http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

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Paracord bracelet with a side release buckleby Stormdrane on February 17, 2007

Table of Contents

License:   Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro:   Paracord bracelet with a side release buckle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1:   Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 2:   Measure wrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 3:   Find the center of the cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 4:   Finding the bracelet length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5:   Start making the knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

step 6:   Continue knotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 7:   Trim the excess cord and melt the ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 8:   You're finished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

step 9:   Other variations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

License:   Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro:  Paracord bracelet with a side release buckleThis tutorial will show how to make a paracord bracelet with a side release buckle. When made on a larger scale, you can make this for use as a dog or cat collar as well.I get my paracord from the Supply Captain and the side release buckles from Creative Designworks . More projects, links, knot references can be seen on my blog page,Stormdrane's Blog .

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

step 1: MaterialsYou'll need paracord, or equivalent 1/8" diameter cord, a tape measure or ruler, scissors, side release buckle, and a lighter(torch lighter works best). The amount of cordused can vary, but for this example, we'll use 10 feet of paracord to start with. Actual amount of cord used for the bracelet is about 1 foot of cord for every 1 inch ofknotted bracelet length. So if your wrist is 8 inches, you'd use approximately 8 feet of cord.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

step 2: Measure wristWrap the paracord around you wrist and make a note of where the cord meets. Hold this point next to your ruler or tape measure and that's your wrist size.

step 3: Find the center of the cordHold the ends of the cord together and find the center of the loop. Take the center of the cord and pull it thru one end of the buckle(either side of the buckle, it doesn'tmatter). Now pull the cord ends thru the loop until it's tightened up and attached to the buckle.

step 4: Finding the bracelet lengthTake buckle apart and and pull the free ends of the cord thru the other part of the buckle, sliding it up towards the attached part. You're going to measure the distancebetween the two buckle ends for the bracelet size for your wrist. Add about 1 inch to your measured wrist length, this will make the finished bracelet a comfortable fit.You're measuring from the end of the female part of the buckle to the flat part of the male end of the buckle(the part with the prongs, they don't count for themeasurement because the fit inside the female part of the buckle when the bracelet is closed.).

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

step 5: Start making the knotsThe knot used for the bracelet has a few different names, cobra stitch, Solomon bar, and Portuguese sinnet. Take the cord on the left side and place it under the centerstrands running between the buckle ends. Now take the cord on the right side under the left side cord, over the center strands, and thru the loop of the left side cord.Tighten up the cords so the half knot you just formed is next to the buckle. Now take the right side cord under the center strands. The left side cord goes under the rightside cord, over the center strands and thru the loop of the right side cord. Tighten up the cords(not too tight, just until they meet the resistance of the knot) and now youhave a completed knot. You will continue doing the alternating the left and right sides as you go. If you don't alternate, you'll quickly see a twisting of the knots, just undothe last knot and alternate it to correct.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

step 6: Continue knottingKeep tying the knots until you have filled the space between the buckle ends. The knots should be uniform from one end to the other. Tie each knot with the same tensionto keep the them all the same size.

step 7: Trim the excess cord and melt the endsYou can now use your scissors to trim off the extra cord closely to the last knot you tied. I trim one at a time, and use my lighter to quickly melt the end I cut, wait asecond for the melted cord to cool just a bit and then use my thumb to press the melted end onto the surrounding cord so it hardens as it attaches. You must be carefulwith this step. The melted cord is extremely hot, and it's possible to get burned, so you might also try using a soldering iron or wood burning tool for the melting step if youwish, or even use something like a butter knife or the knurled section of a tool to flatten out the melted end of the cord to finish it.

An alternative to melting the ends, is to tuck/pull the ends under the last couple of knots. I have used hemostats to do this on the inside of the bracelet, then trim them tofinish. It does work, and is just barely noticeable as the cords add a slight buldge at that end of the bracelet.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

step 8: You're finishedIf you did everything correctly, it should look something like this finished one. Once you know what you're doing, you can vary the amount of cord used by making theknots tighter or looser and pushing the knots closer together as you go can use more cord.

