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Making stretchy beaded bracelets is a fun and popular jewelry-making project. Stretch bracelets are so easy and quick to make, so they’re the perfect craft activity to do with children and grownups alike.
This step-by-step tutorial will teach you everything you need to know to make a stretchy seed bead bracelet that you can enjoy for a long time. If you’re ready to learn more about making DIY bracelets, keep reading.
Stretchy beaded bracelets are the perfect beginner jewelry-making project. It’s a quick, simple project that’s well-suited to novice crafters who want to get started with jewelry design.
Beaded bracelets are a great addition to any jewelry wardrobe. They’re colorful, customizable, and really comfortable to wear. Plus, they make great gifts for friends, family, and teachers, too.
So, if you’re ready to learn how to make beaded bracelets, keep reading!
Table of Contents
This jewelry-making tutorial will teach you how to make stretchy beaded bracelets with an elastic cord. All you need is a handful of beads, some basic tools and materials, and the right instructions. With just a little practice, you can make an armful of new bracelets in no time at all!
How to Make Stretch Bracelets
Making bead bracelets is a pretty simple project, but the right supplies and tools will make it even easier. Here are the best bracelet-making materials you’ll need to ensure the project turns out well – and your bracelets last for a good, long time.
Stretch Bracelet Supplies
- Elastic beading cord
- Beads. I’m using seed beads for this tutorial, but you can also use plastic pony beads.
- Beading tray
- Bead stopper (If you don’t have a bead stopper, you can use a binder clip of a small piece of tape.)
- Large eye beading needle (If you don’t have a beading needle, you can use a small length of beading wire, folded in half.)
- Jewelry glue, such as G-S Hypo Cement
- Crimp bead covers (optional – I’ll explain more below)
Types of Beads
You can make elastic bracelets with almost any type of beads, from small beads to larger beads. You can use letter beads to personalize your bracelets, and even add charms to them if you want.
In general, choose lightweight beads with smooth edges (so they won’t that won’t fray the elastic cord.) Here are some good choices:
- Plastic beads, like mini pony beads and letter beads, are cute, colorful, and inexpensive. They’re ideal for beginners or kids’ craft projects. They have larger holes, so they are easy to string on the elastic thread.
- Glass beads come in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. You can use seed beads too, as long as the size of the hole is larger enough to fit your stretch cord.
Here’s a tip: Select your beads before choosing your cord, and then buy the largest diameter cord that will fit through the beads.
Best Stretch Cord for Bracelets
Stretch bracelets are made by stringing beads onto a stretchy elastic cord. The elastic cord stretches like a rubber band, making the bracelets easy to put on and take off.
There are several varieties of elastic bead cord. Choose from this list to find the best elastic string for your particular project.
- Stretch cord. The most common type of elastic cord is a rubbery, single-strand cord with a round cross-section. It comes in a variety of sizes and colors, including a clear cord and black cord. The most popular brand of stretch cord is called Stretch Magic.
- Stretch floss, aka stretch fiber. This type of elastic is a strong, fibrous, flat cord. It’s less likely to stretch out over time, and it’s easier to knot than single-strand cord. However, since it’s made from multiple strands of stretchy material, it can fray.
- Fabric-covered elastic cord. This type of stretch cord comes in a wide variety of colors and sizes. It’s typically thicker than other elastic cords – so you’d need to use large-hole beads.
In my opinion, Stretch Magic Cord is one of the best all-purpose stretchy cords to use for bracelet making. It’s strong, durable, widely available in craft stores.
What size stretch cord to buy?
You can buy elastic cord in a few different thicknesses. Thicker elastic, such as 1mm diameter, is sturdy and suitable for larger and heavier beads like gemstone beads. Thinner elastic, such as .5mm diameter, is suitable for smaller beads, like delicate Czech glass beads.
How to Make Stretch Bead Bracelets
Here is a complete tutorial on how to make beaded bracelets with elastic cord.
