How To Make Letter Bead Friendship Bracelets | Pura Vida-Inspired Alphabet Bead Bracelets

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This post will walk you through how to make your own alphabet bead friendship bracelets inspired by Pura Vida in a step by step guide! These bracelets are super easy to make, and will always be symmetrical when you follow this guide:

MATERIALS

Here’s everything you need to make your own Pura Vida-inspired alphabet bead bracelets:

PURA VIDA-INSPIRED

If you aren’t familiar with Pura Vida Bracelets, they have a lot of beautiful bracelets made from colorful wax string that have a sliding knot closure that make the bracelets adjustable. They’re just really effortless and beautiful bracelets.

I’ve been inspired to make my own Pura Vida bracelets before, and when I saw their new Alphabet Bead Bracelets, I knew I wanted to make my own.

Alphabet Bead Bracelets

Their Alphabet Bead Bracelets are super dainty and cute. I love the tiny braid detail and the seed bead accents. These are definitely a more elevated friendship bracelet. The bracelets are $15 each which I think is a fair price. But they currently only offer four styles, and I thought it would be so much fun to customize my own!

HOW TO MAKE ALPHABET BEAD BRACELETS

Main Beaded Section

STEP 1: Cut 14 inches of wax string, and untwist the strands.

Each strand of the wax string is made up of two mini-strands twisted together. Gently twist it in the opposite direction and the mini-strands will start to separate.

STEP 2: Plan out your bead pattern (up to 6″ of beads).

Lay out your beads on a flat surface and arrange them in the order you want them to appear on your bracelet. Make sure your words are spelled right, and that you have all of the colors you need. You can have up to 6 inches of beads. I also used some 2mm beads for more color variety; they were harder to use, but I really like them.

STEP 3: Add bead pattern onto one (1) of the untwisted strands of wax string.

Because the wax string is stiff, it should be easy to use it to add the beads. I like to add the letter beads on first, and then add any seed beads onto either side after.

STEP 4: Fold the bracelet in half (lining up the ends) to find the center point.

You want your bead pattern to be as centered as possible on the bracelet. This will help keep everything symmetrical at the end.

STEP 5: At one end, tie a knot in the wax string to hold the beads in place at their center point.

It may be easy for you to make a mark on your string next to the beads so you know where to tie the knot. I find that if I am gentle/slow tying the knot, I can position it where I want without disturbing the beads too much.

STEP 6: Repeat STEP 5 on the other end of the bracelet.

It’s a lot easier to tie off the second end since the beads won’t move around much. With this step complete, your beads should be temporarily secured in the center of your wax string. If it’s not perfectly centered, it’s ok — there’s some buffer built in that will fix it in the end.

Braided Tail Section

STEP 7: Calculate New Braid String Measurement (Y).

There’s a little math involved in this step. First, measure the tail of your bracelet (from first/last bead to the end of the wax string). This measurement is X. Then, calculate X plus 1 times 2. This New Braid String Measurement is how many inches of wax string you’ll need to cut to create the braided tails.

(X + 1) * 2 = New Braid String Measurement (Y)

EXAMPLE:

Tail (X) = 5″

(5+1)*2 = 12″

STEP 8: Cut Y inches of wax string and untwist the strands.

I like to use the same color wax string as my original bracelet string so that the braid looks really clean and crisp, but you can choose another color for a fun multi-color braid.

STEP 9: Fold one (1) of the untwisted strands of wax string in half to find the center. Pre-tie a knot at center and place the knot around the bracelet tail, between the first/last bead and the knot from STEP 5.

Eventually, this new string will be braided together with the tail of your bracelet.

STEP 10: Flip the bracelet over and tie a second knot.

Tying a double knot here will reinforce the knot from STEP 5 and keep your beads from popping off. You should end up with three mostly even-length tails (the original bracelet (1), and the new string that was knotted in the center (2)) which will be braided together in STEP 12.

STEP 11: Repeat STEPS 9 and 10 on the other end of the bracelet.

You want to get the braided tail string tied onto both ends of the bracelet before you actually start braiding because the double knot from STEP 10 helps to secure the beads during the braiding process.

STEP 12: On one end of the bracelet, braid the three tails together and tie a knot.

Braid as long as you have string to still tie a knot at the end. The strings may not have been completely even to start with which is ok. You may find it easier to use a clipboard to hold the bracelet steady while you braid.

STEP 13: Repeat STEP 12 on the other end of the bracelet.

Don’t worry if one braided tail is longer than the other. Like I mentioned earlier, there’s a buffer built in and it should be fine at the end.

STEP 14: Fold your bracelet in half to check symmetry.

In this step, you are checking to make sure your bracelet is even. Because your braided tails may be uneven, you should fold your bracelet in half at the beaded section since we already know that part is symmetrical from STEP 5/6. When evaluating this step, look at the braided tails’ knots — if one is lower than the other, move on to STEP 15. If the braided tails’ knot are mostly even, skip ahead to STEP 16.

STEP 15*: Tie an additional knot in braided tail to create symmetry.

*This step is only necessary if your braided tails’ knots weren’t even when you checked in STEP 14. The purpose of this step is to create symmetry in your bracelet — you want the braided tail knots to line up parallel when your bracelet is folded in half.

STEP 16: Trim the tail ends off of your bracelet ~1/4″ above the braided tail knots.

Cut off the extra tail ends (and maybe even an original braided tail knot, if applicable) to just ~1/4″ above the symmetrical braided tail knots. This preps the string for STEP 17 because you only need a small amount for the wax to secure the knot.

STEP 17: Light the ~1/4″ ends with fire, and gently blow out the fire before it touches the braided tail knots.

The fire will melt the wax string down to create a perfect seal for your braided tail knots. Your hard work will be secured and your bracelet will be waterproof. Just be careful to not let the fire go too far and melt the actual knot.

STEP 18: Measure your bracelet to check your work.

As a good double check, your bracelet should measure between 9 and 11 inches at this point, and if you fold it in half, it should be mostly symmetrical. The longer your bracelet is, obviously the more room you’ll have for adjusting it. Anything shorter than 9 inches may be tight to put on or not have a lot of room for adjustment.

Adjustable Closure + Finishing

STEP 19: Cut 4 inches of wax string

This string will be used to tie the adjustable closure knot. I like to use a different color string from my bracelet’s string to give a nice contrast. But using the same color would be a subtle, uniform look.

STEP 20: Position the two braided tails so they overlap each other, and tie a knot around them with the adjustable closure string.

It may help to place your bracelet on a flat surface and move the braided tails so they appear how they would on your wrist. You can tie the adjustable closure knot at any point in the overlap that is easy for you.

STEP 21: Tie 2-3 square knots around the two braided tails of your bracelet.

Square knots are pretty easy — here’s a good video tutorial:

STEP 22: Trim the tail ends of the adjustable closure knot until ~1/4″ remains.

Just like before, trimming the ends to ~1/4″ is all that is needed to melt the wax string and secure the adjustable closure knot.

STEP 23: Light the ~1/4″ ends with fire, and gently blow out the fire before it touches the adjustable closure knot.

Be extra careful not to melt any more than the ~1/4″ ends or any part of your braided tails by accident! Once the ends are melted, your hard work is secured. You not can wear and enjoy your beautiful, customized bracelet!

BRACELET INSPIRATION

I had so much fun making these bracelets. I loved making different color combinations and personalizing each one. Here are some of my favorite bracelets to hopefully inspire you: