Craft: Mizuhiki Bracelets

Hope all of you had a nice weekend.  I spent mine doing a little crafting, one of my favorite things.  It all started with some leisurely reading of CardMaker Magazine. While I was looking through the magazine I came across a card made with mizuhiki (Japanese paper cord).  That inspired me to get out my mizuhiki stash and play around with it.  Some how I went from cards to bracelets.  Inspiration is a funny thing.

These mizuhiki bracelets are easy and quick to make, perfect for a craft party.  Make them in assorted colors and stack them on your wrists.

Supplies:
Mizuhiki Cord - You can find the cord online.  You can also find it at Daiso.
Needle nose pliers
Cutting pliers
Scissors
Gold Closures - I found these at Michaels.  You could also use extra large crimp beads.

1.  Cut three 9 inch strands of mizuhiki cord.   With all three strands, tie one knot in the middle of your cords.  It's just a basic knot, nothing fancy. 

2.  Trim edges of cord so your piece measures 8 inches.  Make sure both sides of edges match up.  You might want to make your cord shorter or longer depending on your wrist size. 

3.  Cut off loop on jewelry closure (pictured above).  If you can find a closure without the loop, skip this step.

4.  Place one side of cord inside the closure.  Then place the other side in closure (refer to picture).

5.  With needle nose pliers, crimp closure together.  Refer to arrows in picture. 

*This was the hardest part of the project.  It took me a little while to figure out the best way to hold it in place and crimp it closed at the same time.  You might want to have someone help you but it can be done by one person.  Once I got going, it took me about 30 seconds per bracelet.

You can also make these bracelets without the knots but I think they look a little more interesting with them.  If you do decide to make them without the knots, start out with 8 inch cord.

One of the pluses of using mizuhiki is that it's light and it doesn't make any noise when the bracelets brush up against each other.  I like wearing stacked bangles but I don't care for sounding like a wind chime every time I so much as breathe.