Prepare your materials.
Gather your beads, elastic cord, scissors, and glue.
Measure your wrist, so you know what size bracelet to make. For reference, a small adult wrist is 7″ around, a medium wrist is 8″, and a large wrist is 9″.
Jewelry-making tip:A bracelet made from larger-diameter beads will feel tighter than the same-sized bracelet made from smaller-diameter beads, like seed beads. If you are using large beads, you may need to add a little extra length to your bracelet.
Cut the elastic to length.
I like to use a double strand of elastic to make stretch bracelets. A doubled cord gives the bracelet extra strength, so it will last for a good, long time.
Cut a length of cord that’s twice as long as your wrist measurement, plus 12 inches. In other words: measure your wrist circumference, multiply by two, and add 12 extra inches.
Remember, it’s always better to cut a piece of elastic that’s too long and trim away the excess cord later.
Prestretch the elastic cord.
Pre-stretching the elastic prevents it from stretching out over time as you wear the bracelet. Hold a four-inch length of elastic between your fingers, and stretch it out a few times. Move down the length of the cord to the next section, and repeat. Keep going until all parts of the elastic cord get stretched.
Secure the end of the cord.
Fold the cord in half, so you’re working with a doubled length of cord.
If you are using a beading needle, add it to the folded end.
Place a bead stopper or binder clip on the cord ends so that the beads don’t slide off as you string them. If you don’t have a bead stopper or binder clip, you can fold a small piece of tape around the ends of the cord.
Lay out your beads.
Arrange the beads in order before you start to string them on the elastic cord.
I like to use an inexpensive beading tray to organize my beads. A beading tray is a small velvet-textured design board with U-shaped channels marked with inches and centimeters. Beading trays are great for keeping your beads from rolling around the table while you plan your design.
String the beads onto the cord.
If the holes of the beads are large enough, you may string them by hand. Hold the end of the cord in one hand, and use your other hand to place the beads onto the cord.
If the bead holes are smaller, you may need to use a needle to make stringing easier. Many people recommend these large-eye beading needles. If you don’t have a beading needle handy, you can fold a small piece of beading wire in half to create a makeshift beading needle.
In either case, try to put the bead with the largest hole on the cord first. (Once we get to the finishing step, I’ll show you how to hide the knot by sliding it into the center of that bead.)
Keep adding beads until you have enough. Check the length periodically by wrapping the strung beads around your wrist. You don’t want it to be too tight or too loose.
Tie a knot to secure the beading cord.
Once you’ve added enough beads, knot the ends of the elastic cord together.
Remove the bead stopper and needle from the elastic cord. Carefully, bring both ends of the cord together. Place one of the free ends through the folded end. Now, you’ll tie a knot with the two free ends.
Instead of tying a regular overhead knot, I prefer to secure the ends of the cord with a surgeon’s knot.
Making a surgeon’s knot is easier than it sounds. It’s very similar to a square knot, except you’ll loop the ends over twice instead of once. This extra pass makes the knot more durable.
Make the first half of the surgeon’s knot, and pull on the ends of the cord to remove slack in the bracelet.
Hold the first half of the knot in place, and tie the second part of the knot. Pull the knot tight without letting go of the tension in the bracelet.
Secure the knot with glue.
Hold the beads away from the knot, and apply a small dab of glue to the knot.
For jewelry projects, I recommend using flexible, fast-drying glue, such as G-S Hypo Cement or E6000.
I don’t recommend super glue since it can be brittle when cured and abrade the elastic cord over time. For the same reasons, avoid using clear nail polish as glue (even if you see other tutorials recommending it). It may be convenient, but it won’t last long.
Hide the knot.
There are a few ways to hide the knot, so it’s doesn’t distract from the design of your finished bracelet.
Hide the knot inside a bead.
