By: Jessica E. Craton
Friendship bracelets come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors- what makes them truly unique is the time and creativity you put into them.
This tutorial is a good beginners guide to making friendship bracelets of high quality with minimal difficulty. Recommended for ages 5 and up.
The purpose is to CREATE- make something beautiful to share with someone life would “knot” be the same without!
So let’s get started!
Supplies needed:
Piece of cardboard
Seven pieces of string (*Walmart sells craft string for .33¢ per color)
Scissors
Writing utensil
Piece of tape
Estimated cost of project:
Less than $3.00
Estimated time of project:
One hour from start to finish
First things first: Getting your cardboard loom ready
You need a piece of cardboard, I am using a piece of an old cereal box, but you can use anything around your house. I turn the cereal box cut out over so I can draw a circle. I used a glass top from an antique jar, but you can use a cup, bowl, or any circle you can find- then trace it with your writing utensil, I used a Sharpie so you could see my outline.
Next you want to draw a dot in the center of your cut out cardboard circle. From that center dot – you need to draw eight lines as evenly spaced as you can. I drew my line to be about an inch or so from the outside in and completed that eight times
Once your lines are drawn, you get out your favorite scissors and cut the eight lines from the outside working your way towards the middle. (*Do NOT cut all the way across to the opposite line!)
The you use your scissors to poke out the middle dot and create a hole to feed the string through.
Your finished cardboard should look something like this:
Second Step: Setting up your string
Once you have picked out your colors, you 
need to measure and cut each one equal in length. I cut three feet for each color then tied them together as shown. I took all the string and wrapped them around my index and middle finger then pulled the shorter end through to tie the knot. (*You don’t have to do seven different colors, but for the sake of this tutorial I am.)
Next you want to feed the string through the hole 
in the center of your cardboard, I then used masking tape to tape it in place. Once that is done, you divide up the string, one string will go in each of the cut lines – leaving one empty.
Now the fun begins: Start braiding away
It is now time to start weaving the bracelet around the cardboard loom. Holding the cardboard with the open slit facing closest to your person, you will then take the third string from the left and fold it into the open slit. Once complete the open slit on the cardboard loom has moved, so you must move the cardboard to where the open slit is in front of you again. Then repeat taking the third string from the left and placing it in the open slit.
*Once you start weaving a few strands the tape is not necessary anymore and you can remove it. The more weaving the longer your tail will get and you will need to hold it with the hand holding the cardboard so it stays out of the way.
End Results: 
I hope this how to guide was helpful and you have a starting point for weaving your own creations!
