Crafty jewelry: Leather Cord Macrame Bracelet

The art of macrame has come a long way. The materials you can use today give you far more choices than a few decades ago. They also look much better. I have done basic macrame with my boys and we used hemp. Recently as I was browsing at Hobby Lobby (by the way, I am NOT getting paid by Hobby Lobby, no matter how many times I go there and mention it in my posts) and found some skinny leather cords. I picked up some wooden beads and large rings and lobster claw claps to make a bracelet with. This is probably the simplest form of macrame ( just Google “macrame jewelry” and you will see some truly amazing and beautiful pieces) but with using the right materials, simple can be also beautiful.

 

 

It took me maybe 5 minutes to make this simple bracelet. Here is the supplies:

 

The lighter wood beads are smaller than what I actually used. The light beads were 12 mm and the darker 14 mm in size. You will also need Epoxy 6000 or similar glue.

First you need to tie a Lark’s Head Knot on the large ring. (For the sake of this tutorial, I am using an example, not the actual bracelet. But it was made using the same method.) Cut 2 X 50 inch length cords.
1. Fold cord in half and put the center through the ring.
2. Fold the center over and pull the free ends through the loop.
3. Done. This is front of the Lark’s Head Knot.
4. The back of Lark’s Head Knot.

Repeat with the second string, but make sure that your Lark’s Head Knots line up the same way.

Secure the ring. I used a pin, but a safety pin would work better. I used the Square Knot throughout the whole bracelet. On this picture you can see the Blue Left Cord (blue on the left), the 2 Core Cords (blue and yellow) and the Yellow Right Cord (yellow, on the right).

Blue Left Cord goes over the Core Cords, and under the Yellow Right Cord.

Gently lift loop formed by Blue Left Cord and …

pull the Yellow Right Cord under the Core Cords and through the loop.

Tighten, and your first half knot of the Square Knot is done.

The Next Half Knot is formed the same way, except on the opposite side. You will notice that the cords switched sides. The Blue Left Cord is now Blue Right Cord and the Yellow Right Cord is now Yellow Left Cord.  I started with the Blue Right Cord, over the Core Cords, under the Yellow Left Cord.

Left Yellow Cord goes behind Core Cords and up and through the Left Blue Cord loop.

Pull gently to tighten and your first Square Knot is done. I made 4 Square Knots at the beginning.

Then I added my first bead strung on the Core Cords.

Then I made the first half knot of the Square Knot around the bead.

 

Finish the Square Knot by starting on the opposite side and add another bead. Repeat until desired length.

I finished it off by tieing the Left and Righ Cords together, securing the knot with a drop of glue. Then strung the lobster claw claps onto one of the Core cords, and again tied a knot, securing it with a drop of glue. Cut cords off.

And done. Quick note, so we are clear: each Square Knot is made up of two Half Knots, started on the opposite side. If you start your Half Knots on the same side each time, you will end up with a spiral. Which is what you may want. Play around, there are many beautiful macrame designs.

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