you have the rhythm, you can finish one in an afternoon.
This walkthrough from Jessica at Cutesy Crafts breaks the chevron into seven clear steps. It works with any number of color pairs: 3 colors makes a thinner bracelet, 5 a wider one. Use it as your way into friendship bracelets, then move on to candy stripe, diagonal stripe and Greek key. There are plenty more string and craft projects once you're hooked.
Use regular six-strand embroidery floss straight off the skein. Don't separate the plies. Cotton floss grips well, so knots stay put, and it comes in hundreds of colors.
For a standard wrist, cut four 60-inch lengths, one of each color. Folded in half that gives you 8 working strands. The outer strands get used up faster than you'd expect, because every knot wraps a strand twice. Too long is annoying. Too short ends the bracelet early.
A forward knot makes a 4 shape and moves the lead strand one step right. A backward knot is the mirror: a backwards 4 that moves the lead one step left. Each knot is always tied twice on the same pair. The lead strand does the tying; the other strand stays straight and taut.
If you've never tied either, practice on two scrap strands first, or try the basic bracelet knot tutorial.
The V only appears if the left half mirrors the right. Lay the strands out A B C D D C B A. The two outside strands lead the first row, so the outer color becomes the first stripe. Each new row brings the next color in.
Check the order before every row. One swapped pair throws a crooked stripe through the rest of the bracelet.
Tension does more than anything else. Anchor the loop firmly - tape to a table, a clipboard, or a safety pin through your jeans at the knee. Pull every knot up snug against the row above. Every few rows, smooth the strands flat and check the V points down the center.
The loop at the top is half the closure. At the other end, tie an overhand knot, then split the tails into two groups and braid each for 2-3 inches. Knot the ends. Thread one braid through the loop and tie, or add a bead or button. An adjustable sliding knot over both tails works too.
Ready for another? Try a classic friendship bracelet, a heart pattern or more string bracelets.
Free printable
One page you can take to the table. Free with a free account, no password.
Free, for this project
Make a chevron friendship bracelet in 7 steps. An easy project: about 1 hour 15 minutes. Materials cost about $2 to $5. You need 4 things, including Embroidery floss, Bead or button and Scissors. The 7 steps: gather Your Supplies, fold and Tie a Loop, tape and Mirror the Strands, tie a Forward Knot, travel the Lead Strand to the Middle, tie Backward Knots on the Right Side and join the Chevron in the Middle.
7 steps, about 6 minutes. Tap a picture to jump to that step. Your progress saves automatically.
Tick each step off as you go.
Pick 4 colors of embroidery floss. DMC and similar craft brands have the widest color range. You also need scissors, tape (or a safety pin or clipboard), and optionally a bead or button for closure.
For an 8-strand bracelet at standard wrist width, cut four 60-inch strands of different colors. Add 10 inches per extra color if you want a wider bracelet (3 colors = 50 inch strands, 5 colors = 70 inch strands).
Hold all 4 strands together as a bundle and fold the bundle in half. At the fold, make a small loop (about half an inch wide) and tie an overhand knot at the base of the loop.
The loop is your closure - when the bracelet is done, you'll either button or hook through this loop to fasten it. The overhand knot at the base keeps the bracelet from unraveling and gives you a clean starting point.
Tape the knotted loop to a flat surface (table, clipboard, or pin to your jeans). Separate the 8 working strands so the colors mirror left-to-right.
Same color in positions 1 and 8 (outermost), 2 and 7, 3 and 6, and 4-5 (innermost) match each other. The mirror is what creates the V pattern as you knot toward the middle. Wrong mirror = wrong pattern.
Take the leftmost strand (the lead). Lay it OVER the strand to its right, forming a number-4 shape. Pass the lead strand UNDER its tail and BACK THROUGH the 4. Hold the right strand taut and pull the lead up tight.
That's one forward knot. Do it TWICE on each pair of strands - the double knot is what holds and creates the bracelet's strength. Two knots per pair.
The lead strand keeps moving. After 2 forward knots on the leftmost pair, move the same lead strand to the next strand right and tie 2 forward knots there. Continue until the lead strand reaches the center.
The lead strand changes color visually with each pair (because it knots over different colored strands), but it's the same physical thread the whole time - it just rests on top of each new color it knots around.
Now mirror the process on the right side. The rightmost strand becomes your lead. Lay it OVER the strand to its left, making a BACKWARD 4 shape, then loop UNDER and back through. Two backward knots per pair, working from the outside toward the middle.
The motion is exactly the same as the forward knot but mirrored. Both lead strands meet in the center, having just covered every strand from outside in.
When the two lead strands meet in the center, tie 2 backward knots between them. The right one is active, the left one stays straight as the anchor. Two backward knots completes the V.
That's the first chevron. Repeat steps 4-7 with the next color outward, working your way back to the original lead strand. Continue until the bracelet matches your wrist length, then tie a final overhand knot to secure all 8 strands together. Trim the tail strands.
If your knots come out loose, you're not pulling the lead strand hard enough as you tighten. The right strand should stay perfectly taut while the left strand's loop slides up tight against the previous knot.
Keep going
How to Hand Build Pottery: 7 Step Beginner Guide (No Wheel Needed)
More on this topic, picked for this chevron friendship bracelet.
You reached the last step
Your ticked steps, the free printable and your other saved makes, together in My Projects. Free, no password.
Free printable
The bonus is hidden until you sign up.
Free with a free account, no password. Every step above stays open to everyone.
How to Make a Chevron Friendship Bracelet: 7 Step Tutorial
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links on this page may be affiliate links - clicking them and buying doesn't change your price, but helps support Crafting Step by Step.
The Crafter's Weekly
One short email with the week's best step-by-step guides. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Test your knowledge
5 questions covering what you just read. No signup, no score saved, and you can stop after this one.
Question 1 of 5
How many colors of embroidery floss does the chevron pattern use?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.How many colors of embroidery floss does the chevron pattern use?
Answer: Four colors
Four colors of floss in mirrored positions. Each color makes one chevron stripe in the V pattern.
2.What's the closure at the start of the bracelet?
Answer: A loop of knotted floss
Fold the bundle in half and tie an overhand knot at the base of a small loop. The loop is your closure on one side.
3.After folding 4 colors in half, how many working strands do you have?
Answer: Eight strands
Four colors folded in half gives 8 working strands, arranged so the colors mirror 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5.
4.How many forward knots do you tie per pair before moving on?
Answer: Two knots
Two forward knots per pair holds the V shape tight. Single knots are too loose; three look too cramped.
5.When the two lead strands meet in the center, what's the join?
Answer: Two backward knots between them
Right strand becomes active, left becomes anchor. Two backward knots between them completes one chevron.
Did this work for you?
Curated theme pages that include this tutorial.
Hand-picked next reads based on the one you just finished.
Jewelry Making
8:42 video · 7 steps
Based on a video by SaraBeautyCorner - DIY, Comedy, Makeup, Nail Art
Jewelry Making
8:27 video · 7 steps
Based on a video by SoCraftastic
Jewelry Making
11:14 video · 8 steps
Based on a video by Creative Fnk
Pick the crafts you want to hear about. One email every Sunday with new step-by-step tutorials. No spam, easy to unsubscribe.
Weekly digest. Pick the categories you want. Unsubscribe anytime.
Send me tutorials about
