How to make a bracelet out of rubber bands: tips for beginners

Now many are fond of making jewelry with their own hands. If you’ve never done this before and don’t know how to make a bracelet out of rubber bands, where to start and what you need, study a few instructions below, follow the tips - and then quickly master the creation of simple products from rainbow loom bands.

Tools and materials

Before starting to learn how to make a bracelet out of gum, you should prepare everything you need to work, so that you do not just read, but immediately complete the product step by step. You will need:

• elastic bands of one or several colors;
• clip fasteners (for connecting braiding into a bracelet ring);
• hook (for the convenience of prying and folding rubber bands);
• beads, if you want to use them to decorate weaving;
• machine for work or slingshot (mini-machine).

If you just want to try a new needlework technique for yourself, so as not to spend extra money on the purchase of all of the above, opt for rubber bands of the same color and take as many fasteners as you want to make bracelets. For the first experiment, this will be enough, because weaving can be done even on fingers or on a homemade slingshot from sticks or rods fastened together.

Rubber bracelet set

If you seriously want to work with rainbow loom bands, then make sure that the purchased tools and materials are of appropriate quality. It is best to buy branded rubber bands, rather than cheap counterparts. A fake can break at the most inopportune moment when you finish weaving or already trying on a product. The same goes for the slingshot and hook. The sticks of a specialized machine have recesses on the one hand, which greatly facilitates the process of folding rubber bands. Some types of complex weaving can be performed using hollow columns. If you are going to weave wide bracelets or exclusive products, consisting, for example, of several flowers or other objects, you will definitely need a machine with more than two, the number of columns.

The best option is to purchase a ready-made set for weaving, where there is everything you need. They stand, of course, not cheap, but you do not have to look for everything separately. There are kits that include a lot of elastic bands of different colors, several machines, hooks and even beads of various shapes and sizes.

Do-it-yourself gum bracelets: work technology

Having understood the general manufacturing principle, you can easily create unusual jewelry not only according to patterns, but also independently, coming up with your own design. Start with narrow items that are braided on two posts. The sequence of execution is always this:

1. Put on both columns the first elastic, twisted in the form of a figure eight.
2. Wear one or more elastic bands without twisting on both posts.
3. Throw off the bottom rubber band through the top of the columns to the middle.
4. Put on again on both columns without twisting the desired number of elastic bands and continue the sequence to the desired length of the bracelet.
5. Fasten the clasp-clip with one end (curl) for the last loop of weaving. If there are several of them left, first transfer them all to one column and remove it from the clip already. Fix the second end in the first loop of the bracelet.

The number of rubber bands put on both or on each column, the colors used - it all depends on the particular type of bracelet.

Option for beginners (on the fingers)

To make small gum bracelets in the easiest way, work like this:

1. Put on both fingers one rubber band, twisted in the form of a figure eight.
2. Put the second elastic band without twisting also on both fingers.
3. Drop the first gum through the tops of the fingers to the middle between them.
4. Put on another rubber band without twisting, discard the lower one again to the middle.
5. Repeat step 4 until the desired length.
6. Fasten the weave to the clip.

The simplest bracelet is ready.

Use beads

If you do not just want to learn how to weave bracelets from gum, but want to make an unusual jewelry in a simple way, use the weaving technology from the previous section, only instead of rubber bands that are worn on both posts without twisting, use rubber bands on which beads are strung.

To pass a rubber band folded in half through a hole in a bead, choose those elements that have it wider, and also use a little trick:

1. Attach a thin wire, bent in half, to the elastic, just putting on the elastic to the bend. You will get a loop of wire with a rubber hanging on it.
2. Connect the loose ends of the wire together and thread them through the hole in the bead.
3. Passing through the hole, the wire will stretch the rubber band behind it.

If there is no wire at hand, use the needle and thread on the same principle (the thread will act as a wire). Before weaving the bracelet, it’s best to immediately prepare all the beads so that they are already strung on elastic bands.

Fishtail on a slingshot

If you want to learn how to make a bracelet with a more complex structure out of rubber bands, use the following technology:

1. Put one rubber band crossed by eight on both horns of the slingshot.
2. Slip on the next pair of elastic bands on both posts without crossing.
3. Drop the bottom rubber band through the tops of the columns to the middle.
4. Put on the next rubber band without crossing on both horns, and discard the bottom one towards the middle.
5. Repeat step 4 until the desired length.
6. Fasten the clip-clasp.

The result was a simple bracelet, the weaving of which is called "Fish Tail".

So, now you know how to make a bracelet out of rubber bands. Even if you didn’t buy a kit for this type of needlework, but purchased only gum of the same color, this is enough to make simple, but interesting jewelry with your own hands.