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How to braid
a
Survival Bracelet
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To
start cut and seal both ends of a twelve(12) foot length of
paracord.
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Measure the wrist and add an inch
or so to the measurement.
After you make a few you will get
the hang of how much extra to use.
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Start
your bracelet by tying a Chinese Button Knot
at the center of the cord.
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Measure the bracelet from the edge of the button knot and
tie a Constrictor
Knot at the correct length.
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From
this point fold the cords back along what will become the inner
cords.
Tie another constrictor knot and
inch or so from this end.
Just to remind the cord to stay
in place for a while.
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Smooth out the outer strands of cord along side the inner
strands and tie another constrictor knot 3/8 to 1/2 inch from the
button knot.
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The
constrictor knots will be removed later, they are just there to
help hold thing in place for a while.
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Grasp
the cords just below the constrictor knot with one strand of cord
going off each side.
It doesn't make any difference
which hand you use.
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Make
a small loop on the right side and take the cord behind the braid
and hold it tight.
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Bring
the cord on the left side behind the cord you just brought
over.
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Take
the end of the cord you brought behind and thread it through the
loop on the right.
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Pull
the cord all the way through until it is almost snug.
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Now
Pull both cords so the knot is tight.
It is important that you tighten
all of the knots the same.
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This
time bring the cord on the right side over the top of the braid and
out to the left.
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Bring
the left cord over the top of the cord you just brought across and
then behind the braid.
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Now
insert this cord through the back of the loop on the right
side.
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Pull
both cords snug.
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Tighten the knot just as tight as you did the previous
knot.
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Bring
the right cord behind the braid and up and over the left
cord.
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Bring
the left cord over the top and through the loop on the right side
and tighten the knot.
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After
you have tied two or three square knots you can remove the
constrictor knot from the end by the button knot.
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If
you happen to forget which cord is supposed to go where, just look
at the last knot that was tied.
The cord that is coming out of
the knot and pointing up is the cord that will be behind the
braid.
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To
speed things up a bit, I like to bring the cord that is going
through and out the back of the knot over the braid and behind the
cord that is pointing up.
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Now
bring the cord that is pointing up over the cord you just brought
across and behind the braid.
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Now
bring the end up through the loop on the left and tighten the
knot.
Be sure the tension is the same
on all of the knots.
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As
you can see the cord on the left is now pointing up.
Bring the cord on the right side
of the braid over the top of the braid.
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Bring
the upper left cord over the cord you just brought across, behind
the braid and up and through the loop on the right side of the
braid.
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Tighten the knot,
again making the tension the
same.
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Continue to tie square knots until you get an inch or so
from the constrictor knot.
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At
this point you need to remove the constrictor knot and align the
loops.
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Continue to tie square knots until you are at a point
where the loops will just fit over the button knot at the
other end of the braid.
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At
this point you can use a wood burning tool to cut and melt the ends
of the cord next to the edge of the bracelet.
You can use a lighter, but just
be extremely careful. It is very easy to burn part of the bracelet
that you don't want burned.
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This
is where I like to use a pair of hemostats or fine needle nose
pliers to go under the knot at the end of the bracelet and grasp
the cord.
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Pull
the end under the knot.
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You
want to be sure to pull the cord very tight.
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Turn
the braid over and do the same thing to the other side.
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Again, you want to pull this under and pull it very
tight.
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I
like to do this several times so there is no chance the cord will
pull out.
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At
this point I saturate the cord with liquid glue.
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Keep
the cord away from the bracelet so the glue doesn't stick to any of
the loops.
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When
the glue is dry, pull it through one more set of knots.
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At
this point I use a pair of side cutters to cut the cord through the
glued area.
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I
then fold the bracelet and apply another drop or two of glue to the
end to seal it so it doesn't come unraveled.
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After
the glue has dried do the same thing to the other side.
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At
this point you can move the knots so they cover the end of the
cords.
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To
wear, bring the loop over the end of the button knot.
If you need to use the parachute
cord for an emergency, grasp the button knot and pull hard and the
inner cords will pull through the knots.
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Copyright 2008
www.paracordbraiding.com
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