A friendship bracelet is a decorative

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

given by one person to another as a symbol of

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

. Friendship bracelets are often handmade, usually of

embroidery floss Embroidery thread is yarn that is manufactured or hand-spun specifically for embroidery and other forms of needlework. Embroidery thread often differs widely, coming in many different fiber types, colors and weights. Threads for hand embroidery i ...

or thread and are a type of

macramé Macramé is a form of textile produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques. The primary knots of macramé are the square (or reef knot) and forms of "hitching": various combinations of half hitches. It was long crafted by ...

. There are various styles and patterns, but most are based on the same simple half-hitch knot. They resemble a friendship that is strong and everlasting. The amount of thread used in bracelets varies depending on the pattern. The smallest pattern, a double chain knot, requires two strings while the candy stripe can have three or more strings depending on the desired thickness. Friendship bracelets first became popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the 1970s. As they are unisex, they are commonly worn by both male and female

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

and children. They are now popular throughout the world and are not only popular among teenagers but among the older generation; they are popular among celebrities as well. Friendship bracelets can be worn on various occasions; for example, they are ideal as a fashion accessory at the beach because they are made of materials that will not be easily destroyed and with which one can swim freely.

History

Friendship bracelets are ancient, but their resurgence is modern. The modern popularity of friendship bracelets started in the 1980s when they were seen during protests about the disappearances of

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

Indians and peasants in Guatemala. The friendship bracelets were brought into the United States by religious groups for use in political rallies. Friendship bracelets can have many meanings and symbolic uses, such as friendship,

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

, or social statements. Although it is generally accepted that the origins of these colorful bands lie with the indigenous people of Central and South America, some decorative knots can be traced back to China from 481 to 221 BC.

Folklore

According to tradition, one ties a bracelet onto the wrist of a friend as a symbol of friendship and may wish for something at that moment. The bracelet should be worn until it is totally worn out and falls off by itself to honour the hard work and love put into making it. The moment at which the band falls off on its own, the wish is supposed to come true.

Missanga

Missanga (from pt, missanga) is an international good luck charm made from knotted

, thread or

gimp GIMP ( ; GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation (retouching) and image editing, free-form drawing, transcoding between different image file formats, and more specialized ...

. Similar to friendship bracelets, it is made with basic knots as well as patterning techniques. Its basic structure is a three thread plaited braid. It is becoming a popular portable craft project.

Patterns

There are different types of friendship bracelets for example normal bracelets or alpha bracelets that are tied in different ways. Normal bracelets are tied diagonally while alpha bracelets are tied horizontally. For each of the different types of friendship bracelets there is a big number of different patterns that get passed on from person to person or can be found in books or on websites. The amount of possible patterns is infinite. Only the most well known and most commonly used ones have names. These names vary slightly depending on location, but are overall similar. * Alpha bracelets - knots are tied horizontally instead of diagonally, allowing for the creation of letters and symbols **Name/word bracelets **Rag rug *Normal bracelets - knots are tied diagonally ** 1212 - uses only fb and bf knots, allowing for the creation of letters and symbols **Arrowhead **Braid **Candystripe - basic diagonal stripes ***Flip flop candy stripe or flip flop zig zag **

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

***Inverse chevron ***Bordered chevron ***Double chevron ***Fishbone chevron **Diamonds **Hearts ***Mini hearts ** Plaid **Zig zag *Other bracelets ** Chinese staircase **Double chain knot ** Knitted bracelets ** Swirl and braids (a combination of a braid and Chinese staircase) ** Wrapped bracelets **Zipper bracelets *Shaped bracelets - bracelets that have edges that aren't straight or that have holes **Chain bracelets ***Broken ladder (a combination of the chevron and the Chinese staircase) ***Daisy chain **Totem Pole **Zolino

References

External links