How to DIY a Rhinestone Friendship Bracelet You’ll Want to Keep for Yourself

Gather your tools and materials.

Wrap the fabric cord around your wrist and mark where the cord meets.

If you like your bracelets on the tighter side, cut about 5 to 10mm back from this point. If you like your bracelets on the looser side, cut right where you marked. Remember that when the bracelet is completed, we are going to be adding a little length from the lobster clasp and jump rings.

Unwind a bit of thread from the card and tie a knot around one end of cord (leaving a 2-inch tail of thread—we will use this later). We want the knot to eventually be hidden by the end caps. To make sure this happens and your knot is in the right place, hold the end cap up to the cord.

With the long piece of thread, start wrapping it around the fabric cord at a diagonal. You should have a wrap about every 5mm or so. It’s really up to you how much thread you want to see here.

Grab the rhinestone chain—you want this centered on the bracelet. Line it up in the center of the fabric cord and attach it by going around in the diagonal with the thread. You should go in between every single stone.

Wrap the entire rhinestone chain to the bracelet and finish going all the way down the fabric cord. Tie a knot in the same place as we did on the opposite side.

Then go back down the length of the bracelet in the opposite direction, creating a cross pattern over the thread you already wrapped.

Go in between every single rhinestone again and all the way down to your starting point. Tie a knot right above the first one and then tie the end of thread to the initial 2 inches of thread we left at the beginning.

Snip off the excess cord, leaving a small tail that we will tuck into the end cap.

Place headpin into the hole of an end cap. The round head on the headpin should be on the inside of the cap.

Add a dab of glue to the inside of the cap.

Push the fabric cord and the thread into the cap. Twisting it a little as you insert the cord will help distribute the glue. If any glue comes out the hole in the top, just wipe it clean with a paper towel.

Repeat on the opposite side. Let this sit to dry for at least six hours before moving on to the next step.

Create a small loop at the base of the end cap using your round nose pliers. Get the 411 on mastering those loops here.

To make this loop a little stronger, wrap the end of the wire once, around the bottom of the loop.

Snip off the excess wire with your clippers. Make the same loop on the other side of the bracelet.

To finish the bracelet, we are going to add two jump rings to one side, and two jump rings and a lobster clasp to the other side. You can add or subtract jump rings here to fit your wrist better.

Open the jump rings with the help of your chain-nose pliers and attach the components together.

All done!

Janet Crowther is the voice and creative force behind For the Makers, an online destination for DIY supplies and tutorials. She has an undying passion for handmade goods and the art of purposeful design. Her first book, Make a Statement, is on sale now, and she is currently writing her second DIY book, due out in spring 2017. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Collin, and their daughter, Davie. Follow along on Instagram at @forthemakers.