Alpha Heart Bracelet Pattern: A Small Heart, Row by Row

A heart is the classic first picture to knot, and this alpha heart bracelet pattern keeps it small enough to finish in one sitting: a red heart seven knots wide on a white background, repeated down the strip. The grid is an original design, written out below row by row, with notes on where the two colors trade places and how to keep the outline sharp.

The project assumes you can already knot plain horizontal rows. If base strings and working strings are new terms, start with alpha bracelet patterns for beginners and come back.

Strings and supplies

• 9 base strings in white, each about 30 in (76 cm).
• 1 background working string in white, about 130 in (330 cm).
• 1 heart working string in red, about 90 in (229 cm).
• Scissors, tape or a clipboard, a pin, and two bobbins or pieces of card for winding the long strings.

All floss is used whole, with all six strands. The working lengths are estimates for a wrist-length strip; the white string ties more knots than the red one, so it is cut longer.

Tie all eleven strings together in an overhand knot about 4 in (10 cm) from the top, anchor the knot, spread the nine base strings flat, and bring both working strings out at the left edge.

The heart grid

The design repeats every eight rows: two plain rows that separate one heart from the next, then six rows of heart. Columns are numbered 1 to 9 from left to right, one per base string. In the table, R is a red knot and W is a white knot.

The heart is symmetrical, so every row reads the same from either end.

Switching colors inside a row

Both working strings cross every row together, including the plain white rows. Whichever string is not tying the current knot is laid along the base string and knotted over, so it stays hidden and is in position when its color comes up. The alpha checkerboard bracelet pattern explains that carrying method in detail and is a good warm-up if it is unfamiliar.

Three spots in the heart need extra care:

• The notch (row 3, column 5). A single white knot sits between two pairs of red. Switch to white for one knot and straight back to red, pulling the red string snug before it takes over again.
• The point (row 8, column 5). A single red knot between long runs of white. The red string has been resting for four knots, so take up its slack before you tie with it.
• The wide rows (rows 4 and 5). Only the two edge knots are white. Make sure the white string turns the corner with the red one at the end of row 4.

Knotting the heart, row by row

1. Row 1. Left to right, nine white forward knots, with the red string carried inside each one.
2. Row 2. Right to left, nine white backward knots, starting on base string 9.
3. Row 3, the two bumps. Left to right: two white knots on base strings 1 and 2, two red on 3 and 4, one white on 5, two red on 6 and 7, two white on 8 and 9.
4. Row 4. Right to left, starting on base string 9: one white knot, seven red knots on base strings 8 down to 2, one white knot on base string 1.
5. Row 5. Left to right: one white, seven red, one white. The heart is now at its full width for a second row.
6. Row 6. Right to left: two white on base strings 9 and 8, five red on 7 down to 3, two white on 2 and 1.
7. Row 7. Left to right: three white, three red on base strings 4, 5 and 6, three white.
8. Row 8, the point. Right to left: four white on base strings 9 down to 6, one red on base string 5, four white on 4 down to 1.

Return to row 1 and repeat. Because the repeat has an even number of rows, every heart starts with the strings at the left edge and the directions never change. Eight rows cover roughly 3/4 to 1 in (2-2.5 cm) depending on your tension, so a wrist-length strip holds about six or seven hearts. Allow about 3-4 hours for a first bracelet.

Keeping the outline crisp

• Count before the switch, not after. Touch the base string you are about to knot and say its number. Most heart mistakes are a switch made one column early or late.
• Check each row against the one above. From row 5 on, the red section loses one knot at each side per row. If it shrinks on one side only, the row is off by one.
• Fix it right away. A wrong-color knot is easy to pick out with a pin while it is the last one tied, and much slower two rows later. See how to fix friendship bracelet mistakes for unpicking and for joining a new string if a working string runs short.

Color and spacing variations

The grid works with any two colors that contrast strongly. A burgundy heart on blush gives a softer look than red on white, and reversing the colors, with a white heart on red, makes the shape stand out from across a room. Low-contrast pairs such as lilac on blush tend to blur the notch and the point.

To spread the hearts out, knot four plain rows between them instead of two. Keep the number of plain rows even so each heart still begins at the left edge.