A tip for paracord bracelets: If the side release buckle is large enough, you can loop the paracord around them again before you start knotting, to fill in the extra room onthe buckle.

The 1/2" side release buckles are a tight fit for this, but will work, and the 5/8" size are just right.

This leaves a two strand core for the bracelet when you start knotting.

Now, you could also have a four strand core by starting with a lark's head on the first buckle end, double wrap on second buckle end(at your wrist size), run cord back toand over the first buckle end, then start knotting over the four strand core.

Or, for a six strand core, lark's head first buckle, run the two strands around second buckle(at your wrist size), back to and around first buckle(now has four strandsaround), then back to and around second buckle, and start knotting around the six core strands.

This gives extra cord in case you need it for whatever, but it also makes the paracord bracelets thicker and more rounded, which I personally didn't care for and that'swhy I stick with the two strand core. YMMV

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

Image Notes1. Tip: The paracord is looped around the side release buckle twice to fill in theextra space on 5/8 " sized buckles.

step 9: Other variations.Once you have the hang of the basic bracelet/collar, you can add another layer of cobra stitches overlapping first set of knots, called a king cobra stitch. The amount ofcord used for a king cobra is about twice as much as for the regular stitch. Glow-in-the-dark cord can be found at CoolGlowStuff.com . Both the 1/16" and 3/32" sizeswork well for the bracelets and can be used alone or combined with paracord.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 378 comments

 aj rhoades says:  Feb 27, 2010. 4:53 PM  REPLYwhere can u get cheep para cord at 550 1000 feet?

 porcupinemamma says:  Dec 31, 2009. 12:37 AM  REPLYI know my 25 yr old son would really like to wear a bracelet like yours. wonderful Instructable!I'm wondering, is there another name for paracord?  it's not a word I'm familiar with.

 aj rhoades says:  Feb 27, 2010. 4:52 PM  REPLYyou could just call it 550 paracord it is called 550 para cord becouse it can carry 550 pounds if ur stranded

 Stormdrane says:  Dec 31, 2009. 1:12 AM  REPLYParacord is just the common short name for parachute cord .  Some might say that there's not many problems that can't be solved with some paracord,duct tape, or WD40...  ;)

 porcupinemamma says:  Dec 31, 2009. 9:54 AM  REPLYLOL :0) Thanks!

 c_rich says:  Jan 28, 2010. 8:11 PM  REPLY550 cord as in holds 550 lbs--- any army-navy store will have it

 shveet says:  Feb 24, 2010. 7:39 PM  REPLYthe small one i made almost a year ago and almost wore it everyday since, it was made of some sort of plastic twine or something i got from the dollar store.and the larger one i made about an hour ago and its about  1" and a half thick and made out of something similar to paracord, seems like a cotton core andskin,\ i like it better.

 Locus0mega says:  Feb 22, 2010. 6:44 PM  REPLYExcellent instructable, very clearly set out. For the record, I found that the cord just wasn't melting enough with a Bic lighter [I haven't got a butane one!], buta soldering iron worked great.

Now onto the King stitch! :D

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

 Kim Berger says:  Feb 22, 2010. 2:11 PM  REPLYHow do you convert to a dog collar. My dogs neck is approx 20 inches. I would asume a 1inch snap buckle. Do I still use the 550 cord and just use severalstrands together?

 Stormdrane says:  Feb 22, 2010. 3:31 PM  REPLYIf you use a 1/2" or 5/8" buckle, you can just follow the tutorial, adding about 2" to the actual neck measurement.  Tied like that, it's still about 1 foot ofparacord per 1 inch of collar. 

