How to Make a Paracord Bracelet
With Paracord Bracelet Day in less than a week, here is some info about the event. It will be on Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 from 8 am - 3:15 pm in the gallery. Bring your friends and come in to make bracelets to support a good cause. All of the bracelets will be donated to troops overseas through Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to "saying 'Thank you' to all who serve".
Making these quick deploy bracelets is super easy. These survival bracelets are very useful for troops during emergencies. They can be dismantled in 30 seconds to provide up to 7 1/2 feet of paracord. The paracord used in these bracelets is called 550 paracord, which means that the cord can hold a max of 550 pounds, and the seven strands inside can each hold 50 pounds.
Here are step by step instructions with pictures by Operation Gratitude on how to make the quick-deploy paracord survival bracelet.
If you would like to watch the video, here is the link:
If you would like to learn more about Operation Gratitude and the paracord bracelets, here are two links:
Materials:
7 1/2 feet of 550 paracord with ends sealed
Quick Deploy Paracord Jig (Link)
Flat object for rolling out bracelet (ex. wooden block, book, etc.)
Instructions
Making the Stopper Knot
1. Measure out approximately 3 inches of the paracord using the jig.
2. Twist the short end clockwise in front of the longer end of the cord, so that it looks like a memory ribbon. The short end of the cord should be the length of your fingertip to the first crease in your knuckle.
3. Take the loop and transfer it to your left hand. Take the cord at the base of the loop and place it through the larger loop. With your right hand, grab on to the small loop that was just created and grab on to the tail with your left hand. Gently pull in opposite directions. The tail should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches, which is about the length of your fingertip to the second crease in your knuckle.
4. Take the short tail and insert it from the back of the loop to the front. Gently tighten the knot. The short tail should still be 1 1/2 - 2 inches.
5. Place the knot in between the first two dots of the jig with the other touching the black dot on the right. With your right hand, pinch the cord. Pick up the cord with your left hand and bring the cord down to the knot.
6. Flip and transfer the cord so the knot is in your left. Turn the cord at the base of the knot. The loop should not go past the knot.
7. Hold the long end of the cord with the initial loop. Let go of the knot and loop in your left hand.
8. Pinch the cord and the loop 1 cm from the end to form the loop.
9. Wrap the cord tightly around 4 times counterclockwise (bringing it towards you). This will prevent the bracelet from unwinding
10. Continue to wind the cord until it reaches the end. Guide the paracord with slight pressure using your left hand as you wrap it around using your right hand. Don't use a lot of pressure while wrapping the cord to prevent the bracelet from unwinding. If you have excess paracord, hold the knot and the cord in place and carefully pull the wraps down to continue to wrap it.
11. Once you reach the top of the loop and have half of an inch of the cord left, insert the cord through the backside of the loop. Gently pull the cord until it is past the loop, so it stays in place. Lock the end by pushing the top three wraps up. Rearrange the bracelet, so that the wraps are even. You can use a flat object to roll out the bracelet.
12. Insert the knot into the loop and rearrange the bracelet to fill any gaps. Your survival paracord bracelet is now complete!
