handy dandy / thread charm bracelet

Took a break from the madness of essay writing to make thread bracelets, inspired by the Rugby and Co ones our friends have been sporting. Here is a modified version of a project by Operation Overhaul, tweaked a bit to make it a charm bracelet, too.

You will need to start with a basic charm bracelet - I made it using chains, jump rings and lobster clasps fastened using long-nosed pliers. (You can add more jump rings to make the bracelet adjustable.)

Cut your embroidery thread to four times the length of your chain, and tie it in knots of eight to ten pieces for each colour (depending on the size of your chain links - I used eight pieces for mine), two colours per set.

Here's where my braiding differed from OO's (getting loopy patterns instead of braids). Pull the pink set under the first chain link, then cross the grey set over and into the same chain link.

Repeat for subsequent chain links (pink going under, grey crossing over).

Once you reach the end, tie a neat knot, and cut off excess thread. You could stop here if you wish, the bracelet is completed!

Alternatively, you could add charms onto the chain links - here I added a matryoshka doll to each bracelet using jump rings. And there you have it, a cute twist on traditional friendship bracelets!