If you use a larger 1" buckle, you can loop the cord around the buckle ends a few times to fill in the space, and you'd probably need to do a king cobrastitch/doubled Solomon bar to widen the collar to match the buckle width with just a two strand core.  Which would mean doubling the amount of cordused to be on the safe side.

Or you can run the paracord back and forth between the buckle ends two, three, or four times, before you start knotting over it.  Example seen in the lastfew photos of this blog post . 

The extra strands in the core will thicken and widen up the knotted collar to match with the larger buckle size.  You have to add that much more cord tothe amount used, meaning adding an extra 8 to 10 feet to be on the safe side.

 FrozenStar says:  Feb 19, 2010. 1:16 PM  REPLYAwesome!

I just made one and it took me three tries (1st was too small, second too big, and third worked) but the end product is great, i just need to cut off the excesscord and melt the ends.

 Spiderdog3000 says:  Feb 12, 2010. 9:12 PM  REPLY Where can I find those skull beads?

 Stormdrane says:  Feb 13, 2010. 2:28 AM  REPLYThe small pewter skull beads came from Spiritcrafts.net .  A pointed file can be used to widen the side holes for paracord to more easily fit.

 badunkadunk13 says:  Jan 25, 2010. 2:32 PM  REPLYPretty soon here, my unit is going to be pushing out on yet another deployment.  We're always required to take 5-7 feet of paracord with us and this is such afun way to take it.  Although it's probably unauthorized to wear them while in uniform, I'm going to be making one for each person that is going out with us. The only downside is that in an emergency, it would probably be difficult to get the cord unraveled, but let's be honest, most of us will just wear them for thelook and take extra cord with us for those emergencies.  Your's was the most instructional guide I've found to making these bracelets and though, yes, thereseems to be many more types of knots that can be used to make these, this seems to be the quickest.  Thanks!!

 drstu2000 says:  Feb 11, 2010. 7:16 PM  REPLYWhen I was in the Military I would stuff about 10 feet of cord in the handle of my M-16.  This is a good idea though.

 c_rich says:  Jan 28, 2010. 8:14 PM  REPLYIf ur a Marine -- then yes they are unauthorized ...

 Nathan H says:  Feb 9, 2010. 4:39 AM  REPLYGreat Instructable, Thanks for posting it.....

Quick Question HELLLPPPPP!!!!!

When I made Mine it twisted like a spiral, Have you guys experienced this, what happened for me do do this and how can i fix it...... any ideas will beappreciated

 Stormdrane says:  Feb 9, 2010. 5:19 AM  REPLYWhen knotting around the core strands with the left and right cords, you have to alternate which side goes under the core and over the core.  If you do itthe same way each time, you get the spiral/twist instead of the flat pattern.  This is mentioned in Step 5 of the tutorial.  You can see another examplehere .

 Nathan H says:  Feb 9, 2010. 6:06 PM  REPLYThanks mate....

That sorted it..

My Bad. I done the typical bloke thing, had a quick look and dove straight in with out reading all your instructions properly.

**Note to self** RTFQ =  Read the Fu**ing Question....

I feel like a right ploker now.. thanks again for your post and your help.great stuff please keep em comming.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

 the governator says:  Nov 13, 2009. 4:10 PM  REPLYoh my god  i have been trying to learn how to braid parachute chord like this for ever now i know, thanks

 SethA says:  Dec 20, 2009. 2:58 AM  REPLYi know, i'm being picky... but this isn't braiding...

it's macrame...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macraméhttp://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=macramehttp://www.free-macrame-patterns.com/http://www.elainecraft.com/instructions/instructions.htmlhttp://www.craftsitedirectory.com/macrame/index.htmletc etc...

and really... one could make a bracelet out of the same cord using any knot... no need to stick to a square...

 Stormdrane says:  Dec 21, 2009. 12:47 PM  REPLYThere are many knots, braids, sennits, etc.. that can be used for paracord bracelets with side release buckles, or whatever type cordage one wishesto use.  The same knots can also be found to go by different names depending on the source material.  A few other paracord bracelet examples thatI've made can be seen here .

