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Make an armful of pretty chevron friendship bracelets with this step-by-step tutorial. DIY friendship bracelets are a fun and easy handmade jewelry DIY project that both kids and adults will enjoy.
Whether you’re new to making friendship bracelets, or you’ve been tying them since elementary school, you know that the chevron bracelet design is a perennial classic. In this beginner-friendly tutorial, I show exactly how to make one!
Chevron Friendship Bracelet
One of the most popular friendship bracelet patterns in the classic chevron. It’s a great pattern for beginners because the pattern is easy to memorize.
If you are new to making bracelets, go ahead and review How to Make Friendship Bracelets. It will teach you the basic techniques so you feel confident making this pattern.
Materials
Before we start the tutorial, let’s gather our supplies:
- embroidery floss in a variety of colors
- a safety pin, clipboard or masking tape
- a pair of scissors
- a ruler or measuring tape
Choose as many colors of embroidery floss as you’d like. For beginners, I recommend 4 colors.
If you need color inspiration, check out Friendship Bracelet Color Ideas and Combinations.
Pattern Instructions
The Chevron Pattern uses two of the basic friendship bracelet knots: the forward knot and the backward knot. If you need a review, check out this article: How to Tie the 4 Basic Friendship Bracelet Knots
Step 1: Start by preparing the strings.
Cut 72″ lengths of each of the four colors. Fold the strings in half so that you have 8 36″ lengths – 2 of each color. Tie an overhand knot on the folded end. Keep the knot close to the folded end, so you end up with a small loop at the end.
For a more professional look, you can even start your bracelet with a friendship bracelet loop (or buckle).
Arrange the strands in your chosen color order, in such a way that the color order mirrors itself. For example, the 8 strings would be: hot pink, light pink, blue, green, green, blue, light pink, hot pink. Or, if you were to label the strings, they would go: ABCDDCBA
Secure the strings with a safety pin, under a clipboard, or with masking tape.
Step 2: Starting with the outermost left-hand string (hot pink) tie forward knots on the next three strings until you reach the middle. In other words, use string A (hot pink) to tie a forward knot on string B (light pink), then string C (blue), then string D (green).
Forward knots are tied by making a “4” shape with the working string over the second string. Remember, each knot in a friendship bracelet consists of two half-hitch knots. Click for more details about tying friendship bracelet knots.
Step 3: Using the outermost right-hand string (the other hot pink string), tie backward knots on the next three stringsuntil you reach the middle. In other words, use string A (hot pink) to tie a backward knot on string B (light pink), then string C (blue), then string D (green).
Backward knots are tied by making a “P” shape with the working string over the second string. Remember, each knot in a friendship bracelet consists of two half-hitch knots.
To finish the point at the center of the chevron’s “V” shape, use the left-hand hot pink string to tie a forward knot around the right-hand hot pink string.
(Technically, it doesn’t matter if you make a forward or backward knot – as long as you knot one hot pink string around the other.)
Your first chevron row is now complete! At this point, you should notice that the order of the colors has changed. If we started with the order ABCDDCBA, it should now be BCDAADCB.
Step 4: Continue making more rows by repeating the process with the other strings. Use the new left-hand string (light pink) to make forward knots until you reach the middle. Then, use the new right-hand string (the other light pink) to make backward knots until you reach the center. Tie the two light pink strings together with a forward knot.
Continue until your bracelet is as about 7″ long, or as long as you’d like.
To learn about the different ways to finish friendship bracelets, check out How to End Friendship Bracelets for A Finished Look.
Pattern Chart
If you like to reference bracelet patterns, here is the chart for the Chevron pattern. If you would like to learn more about these types of charts, check out How to Read Friendship Bracelet Patterns.
Explore More Friendship Bracelet Ideas
If you like making friendship bracelets, you may be interested in these free tutorials and bracelet patterns.
- Easy Friendship Bracelet Patterns for Beginners
- How to Make a Diamond Friendship Bracelet Pattern
- How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet
What’s Next?
Pin this post: Save this tutorial to your Pinterest boards so that you can come back to it later.
Leave a comment: We love to hear your feedback. Tell me in the comments below!
Share on Instagram or Facebook: When you make this project, share it on social media and tag me @sarahmaker_. We love to see what you make!
Chevron Friendship Bracelet Pattern
Yield: 1
Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
How to make the classic Chevron pattern friendship bracelet with an easy to follow, step-by-step photo tutorial. The perfect pattern for beginners to practice both forward and backward knots.
Materials
- embroidery floss
Tools
- scissors
- measuring tape
- clipboard, safety pin, or masking tape
Instructions
- Cut 72″ lengths of each of the four colors. Fold the strings in half so that you have 8 36″ lengths – 2 of each color. Tie an overhand knot on the folded end.
- Secure the strings with a safety pin, under a clipboard, or with masking tape. Arrange the strands in your chosen color order.
- Starting with the outermost left-hand string (string A) tie forward knots on the next three strings (B, C, and D) until you reach the middle.
- Then, with the outermost right-hand string (the other A color string) tie backward knots on the next three strings (B, C, and D) until you reach the middle.
- Tie the two A strings together with a forward knot.
- Continue making more rows by repeating the process with the other strings. Repeat until the bracelet is 7" long, or as long as desired.
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Sarah Stearns Founder and Editor
Sarah Stearns has helped millions of makers find their next craft project with free patterns and step-by-step tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com. Read more.
With over a decade of experience in knitting and crochet, she has been featured in prominent publications like The New York Times, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, and Lifehacker.
