How to Make Surfer Bracelets (Tribal Wrist Wear)

With all good intention I wanted to do this post before christmas, but events and time got the better of me. In general I think it's quite hard to think of a gift for a teenage boy/man (unless it's an expensive gadget!) never mind to make one. But I was pleased to see, there is a current trend for surfer, tribal style wrist wear. The fashion is to have an assortment of bracelets grouped together on your wrist, you can find them to buy at online stores like ASOS or in shops like Topman and River Island.

I made a selection of bracelets using corded and leather shoe laces, old t-shirts, hemp (macrame) and the metal springs taken from clothes pegs!

I'll start with the basic bracelet design which is made using a Double Fisherman's knot (or Chinese Sliding Knot ) this gives you a sliding knot, making it easy to slip the bracelet on and off and adjust to any wrist size. I have illustrate how to tie the sliding knot, in the photographs below, using two different coloured cords. I hope it makes it easy to see how the knot is formed. Practice making the knots a couple of times, to know how long you require your cord. Once you have mastered the basic bracelet you can make it from the material of your choice add beads too, as long as the beads have big enough holes!

The metal bracelet links are made from the dismantled springs of clothespins (clothes pegs) interlocked together. One piece of advice is to make sure the pegs you buy have a sizeable spring coil with a centre large enough to accommodate two prongs, not like some wooden ones I bought! There's a tutorial on Instructables for Clothespin Bracelet  you could also thread ribbon through the links for a different effect.

The instructions for a hemp macrame bracelet can be found on Making Friends website  

Mix and match the bracelets for a unique and personal style