The whole point of instructables is to show how to make something from start to finish, as is done with this instructable.  The knot work with a siderelease buckle makes them easy on/off and also allows them to be made to sizes also allowing their use as pet collars.  Of course they can be madewithout buckles and other types of materials, but that also limits the utility that paracord offers.

 SteveAnon says:  Feb 2, 2010. 1:01 PM  REPLYI've enjoyed making your bracelets and would enjoy making a different type -Any chance you could provide a instructable for a few inches of each of the Knots.

 Stormdrane says:  Feb 3, 2010. 3:38 AM  REPLYIf I made an instructable showing how to tie a few inches of each of the knots shown in the previous comment link , I'd probably have to dealwith a never ending stream of questions about how to apply the knots to a project.  Here's a few links with examples/info of the knot work foreach of those paracord bracelets, that is already available from some of my blog posts and instructables. ;)

King cobra/doubled Solomon bar/doubled Portuguese sinnet

Alternate half hitch

Woven paracord bracelet/watchband

Basic paracord bracelet

Snake knot bracelet

Another woven paracord bracelet

 SteveAnon says:  Feb 5, 2010. 2:16 PM  REPLYThank you.

 cuchulain92 says:  Dec 22, 2009. 7:08 PM  REPLYI also am sorry to be picky, but the knot is a reef knot and not a square knot- though this could be done with a series of square knots as well.

 SethA says:  Dec 24, 2009. 9:07 AM  REPLYin terms of general knotting... square knot is the name used in N.America for the reef knot...

in macramé... it's called a square knot...

 nightninja87 says:  Feb 5, 2010. 10:46 AM  REPLYi got a crazy idea not sure if it would work but great ible could it be possible to make this as a belt?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

 Stormdrane says:  Feb 5, 2010. 11:11 AM  REPLYBesides paracord bracelets, this knot pattern is also commonly used to make lanyards, fobs, belts, zipper pulls, slings, shoulder straps, guitar straps,wrist straps, bag handles/grips, necklaces/chokers/collars, dog leashes, horse tack, etc...   

 Colonel88 says:  Feb 2, 2010. 10:46 AM  REPLYNow it would be awesome is I could take it apart for emergencies, like the ThinkGeek Survival bracelet.

 FrozenStar says:  Jan 15, 2010. 9:07 PM  REPLYI've had my mind set on making one of these for quite a while but i never got around to acquiring the paracord.

I should finish something for once...

 Jessie Lee says:  Jan 5, 2010. 10:47 AM  REPLYI'm looking to make the thin blue line bracelet. How to I go about that? I have tried to find what type of  knot to use but none of the pictures I've seen lookright.

 Stormdrane says:  Jan 5, 2010. 11:45 AM  REPLYThe 'Thin Blue Line' paracord bracelets are tied the same way, just being called that to show support specifically for Police/Law Enforcement officers. 

Blue and black colors of paracord are attached(sewn, melted, or glued together) and you can follow the tutorial from there.

 Jessie Lee says:  Jan 5, 2010. 2:35 PM  REPLYSo am I taking the 'seam' of the 2 colors and using that as the loop that goes through the buckle as in the 3rd step? Thanks so much!

 Stormdrane says:  Jan 5, 2010. 11:13 PM  REPLYLoop onto the buckle with the connected point just off to the side of the center of the length of paracord, so the attached section will be the 'corestrands' of the bracelet and hidden from view as you knot over it. 

If you're using a curved side release buckle, take note which colors you want facing out on the bracelet as you make the knots.  The centersection will be one color and the edge the other color, and the colors are reversed on the other side of the bracelet. 

 pyrosniperfreak says:  Jan 4, 2010. 12:34 PM  REPLYHey, for those of you who posted comments waaayyy up there near the top asking for another name for paracord, it's called 550 cord.

