8 Strand Braided Bracelet

I love to make braided bracelets , I don't know why ,it feels kind of relaxing and I love to experiment different kinds of braids with different number of strand. I have already made a 4 strand braided bracelet  and I wanted to try 8 strand now. Also I have couple of black and white sweaters and shirts and I thought this bracelet will be a perfect accessory to wear with them.

So lets see how to make them.

Materials Required :

Leather or suede leather cord in desired colors

2 ribbon clasps (25mm)

Pliers

2 Jump rings

A lobster clasp

E6000 (optional)

Scotch tape(optional)

Scissors

Rhinestone nail head studs

Step 1: Cut the leather strand in desired colors and required length .I decided to use a one white strand on each side so that I cut 6 10" black strand and 2 10" white strand.My bracelet size is 6" so I measured 10" which is little more than what is needed. Extra is always safe.You can adjust the length of the strand according to your size.

Step 2: Use a piece of tape to line the strands and secure it to easily accommodate the strands into the clasp.Apply some glue(E6000) to the inside of the clasp. Use pliers to close the clasp and  secure the strands in place. The clasp itself secures the strands well but I used glue for extra safety. It is completely up to you ,whether to use or not.

Step 3: Secure the clasp with a piece of tape so that it will be easy to braid.Split the strands into four on each side. Now take the first strand from the left and go over the second, under the third and over the fourth strand and join it with the second set of strands so that it has 5 strands of leather on the right and three of the left.

Step 4: Now take the right most strand (no:8) and go under (No:7) ,over (no:6), under (no:5) and over (no:4) and join it with the left set of strands so that it is four again on each side.Repeat step 3 and 4 ,till you reach the desired length. In my case , it is 6" bracelet so I braided 6" and then cut it at 5.5" as the jump rings and clasps adds half an inch extra which adds up to 6". 

Step 5: Attach the clasp in the same manner as you did in the step 1.Apply some glue ,line the strand and close it with pliers.

Step 6: To add additional glam to the bracelet, I decided to use some rhinestone nail head studs. Just poke them in the desired place and close the studs with help of scissors or pliers at the back to secure.I have shown here in detail on how I used the studs.

Step 7: Attach lobster clasp with jump ring on one side and attach one jump ring on another side to complete the bracelet.Your glamorous 8 strand braided bracelet is now ready to rock the fall season.

Hope you like this tutorial on how to make braided bracelet. You can vary the colors of the strand in different place to get different look for the same bracelet. Give it a try and I am sure you will love them. Share what you think about this bracelet and let us know if you have tried any braided bracelets before.As always I will be happy to hear from you.