Wild Orchid Braided Bracelet

Step 1

Trace a circle onto a piece of cardboard. The diameter of my circle is about 6"

Step 2

Use your scissors to poke a hole in the center of the circle.

Step 3

Cut 7 slits around the circle. Cut 6 pieces of 2-3' of cord. Take your 6 pieces of cord and make an over hand knot, place the knot a few inches in from the end. You need to leave some tails for the square knot. Feed the tails through the center hole. The knot should be under the hole.

Step 4

Take each cord and drop it into a slit. One slit will be empty, ALWAYS keep the empty slit at the bottom facing you.

Step 5

I hold the circle in one hand and with the other hand gently pull on the knot from behind when I start weaving. To start weaving count up three slits from the bottom on the right side from the empty slit. This will be the cord you pull out and bring down to your empty slit.

Step 6

Take the cord and bring it down to the empty slit and push it in.

Step 7

Rotate the cardboard so the new empty slit is facing you. Repeat steps 4-5: Count up three slits on the right side from the empty slit. This will be the cord you pull out and bring down to your empty slit. Take the cord and bring it down to the empty slit and push it in.

Step 8

Keep going until it fits half way around your wrist. Take the cords out of the slits. Create and overhand knot, then split the cords up into pairs. Slide the Czech glass tube bead onto the two center cords. Create another overhand knot with all cords to hold the tube in place. Drop the tube back into the center hole of the cardboard. Put the cords back into the slits and continue weaving them until it fist your wrist. You can always add more beads if you want.

Step 9

To finish this bracelet I used a sliding square knot with an extra 6-7" piece of cord. Follow the tip below for sliding square knot instructions. Knot the tail ends and trim.

See Tip: Tying the Sliding Square Knot