 Colonel88 says:  Dec 29, 2009. 4:38 PM  REPLYIs the Paracord easy to un-ravel? Like in case of emergencies where you would use the Think Geek one? Thanks. Cool 'ible by the way. 5* and faved.

 Stormdrane says:  Dec 29, 2009. 6:09 PM  REPLYYes, the bracelets can be easily untied for other uses.  How much cord you have depends on the method used to construct the bracelet and wrist size. I've made variations of paracord bracelets using anywhere from 7 feet, up to over 20 feet of paracord.

 TyMan210 says:  Dec 24, 2009. 11:22 PM  REPLY This looks very similar to this one:www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/bd44/

 opanocat5 says:  Dec 28, 2009. 7:26 AM  REPLYAnd it´s much much cheaper than the TG one, 19 pounds! What a con

 Stormdrane says:  Dec 25, 2009. 1:06 AM  REPLYA lot of folks make and sell paracord bracelets.   You can follow the tutorial and make your own for considerably less.  You can buy enough paracord andside release buckles to make ten paracord bracelets for what some charge for a single bracelet. 

If someone is buying a 'paracord survival bracelet' because they can't make one themselves, It seems doubtful they would have a knowledge of knots toeffectively use the paracord should the need arise to unravel it...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

 TyMan210 says:  Dec 25, 2009. 1:13 AM  REPLY Yeah, I understand. I was just saying that they are similar.

 KiteRunner says:  Dec 23, 2009. 5:48 AM  REPLYJust finished my Paracord from bits I had in my desk draw! This is a great instructable - Thank you Stormdrane! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43015024@N07/4208845902

 awsome pie says:  Dec 20, 2009. 6:43 PM  REPLYThank you, stormdrane this bracelet idea was a great last minute Christmas gift for my dad and brother.It was great and easy once you got the second knot.I cant wait to see the looks on their faces when they see their gifts. I already had the cord laying around so it didn't cost me a penny. Thank you again.

 sixtrees says:  Nov 14, 2009. 12:57 PM  REPLYGreat job,  you inspired me to make one of my own. I didn't have a snap buckle though, so I modified mine.

 awsome pie says:  Dec 20, 2009. 6:36 PM  REPLYWow that bracelet looks awesome u should make an instructable for that if you haven't already tell me when you do. 

 fiftyoneman says:  Dec 20, 2009. 12:54 PM  REPLY This looks great - do you have an instructable on how you did it? I can't work it out from the photos.

 sixtrees says:  Dec 26, 2009. 12:23 PM  REPLYOK, I don't think I need to post a full instructable for my bracelet because I just combined two posted instructables. But I will tell you what I did.Measure your paracord according to stormdraines version, but add 1 foot. Tie the knot that is in this version.http://www.instructables.com/id/In_and_out_Knot_and_loop_Bracelet/So I started it like kcardwel's but instead of tieing it to furniture and using a seperate piece of cord, I braided it like stormdraine. The end part was alittle tricky. I braided it to the end until there was only enough room to fit the two loose ends of cord through the loop. I had one slightly longer end so Iused that one to form the loop for the  big knot, I think I tied a knot so the loop was in place. I then loosely wrapped the ends around the loop 3 timesand then fed the cord through those loops (like a noose). I then pulled them tight and ran them down under the braids of the bracelet.  Hope this helps :)

 chiali says:  Sep 4, 2009. 8:11 AM  REPLYHELP! I've seen the previous pictures that stormdrane has linked but I still don't get it.....how do you start the king cobra stitch? And if I'm using a differentpiece of cord for the king cobra stitch, do i need to leave a gap at the starting of the cobra stitch?

 SethA says:  Dec 20, 2009. 2:48 AM  REPLYyou just do the exact same knot...

but over top (around) the sennit you've already made...

you could use separate strands after... but it's just easier to double the length of cord and turn it around and work back over...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/

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