06 Mar, 2012
·
·
How to make a shamballa bracelet
,
Jewelry making project
,
Make a Shamballa Bracelet
,
Shamballa
,
Shamballa Beads
,
Shamballa Bracelet
,
square knot
,
Uncategorized
·
1 comment
Make a Shamballa Bracelet: Jewellery Making Project
06 Mar, 2012
·
·
How to make a shamballa bracelet
,
Jewelry making project
,
Make a Shamballa Bracelet
,
Shamballa
,
Shamballa Beads
,
Shamballa Bracelet
,
square knot
,
Uncategorized
·
1 comment
Shamballa bracelets are all the rage and now you can make your very own from home following our step-by-step project below. Don’t forget to share your makes with us on our facebook page.
You will need: - 4 meters of 1mm wax coated nylon cord
- Selection of shamballa style beads
- Scissors
- Tape
- Araldite or a strong adhesive (glue)
Step 1: Cut three lengths of 1mm cord and tie them together in a loose knot approximately 25cm down from the top. Then place your cords on a table and tape them down above the knot to hold them in place whist you begin the macrame square knotting technique.
Step 2: To do your first macrame knot, separate the three cords out in front of you. We have labeled them 1-3 for ease of explanation. Take cord 1 and place it over the top of cords 2 and 3 as shown in the image.
Step 3: Next, take cord 3 and place it over the top of cord 1.
Step 4: Take the end of cord 3 and place it under and through the loop that has been created between cords 1 and 2.
Step 5: Pull the end of cords 1 and 3 to create the knot, making sure that cord 2 is pulled tight down the centre as shown in the image.
Step 6: Pull this tight to create the first half of your square knot. A good way to remember the knotting technique is that it goes OVER, OVER and then UNDER. It sometimes helps to say this to yourself as you are doing it so that you remember the steps.
Next, to complete the square knot you want to repeat steps 2-5 but the opposite way round. So you first take cord 1 (the left cord) and place it UNDER cords 2 and 3 then take cord 3 (the right cord) and place it UNDER cord 1 and then take the end of cord 3 and place it OVER and through the loop created between cords 1 and 2. This second side of the square knot is UNDER, UNDER and then OVER.
Step 7: Once you have created one full square knot, keep going and create a series of these knots by repeating steps 2-6 until you are ready to place your first bead on.
Step 8: Place your first bead on to the middle cord (cord 2) and push the bead right up to the knots.
Step 9: Now you just continue by creating another square knot underneath the bead, making sure that the bead remains in place and is trapped in the first knot as shown in the image.
Step 10: Create as many knots as you like (we have done 2 full square knots) before placing your next bead on.
Step 11: Continue this process until you have all of your beads knotted on to your bracelet.
Step 12: After the final bead, create a series of square knots to match the ones you created at the beginning to make your bracelet symmetrical. 
Step 13: To finish the ends, turn the bracelet around to the back, take the two outer cords and tie a standard knot nice and tight. Then you want to glue this knot in place to stop it from coming undone at a later stage. We have used Araldite but you can use any strong adhesive glue and allow it to set for at least an hour before finishing off the bracelet. Once the glue has set, cut off the two cords as close as you can to the base of the knot making sure you don’t cut off the central cord. Repeat this on the other side of the bracelet too so that you have only one cord remaining on each end. 
Step 14: Now that you have finished the main part of your bracelet you are ready to make the sliding knot clasp. Take a new piece of cord that is approx. 50 cm long and place it half way along, over the two end cords from the bracelet. Then begin a new square knot in the middle of the cord, using the two bracelet cords as the centre cord and the new piece of cord as the left and right cords. 
Step 15: The first new knot is always the most difficult but once you have done a couple it gets easier. Make sure that you don’t pull the knots too tight as you want the knots to be able to slide so that the bracelet is adjustable.
Step 16: Complete a series of knots until you are happy with the size of the sliding knot, then end the knot in the same way you have done on the bracelet by tuning it over to the back side, creating a standard knot and gluing it in place. Be careful not to get glue on the middle cords as you want the knots to slide. Then cut the ends off so that you only have one cord end on each side of the bracelet.
Step 17: Finally, knot a bead on to the end of each of the two loose cords to finish. These can then be used to pull the sliding knot back and forward.
And there you have a completed shamballa style bracelet!
If you like this project and would like to learn more fun techniques take a look at our Jewellery Making Classes.
You can also see our full range of free jewellery making projects for you to complete from home on our Projects Page.
Happy making LJS x