The simplest way is to slide the knot into the hole of one of the neighboring beads. This only works if the bead hole is large enough to accommodate the knot. (That’s why I told you to put the bead with the largest hole on the cord first so that it would be next to the knot.)
To do this, apply a small dab of glue to the knot. Then, while the glue is still tacky, slide the adjacent bead over the knot. Let the glue dry.
Let the glue dry before trimming the ends of the cord. Jewelry glues dry in about an hour but takes up to 24 hours to fully cure.
Once the glue has dried, gently stretch each cord end, and use small sharp scissors to trim the excess cord as close to the bead as you can.
Alternative: Hide the knot with a crimp cover.
If the knot doesn’t fit into the hole of the adjacent bead, you will need to conceal it in another way. You can hide the knot by covering it with a crimp bead cover. For this project, I suggest a 4mm or 6mm crimp cover.
Tie the knot as usual, and add a small dab of glue to secure it. Slip a crimp cover over the knot so that the knot is inside the crimp cover.
Use a pair of chain-nose pliers (or other small pliers) to squeeze the crimp cover until the edges meet and the cover is completely closed.
Once the glue has dried, trim the excess cord with scissors or flush cutters.
Note:Be careful here. We’re talking about crimp covers, not crimp beads. Don’t use a crimp bead to secure the elastic cord! If you compress a metal crimp bead on elastic, it can cut through the soft cord.
How to Make Stretchy Bracelets that Won’t Break
Here are some tips that I’ve found to make durable stretch bracelets that won’t break.
- Choose a high-quality stretch cord, like Stretch Magic Cord or Opelon Stretch Fiber.
- Use doubled elastic if the bead holes are large enough.
- Tie the elastic with a surgeon’s knot instead of a simple overhand knot.
- Secure the knot with a drop of glue, and wait for it to dry. Remember that jewelry glue takes up to 24 hours to cure completely. Ideally, you will want to until the next day to wear your new bracelet.
- When you put the bracelets on, roll them onto your wrist instead of stretching them over your wrist.
More Jewelry Making Tutorials
If you like making DIY jewelry, I think you’ll enjoy these other tutorials and free patterns.
- How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings
- 21 Polymer Clay Ideas and Projects
- Best Polymer Clay for Earrings and Jewelry
- Clay Bead Bracelet Ideas and DIY Tutorial
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How to Make Beaded Bracelets with Elastic
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: 5
This step-by-step tutorial will teach you everything you need to know to make a stretchy beaded bracelet with elastic cord and colorful beads.
Instructions
- Measure your wrist. Cut a length of cord that’s twice as long as your wrist measurement, plus 12 inches.
- Pre-stretch the elastic cord. Fold the cord in half to make a doubled length of cord. Secure the ends of the cord with a bead stopper or piece of masking tape.
- Arrange the beads in a beading tray. Using your hands or a beading needle, string the beads onto the cord. Periodically check the length by looping the cord around your wrist.
- Once you've added enough beads, remove the bead stopper and the needle. Loop one of the free ends through the folded end. Pull the free ends to move the folded end closer to the beads.
- Tie the ends together with a surgeon's knot. (A surgeon's knot is similar to a square knot, with an extra pass-through. See the diagram.)
- Hold the beads away from the knot, and apply a small dab of glue to the knot. While the glue is still tacky, slide the adjacent bead over the knot.
- Let the glue dry completely. Trim the excess cord with small, sharp scissors. (f the knot doesn’t fit into the hole of the adjacent bead, you can conceal it with a crimp cover.)
Notes
- Remember that jewelry glue takes up to 24 hours to cure completely. Ideally, you will want to until the next day to wear your new bracelet.
- For more information about how to tie a surgeon's knot, see the diagram in the post above.
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Sarah Stearns Founder and Editor
Sarah Stearns has helped millions of makers find their next craft project with free patterns and step-by-step tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com. Read more.
With over a decade of experience in knitting and crochet, she has been featured in prominent publications like The New York Times, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, and Lifehacker.
