How to make a kandi bracelet

Every kandi bracelet you have seen at a show started as a single: one row of pony beads on a loop of stretchy cord. Cuffs, charms and 3D pieces are built from the same handful of moves, so it is worth getting this one right. Here is the whole thing, with the numbers.

What you need

• Pony beads. The fat 9mm plastic ones with the big hole. Thirty or so per bracelet, plus a few spare. The pony beads guide covers types and how many to buy.
• Stretchy cord, 0.7mm to 1mm. Thinner is easier to thread, thicker holds a knot better.
• Scissors, and a towel or bead mat so the beads stop rolling off the table.

Step 1: measure your wrist

Wrap a strip of paper or a soft tape measure around your wrist where you would wear it. Most adult wrists are 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7 inches). Kids are often 13 or 14 cm.

A pony bead takes up about 6mm along the cord. Add 2 cm so the bracelet can slide over your hand, then divide by 6mm. That gives you your bead count:

• 13 cm wrist: about 25 beads
• 15 cm wrist: about 28 beads
• 16 cm wrist: about 30 beads
• 18 cm wrist: about 33 beads

This is the same sum the KandiCon build guide does when you type in your wrist size. Write your number down. It is now your number for every single you make.

Step 2: cut and stretch the cord

Cut your wrist size plus 10 cm. For a 15 cm wrist that is 25 cm, about ten inches. The extra is for your fingers while you tie the knot.

Then pull the cord hard three or four times before you string anything. New elastic stretches out over the first few wears. Stretching it first means your bracelet does not go baggy on day two.

A small clip or a piece of tape on one end stops beads sliding off while you work.

Step 3: string the beads

Lay the beads out in order first if you are doing a pattern, so you do not lose your place. Then string them. Easy patterns for a first single:

• Stripes: three of one color, three of another, repeat.
• Rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, round and round.
• Fade: dark blue to light blue to white and back.
• A word: letter beads in the middle, color on each side. See word and name bracelets.

Wrap it around your wrist before you tie it. It should meet with a tiny bit of room. Add or take off a bead now, because you cannot after the knot.

Step 4: tie the knot

Use a surgeon's knot. It is an ordinary overhand knot, but you pass the end through the loop twice instead of once. Pull both ends hard so the knot bites. Then tie a second one on top. Two knots, pulled tight, is what keeps a single from falling apart in a crowd.

A dab of clear glue on the knot makes it stronger still. If you are a kid, ask an adult before using glue.

Step 5: hide the knot

Trim the tails to about half a centimeter. Then gently stretch the bracelet so the knot slides inside the hole of the bead next to it. Pony bead holes are about 4mm wide, which is plenty to swallow a knot. A finished single has no visible join anywhere.

When it goes wrong

• The knot slipped: the cord was not stretched first, or the knot was not pulled tight. Restring it. The beads are fine.
• Too tight: add two beads. Too loose: take one off.
• It snapped: elastic wears out, usually at the knot. Everyone restrings their favorites eventually.

What to make next

Once you can make a single in fifteen minutes, make ten. People who go to shows and festivals carry a stack of singles to give away, and there is more on that in kandi for raves and festivals. When you want something bigger, the kandi stitches guide explains ladder, multi-stitch and X-base cuffs.

In KandiCon the build guide for a single walks you through all of this bead by bead, with the cut length and bead count worked out from your wrist. When you finish, post a photo to the feed. Other makers like it, comment and follow you for the next one, and there is usually a contest running if you want to enter it. KandiCon is free on iPhone, iPad and Android, and it works in your browser too. Some people find it by searching Candycon, and that is fine. It is spelled KandiCon.

Get KandiCon free on iPhoneGet it free on AndroidOpen it in your browser

More guides: Kandi stitches explained · Pony beads guide · Kandi cuff patterns · 3D kandi and charms