Ombre Chevron Friendship Bracelet – Faux Crochet Look!
Join me in making a beautiful ombre chevron friendship bracelet that blends beautifully – and a trick to make it look like crochet! When you’re done, you’ll want to check my tutorial for making thread wrapped friendship bracelets. This post contains affiliate links.
I love playing around with and tweaking friendship bracelet designs. You may have created and even experimented with making chevron friendship bracelet patterns – in fact, it’s one of the easiest beginner bracelets to try!
However, getting a good ombre on a chevron isn’t as easy as other patterns – such as the zig zag friendship bracelet that produces a 3D effect, or the diamond friendship bracelet that does the same. For a super cool ombre chevron friendship bracelet you want a smooth blend – otherwise it just looks like stacked colors.
Today I’m sharing the simple trick for blending your Chevron and giving it that smooth ombre. But even cooler: I’m teaching you how to make it look crochet.
And while the chevron on this bracelet might not be so visible, it’s there. You’re getting a vertical blend and so your colors are not delineating the chevron. It’s in the knot pattern.
But the coolest trick here is in the double knots. Each knot is repeated. So you end up with a small gap between knots that create a mock crochet look that is just so upgraded and cool.
Tips for making an ombre chevron friendship bracelet
Ready to get this thing right from the start? Read through these tips for success in making a cool crochet-vibe ombre chevron friendship bracelet!
Choosing your colors
Know me yet? If not, hi! I’m Menucha and my hobby is color!
If you’ve been following along, you’d know my trick for super cool looking friendship bracelets is getting that color selection down pat.
There are two ways to ombre – one is by choosing a single color and going darker and/or lighter.
The other is by slowly adding another analogous color – one that is adjacent on the color wheel.
It doesn’t really matter what those colors are, but we started with Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2024 – Peach Fuzz – and worked from there.
A word about tension
A big part of any friendship bracelet making is tension – that is, how tight you pull your knots. If you keep an even tension, you’ll have nice, even knots. If your tension is all over the place, you might have some puffier and some flatter. For that reason, the best bracelets are often those made in a single sitting (although it’s not a must.
When making these ombre chevron friendship bracelets using double knots for a faux crochet look, you’ll find that inconsistencies in tension show up more. That is because they influence both the knot itself and the gap that it forms. So try your best to keep things even.
Adding beads
I love crafting beaded friendship bracelets, and while I hope to dedicate a post to just that one day, I did want to highlight it on this tutorial.
Adding beads to more sophisticated friendship bracelet designs really makes them more upscale. However, on this one, it really adds a gorgeous touch, above and beyond others I’ve made. In fact, it layers beautifully with real jewelry, adding some color to your wrist.
I tried it two ways. On one, I added it to the outer strings. I made sure to add my beads to the same level of knot to keep it even.
On the other, I added it to the center row. This was impossible to keep perfectly centered. The choice was to either have it all off center to one direction or switching which direction it leans to. I switched off.
Once you make one of these, you definitely won’t want to stop. It is so satisfying, and comes together quicker than similar bracelets because of the gaps in the design.
How to make ombre chevron friendship bracelets
This bracelet knots almost like a classic Chevron friendship bracelet with two differences:
- You’re making forward/backward knots to keep the colors in place, forming the vertical blend.
- You’re doubling each knot set to form gaps in the knots.
Know your knots
To make this bracelet, you’ll want to know how to do the following knots. If you don’t yet know how to do these knots, learn how to make a friendship bracelet from scratch first.
Forward backward knot
Each knot is made of two hitches. In the forward backward knot, you first knot the string on the left around the one on the right and tighten. Then you knot it back around the same string, from right to left, and tighten. The original knotting string ends up in the same position that it started in. This is one knot.
If I say a double forward backward knot, it means you’re doing this twice.
Backward forward knot
The same exact thing, only you’re starting with the string on the right and knotting around the one on the left.
Supplies
- Embroidery floss 3-5 colors. Cut 1x 72 inches each (they will be folded over, center can be a little shorter.) Colors used here:
- Hot Peach 3340
- Primrose 727
- Soft Peach 19
- Shrimp 722
- Salmon 352
- Coral 351
- Thread snips
- Optional: 3-4mm round metal spacer beads
To finish it off with a clasp (optional)
Video Tutorial
Here’s a full-length narrated video of the process if you prefer to follow along with that:
Step by Step
Ignore what I already did in the photos…
1. Start by folding your strings in half and knotting them together at the fold to form a loop. Or, refer to how to start and finish a friendship bracelet. Arrange your strings in order – either from darkest to lightest or lightest to darkest.
The two on the outside should be the same, the two next to the outside ones should be the same, etc, until you reach the center. The center two should be the same.
2. Take the left strand. Forward backward knot it around the string right next to it.
It’ll land back into its original position.
Repeat the same exact forward backward knot.
3. Take the second string from the left. Forward backward knot it around the one to its right. Then do it again. If making one with more than three colors, complete this until you’ve knotted all besides for the center two.
4. Repeat in the reverse on the right side. Backward forward knot the right string twice around the one to its left. Do this twice. Repeat with the second to right, and continue until you’ve knotted all besides for the center.
5. Now forward backward knot the center one around itself – and repeat!
Repeat these steps until your bracelet is complete!
If adding beads, simply slide them up on the embroidery floss before knotting that one.
How to Make Ombre Chevron Friendship Bracelets
Materials
- 3-5 colors of embroidery floss
- Thread snips
- Optional: 3-4mm round metal spacer beads
- Finishing off with clasps: Ribbon crimps, lobster jaw clasp and jump rings, jewelry pliers, and a hot glue gun
Instructions
1. Start by folding your strings in half and knotting them together at the fold to form a loop. Or, refer to how to start and finish a friendship bracelet. Arrange your strings in order - either from darkest to lightest or lightest to darkest.
The two on the outside should be the same, the two next to the outside ones should be the same, etc, until you reach the center. The center two should be the same.
2. Take the left strand. Forward backward knot it around the string right next to it. It'll land back into its original position. Repeat the same exact forward backward knot.
3. Take the second string from the left. Forward backward knot it around the one to its right. Then do it again. If making one with more than three colors, complete this until you've knotted all besides for the center two.
4. Repeat in the reverse on the right side. Backward forward knot the right string twice around the one to its left. Do this twice. Repeat with the second to right, and continue until you've knotted all besides for the center.
5. Now forward backward knot the center one around itself - and repeat!
Repeat these steps until your bracelet is complete!
Notes
Adding beads:
Adding beads to more sophisticated friendship bracelet designs really makes them more upscale. However, on this one, it really adds a gorgeous touch, above and beyond others I've made. In fact, it layers beautifully with real jewelry, adding some color to your wrist.
I tried it two ways. On one, I added it to the outer strings. I made sure to add my beads to the same level of knot to keep it even.
On the other, I added it to the center row. This was impossible to keep perfectly centered. The choice was to either have it all off center to one direction or switching which direction it leans to. I switched off.
