How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links.

The Candy Stripe friendship bracelet is a great pattern for beginners because it’s easy to learn and only requires one type of knot. You’ll be able to memorize the pattern in no time at all! Keep reading to learn how to make your very own bracelet!

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (1)

Making a Candy Stripe Friendship bracelet is very simple, but the finished bracelet looks amazing! In fact, the first friendship bracelet I ever made was a Candy Stripe pattern.

If you’re new to making friendship bracelets, I recommend reading my post How to Make Friendship Bracelets and How to Tie the 4 Basic Friendship Bracelet Knots before you start this Candy Stripe tutorial.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (2)

Materials

You don’t need a lot of supplies to make friendship bracelets – just some embroidery floss and a few everyday tools.

  • embroidery floss in a variety of colors
  • a safety pin, clipboard or masking tape
  • a pair of scissors
  • a ruler or measuring tape

Pattern

Here is the written pattern for the diagonal stripe friendship bracelet. For more info, check out How to Read Friendship Bracelet Patterns.

Choose your colors and prepare your strings.

In this example, I’ve used 4 strings. But you can use any number of strings you like. 4 strings will give you a narrow bracelet and be faster to make. 8 strings will give you a wider bracelet, but take longer to make.

If you want inspiration for color combos, check out Friendship Bracelet Color Ideas and Combinations.

Cut each string to be about 36″ long. Tie them together with an overhand knot. Use masking tape or a clipboard to secure the strings while you make the bracelet.

Separate and arrange your strings. To make understanding this pattern easier, let’s label the strings A-D from left to right.

In my pictures, A is light blue, B is light green, C is dark green, D is dark blue.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (3)

Candy Stripe Bracelet Pattern

Let’s talk through the first row in detail.

Row 1

Step 1: Take string A and make a forward knot on string B. After you complete the knot, string A will move one position to the right. The new order will be BACD.

Remember: Forward knots are made by tying two forward half-hitches. Make a “4” shape with the working string over the second string, and pull up through the hole. For more photos and diagrams, check out this article about how to make friendship bracelet knots.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (4)

Step 2: Continuing with string A, and make a forward knot on string C. After you complete the knot, string A will move one position to the right. The new order will be BCAD.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (5)

Step 3: Continuing with string A, and make a forward knot on string D. After you complete the knot, string A will move one position to the right. The new order will be BCDA.

Well done! You’ve complete the first row of the Candy Stripe Pattern.

Row 2 and Beyond

Repeat the same process with the B strand, which is now the left-most string. (In this example, string B is light green.) Following the pattern, tie forward knots on each strand of the bracelet — first C, then D, then A. At the end of this row, the B string will be on the right-hand side.

Then repeat with string C and string D.

Continue the pattern until the bracelet is as long as desired, about 7″.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (6)

Troubleshooting

Does your bracelet keep curling?

The Candy Stripe pattern has a tendency to curl because all the knots are tied in the same direction.

There are a couple of things that could be happening. First, make sure you are making TWO half-hitches to make each of the forward knots. If you forget this, the bracelet might curl up. To fix it, remember to make two half-hitches to complete each of the forward knots.

Otherwise, it could be that your tension is too tight. You can try making the knots a little bit looser.

Explore more Friendship Bracelet Ideas

If you like making friendship bracelets, here are some more articles and free patterns to check out.

What’s Next?

Pin this post: Save this tutorial to your Pinterest boards so that you can come back to it later.

Leave a comment: We love to hear your feedback. Tell me in the comments below!

Share on Instagram or Facebook: When you make this project, share it on social media and tag me @sarahmaker. We love to see what you make!

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (7)

Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet

Yield: 1

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

Learn how to make the Candy Stripe friendship pattern with this easy-to-memorize pattern. Make a bracelet with 4-8 strings. A perfect craft project for beginners.

