Macrame fashion has returned, and now this type of needlework is especially popular among the creators of unusual accessories and jewelry. If you manage to tie the simplest knot yourself, you can easily master this needlework technique. Weaving macrame bracelets using a square knot is a simple, exciting and versatile technique for beginners. Creating your own accessories is easy. You do not have to learn any unique skills. Using this technique, you can create bracelets such as Shambhala - a popular teenage jewelry.
Necessary materials
Weaving macramé bracelets just seems difficult, but as soon as you start, you will quickly learn all the basic principles. Start creating your own simple yet beautiful accessories with little or no effort. Work requires twine or a leather cord, beads, satin ribbons, scissors and glue. All this is easy to find in stores for needlewomen.
How to choose a bead
How to make a macrame bracelet with beads? To do this, you must first choose the right material. There are many options for which beads to choose for the bracelet. They can be of various shapes and colors. The main thing is that the size of the hole is large enough so that two threads of the cord can be passed through it. For a thread with a diameter of 1 mm, the holes should be at least 2 mm, and preferably even wider. Beads with a 6 mm hole will work well.
Bead Material
The beads may be plastic, metal, glass or ceramic. You can use 5-8 small beads to decorate a macrame knotted bracelet.
Some modern beads are able to change color when the temperature changes. They will also look interesting in jewelry. It is enough to take 1 large bead to create a simple bracelet with a clasp, but most often needlewomen use 5-6 in their works.
Preparing for weaving a bracelet
Before making macrame bracelets, you need to plan how the product will look. You can draw an approximate arrangement of knots and beads to figure out how many of them will fit with a certain length of the bracelet. You can use only one type of beads and beads or create a scheme in which two or more color options and shapes will alternate.
To fasten the cords in macrame bracelets for beginners, it is convenient to use a special tablet with a holder. Once the cords are fixed, you can begin to tie knots. We will create macrame bracelets using two simple nodes. One of them is called flat square, and the other - sliding.
Slider will be needed to create a fastener. With it, you can adjust the length of the bracelet, for example, if you do not know what diameter the wrist of the person to whom the jewelry is intended. The main part of the bracelet is woven with a flat square knot.
Preparing the cord for weaving
Let's start the development of weaving bracelets using the macrame technique with the simplest - a flat square knot. For this we need two cords. To make it easier to learn to tie knots, it is best to take them in different colors. This will help to more easily determine in which directions their tips will move. First we fold both cords in half, and then we knot around one knot from the other. We leave the loop open.
Fastening the cord to the work surface
Now we have a loop and four ends of the cord. For convenience, it is best to fix them on a hard surface. You can use a book and a regular paper clip. We fasten it with a loop, and then we part the ends of the cord to the sides so that in the middle there are one different colors and the edges too. The two pieces in the center should also be pulled and secured with a clerical clip. So it will be easier for us to weave a knot. We left the right and left cords.
How to tie a square flat knot
Start weaving on the left. We take the left cord and lay it on the corner, on top of the central cords. This means that it will lie perpendicular to the vertical segments. Take the right cord and lay on top of it. Then we wind its tail under two vertical segments and into the loop obtained from the left loop and begin to gently pull at the ends of the right and left cord, tightening the knot. Pull up.
Correction of errors during weaving
If you make a mistake, it will be very easy to dissolve the knot. It is enough, holding the horizontal cords, to pull out the incorrectly tied end and straighten it again. The main thing is to do it immediately, as soon as you notice a discrepancy. Otherwise, many knots will have to be untied. If your first square flat knot is not too smooth, you can correct it with your finger. On the right side you get a lock.
Continuation of weaving
We continue to work from this side. We take the right cord and put it on the corner, perpendicular to two vertical ones. We place the left cord on top, and pull the tail in the same way under the vertical ones in the loop. Tighten again. So we continue to weave, starting from the side where the lock appeared.
Practice knotting. The more practice, the faster you will succeed. If weaving only on one side, then the resulting tourniquet will begin to curl. A square flat knot is often used to weave a macrame bracelet. And also to create a cache-pot.
How to Weave Macrame Bracelets
To weave a bracelet, we need three pieces of a cord measuring 80 cm. We knit all three ends of the base into a common knot and fix it with a stationery clip on any flat surface. Then we will dissolve it - it is necessary only to begin weaving. The central cord will become the thread of the base - we will string beads on it. We will use the right and left cord for weaving knots.
If the ends of the cords are dry, they need to be scorched with a lighter, otherwise it will be difficult to thread the beads. It happens that the diameter of the bead is still insufficient so that the end of the cord passes freely. In this case, you need to tighten it a little - and then it is easily threaded through the hole. For a do-it-yourself macrame bracelet, we need about 7 beads. We immediately string all the beads on the main thread, around them we will weave knots. It will be more convenient to create a bracelet if you pull it and fasten it from below.
Features bracelet weaving
We back off from above about 10 cm, after which we begin weaving. We make the first square flat knot, then another and advance the first bead. After it we make two more such nodes. We braid all the available beads, repeating the previous steps. To make the bracelet look beautiful, always start weaving on one side. If you started on the left - continue to do the same in the future. Now the decoration is almost ready, it remains to complete it. We make several straight flat knots on both sides.
How to complete the bracelet
If you are confused on which side to start, look at the lock. This is the end of the previous nodule. Having finished, we put the finished bracelet to the hand and try on. If you need to add nodules, do it. You can leave the bracelet as is and just tie it with a rope or attach a clasp. Or we twist almost to the end with flat knots. Then we cut off the two extreme cords, leaving about 1 mm, with the lighter we set fire to the ends and glue them to that side of the bracelet, which was considered wrong. Mounting will be quite reliable, since the edges are fused together. When tucking the tips, be careful and do it on one side. Then try on the bracelet again, and if it fit, leave the ends of the cord 15 cm long. Of these, we will weave a sliding knot. It will allow you to adjust the size of our bracelet.
How to make a sliding knot
To create a sliding knot from one end of the cord we form a loop, we put it on the cord on the other side of the bracelet. The tails will look one way. Now that tail, where the loop, we begin to wind around all the threads in the direction where the loop is located. Three turns will be enough. After that, we pass the tip of the cord through the loop and tighten. You will get a neat little knot that will move along the cord and help regulate the length of the bracelet. That is why it is called moving.
Now we repeat the same thing on the other side of our accessory. We make a loop, wrap, thread and tighten. Such a clasp helps a lot if you do not know exactly how big the hand of the person to whom the jewelry is intended is. Then it remains only to straighten the cords, and a beautiful bead bracelet using the macrame technique is ready. For its manufacture, we used only two types of knots and beads.
The design of the ends of the cord
Further, if desired, you can continue to work and arrange the remaining ends of the cord. We can lightly burn them with a lighter and leave them as they are. But for a more interesting effect, it is better to add beads, the same as those used in the bracelet itself, or slightly different. Instead, you can use large beads or any other decorative elements. To do this, make a fixing knot, then string a bead and make another knot. Cut off the excess tip and singe a lighter. We should get a neat tip of the cord, which does not dry out and does not come loose. We do exactly the same on the reverse side and finish the bracelet.