photos: kirsten for we heart this
Welcome to my July DIY of the month at we heart this! Inspired by the latest trend of friendship bracelets, this one lets you pick your three favorite colors to make a one-of-a-kind, custom Braided Charm Bracelet.
You’ll want to make several – some for yourself to stack on one arm – and some to give away to your friends. They’re so easy to make, you’ll probably find yourself making quite a few this summer season.
DIY Braided Charm Bracelet
DIY Braided Charm Bracelet Supplies:
• Three skeins of embroidery thread
• Sewing needle and thread
• Jewelry clasp
• Scissors
• Jewelry pliers
• Jump rings
• Charms
• Clear nailpolish, optional (not shown)
Green Tip: take charms from broken or old jewelry and repurpose them with this fun bracelet.
Instructions:
1) Measure your wrist, and multiply that by two. Cut nine strands of embroidery thread using this measurement, and tie them together.
2) Trim the ends if needed, and separate into three groups of three. Braid until you reach the length of your wrist plus a little extra.
3) Repeat with the two other colors. Group them together and tie together. Tie another knot where the braids end. Trim down if needed.
4) Using the jewelry pliers, attach jump rings to the strands of the bracelet. Then, attach charms. You can do this at random or set intervals – it’s up to you.
5) If you’d like the charms to stay in place, insert a jump ring straight through a braid.
6) When you’re done adding the charms, take some needle and thread and attach the jump ring to one end of the bracelet. Repeat with the other half of the clasp.
7) If you’d like, dab some clear nail polish on the knots for extra security.
And you’re done. I hope you enjoy customizing your own charm bracelets for wearing or gifting!
we heartsters – do you have an old piece or two of jewelery that’s perfect for this project? Meet me in the comments to talk crafts, charms and to ask any questions.
kirsten-nunez
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WOW, this is super easy. Thanks for sharing! :D
This is another great project! I see it as a nice update to the old friendship bracelets I used to make. I haven’t made a bracelet for years. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Super cute, as always @kirstengail! It’s so summery too, love it!
Love this. I could see even see modifying this for my younger daughter and her friends. Friendship bracelets will never go out of style and this one is way cuter than the ones I had growing up.
I love that this project is a very versatile. It is customizable with a variety of charms and colors.
Love it!
This is VERY cute, I love it! I used to make friendship bracelets as a kid, but they were NOTHING like this! This is perfect for all that leftover thread that I have from failed craft projects….
And the tip about the clear polish to secure the knots is genius. I’ll be using that on other things in the future, I know it! Thanks, @kirstengail!!
I love charms and often buy them with no idea of what to do with them. This is such a clever project, @kirstengail — love it!
This looks super cute. I think I have a few smaller necklace pendants that would look great on a bracelet like this. Thanks for the tutorial!
These look so adorable! I think I’ll make some for me and some pink princess ones for the girls!
@kirstengail, When I see my nieces and think about what we can do for fun- I’m whipping this one out! Too cute and you make it look so easy! You’re a good teacher!
This is really cute, really simple and really on trend! I might try it leather cord.
This is so cute! I don’t wear bracelets much, but I bet it’d be cute as a necklace too!
So cute, simple, and perfectly on trend! I think I might need to take it to the next level and do some fancy braiding/weaving. It’s been forever, but it’s such a fun summer evening activity!
I swear I would buy anything you make…how great that you share with us the secrets to do it on our own!
this is really cute :) friendship bracelets are so trendy right now and I think the most authentic way to own them is to make them yourself or get one from….a friend! haha.
LOVE this! So simple, beautiful, and would be easy to customize with different colors.
If you want to submit it to our gallery, we’d love to feature it!
I’m gonna make one of this charms bracelet.. :D
keep posting more ideas….
OMG I just made one in like 20 minutes, it turned out awesome. Super easy and beautiful! Thanks! xoxo
Affordable, creative, unique gift for my girlfriend? I think yes. I always prefer making her things if I can only because it’s much more personal (don’t have an issue spending money on her as she deserves it). I’ll be trying this tomorrow after I awkwardly walk through ac Moore finding supplies.
I really like this idea! So cute! So when you tie the knots at the end of each braid, do you tie them individually or wait and tie them all together?
I just found this through Pinterest. My weekend to-do list just got a little longer! Thanks for sharing it :)
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Great idea, the bracelets look great.
These are lovely! I definitely have some old bits of jewellery I could use to make something similar!
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Love this! So simple, beautiful.