I’ve loved making friendship bracelets ever since I was little. So much so, that I even took it a step farther and would make woven bracelets. When I was younger, my Dad made me a loom just like the one shown in the tutorial and I would spend hours making woven bracelets. With this DIY woven bracelet, I added a fun touch of southwestern flair. The best part about this woven bracelet is that you can create so many designs. Tweens and Teens will love creating these too. So, let’s get started and see just exactly how to create this DIY southwestern woven bracelet.
DIY Southwestern Woven Bracelet Supplies:
- Darice Value Pack of Embroidery Floss
- 16mm Gold Ribbon End Kumihimo Findings
- Darice Gold Seed Beads-10/0
- Darice 7mm Jump Rings
- Darice Hemp Cord/Twine
- Darice Large Needle & Beading Needle
- Fireline Beading Thread
- 8 Small Nails & Hammer
- Scissors
- Scrap Piece of Wood (I used a 2 x 4)
- Needle Nose Pliers
Step 1. Create the bracelet weaving loom by hammering in 4 nails at the top of the 2 x 4 and 4 nails about 7″ down.
Step 2. Tie a knot around the first nail and continue to wrap the twine around all of the nails. Once you are at the last nail, tie a knot to secure the twine in place as pictured above.
Step 3. Begin weaving by tying a knot with the embroidery floss to the second piece of twine. Tie the knot on the inside of the loom so the extra strand of embroidery floss can be worked in easier. When weaving, you are creating the pattern of over under over under. For the most part, you can create any sort of pattern. You also want to leave some allowance at the top and the bottom of the loom. This will allow you to remove the bracelet off the loom, trim the excess twine, and attach the ribbon ends to the bracelet.
Step 4. For the Southwestern pattern, I made black the dominate color for my design. I created all of the black design first. This made it easy for me to go back in and add the remaining colors. To create the pattern, I started off weaving all of the strands and after a little bit I just decreased the amount I would weave by one on each side. To attach more floss, just tie a knot and incorporate your lose ends into your weaving. Make sure that if any of the loose ends are not incorporated that they are going to be on the wrong side of the weaving. I also made the side facing up the wrong side of the weaving or the inside of the bracelet. This gives me the ability to incorporate my loose ends better into the weaving.
Step 5. Use the teal color and fill in the areas as shown above. Continue to use the weaving pattern. Remember that the side facing up will be the inside of the bracelet and may look a little messy at this point.
Step 6. Fill in the areas between the teal with the mint color.
Step 7. Add the salmon color to fill in the last remaining areas.
Step 8. Remove the woven bracelet from the nails carefully. Trim the excess twine. Insert the bracelet into the ribbon end and use the round nose pliers to close. You can also use a dish cloth and lay it in on top of the ribbon end and slightly tap it with a hammer to make sure the bracelet is very secure in the ribbon end as well. Attach the other ribbon end to the other side.
Step 9. To attach the toggle bracelet, open the jump ring with the round needle nose pliers and attach to the ribbon end and toggle. If you need additional length, add the 7 mm jump rings to the toggle as shown above.
Step 10. Sew gold seed beads onto the woven bracelet using a bead needle and Fireline. Fireline is beading thread that is very thin. Go back in and secure some of the knots with the Fireline as well.
There you have it! A fun way to create a great looking woven bracelet.
Enjoy the endless possibilities that this woven bracelet has to offer and have fun making them.
About Melanie
Melanie Artz is a Mom, an artist, an Art Educator and lover of all things creative. She has been sharing her passion for art and the creative process with her students for the past 17 years. When not teaching, she continues to share her love for creating online at ArtzyCreations.com.
That is really cool! I used to make friendship bracelets, but not woven like that. I made the kind with lots of knots. Now my daughter is getting old enough to make them, we’ll have to make a loom like this and give it a try!