Materials

  • embroidery floss

Tools

  • scissors
  • masking tape

Instructions

  1. Cut each string to be about 36" long. Tie them together with an overhand knot. Use masking tape or a clipboard to secure the strings.
  2. Take string A and make a forward knot on string B.
  3. Use string A to make a forward knot on string C.
  4. Then, use string A to make a forward knot on string D. The new order of colors will be BCDA.
  5. Continue this pattern with each string in turn. Repeat the process until the bracelet is as long as you'd like.

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (8)

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (9)

Sarah Stearns Founder and Editor

Sarah Stearns has helped thousands of makers find their next craft project with free patterns and step-by-step tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com. Read more.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, Lifehacker, and more.

How to Make a Candy Stripe Friendship Bracelet (2024)

FAQs

How long should the string be for a candy stripe bracelet? ›

Cut as many strands of yarn as you'd like to 36” and tie them together 3” down. Separate strands in the order of the pattern you want to create. The more strands you incorporate, the wider your bracelet will be.

Can you use two colors to make a candy stripe bracelet? ›

You should be using two colors, making sure that strings 1 and 3 are your first color, and strings 2 and 4 your second color. Tie a forward knot with string 1 over your other strings. To tie a forward knot, you should loop one string twice over the string to its immediate right.

How do you know how much string to use for a friendship bracelet? ›

How long should the thread be for a friendship bracelet? For most normal bracelet patterns, each string should start about 36″ long. If you have two strands of each color, you can start with a string that's 72″ long and fold it in half to make two halves that measure 36″.

How do you make a Chevron friendship bracelet for beginners? ›

Instructions
  1. Cut Your String and Tie a Loop. Cut two 6-ft pieces of each color. ...
  2. Begin Knotting Your Bracelet. ...
  3. Continue Knotting the Bracelet With a Backward Knot. ...
  4. Continue Forwards and Backwards Knots. ...
  5. Repeat Steps Two Through Four to Continue Your Bracelet. ...
  6. Braid the Last Several Inches of Thread.
Jun 15, 2020

How long can you wear a friendship bracelet? ›

According to tradition, one ties a bracelet onto the wrist of a friend as a symbol of friendship and may wish for something at that moment. The bracelet should be worn until it is totally worn out and falls off by itself to honour the hard work and love put into making it.

What is the most popular friendship bracelet pattern? ›

The spiral staircase design also called the Chinese staircase or Chinese ladder friendship bracelet, is one of the most classic friendship bracelets.

How many rows should a friendship bracelet have? ›

As such, you'll have to do a little math to figure out how many blank rows to start (and end) with in order to get your pattern centered. According to our calculations, an average adult-sized “alpha-style” friendship bracelet is 93 rows.

What do the string colors on a friendship bracelet mean? ›

Blue: peace, inspiration, loyalty. Purple: friendship, sophistication, luxury. Pink: affection, love, kindness. Black: energy, power, confidence.

How many beads in a candy bracelet? ›

Using about 25-30 beads is standard, but you'll just want enough so that the cuff will be big enough to slide on and off your wrist without being too loose.

How do you tie a friendship bracelet with a loop on one side? ›

To make a loop, fold the threads in half and grab the threads where they're folded at the middle. Tie a knot in the folded threads about 1 in (2.5 cm) down to create a loop. Then, continue making your friendship bracelet!

What is candy stripe fabric? ›

Candy Stripe is a charming cotton craft fabric with a classic striped design. With a versatile striped design, Candy Stripe is a washable cotton suitable for dressmaking, quilting and other similar crafting projects. Available in a variety of lovely colours to suit your crafting needs.

What is the striped candy called? ›

A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but they also come in a variety of other flavors and colors.

What color is candy stripe? ›

A light, sugary pink that inspires thoughts of sweet confections.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Dan Stracke

Last Updated:

Views: 5838

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Dan Stracke

Birthday: 1992-08-25

Address: 2253 Brown Springs, East Alla, OH 38634-0309

Phone: +398735162064

Job: Investor Government Associate

Hobby: Shopping, LARPing, Scrapbooking, Surfing, Slacklining, Dance, Glassblowing

Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.