Summer Friendship Bracelets: Bright Palettes and Quick Patterns

Long days, bare wrists and time to spare: summer friendship bracelets are a tradition for good reason. A handful of floss fits in any bag, a simple pattern can be finished in an afternoon by the pool, and bright colors look their best in strong sunlight. Below are five original warm-weather palettes, the patterns that knot up fastest, and what to expect when a cotton bracelet spends the season in water and sun.

Five original summer palettes

Each palette uses four colors of standard embroidery floss. The names describe the mood, not any particular product.

Name	Colors	Looks like
Snow Cone	Magenta, aqua, lemon, white	Sugary brights with a clean white break
Boardwalk	Red, navy, white, sun yellow	Classic seaside stripes
Melon Slice	Coral, blush, lime, forest green	Pink fruit against a green rind
Low Tide	Teal, aqua, sand, cream	Shallow water over pale sand
Late Sunset	Violet, magenta, tangerine, sun yellow	The sky ten minutes after the sun drops

Summer palettes can be louder than you would dare the rest of the year. Sunlight washes colors out, so shades that seem almost too bright indoors look right outside. Keep one light string, such as white, cream or lemon, in every mix so the pattern stays sharp.

Quick patterns for a summer afternoon

Warm-weather bracelets are often made away from a desk, so the best patterns need few strings and no chart.

• Braids, about 15-20 minutes. A braided friendship bracelet uses bundles of floss and no knots at all. It is the right choice for young children, for making a dozen at once, and for anklets.
• Candy stripe, about 1-2 hours. The candy stripe bracelet uses only the forward knot. Six strings in the Boardwalk colors give bold slanted stripes.
• Narrow chevron, about 2 hours. Six or eight strings in a mirrored order make a slim arrow pattern that suits Late Sunset and Melon Slice, where the colors run in a natural sequence.
• Thin bands for stacking. Four-string candy stripes are quick and look good worn three or four at a time in related palettes.

Knotting on the go

Tape does not stick well to towels, car seats or picnic tables. A safety pin through the starting knot, fastened to a bag strap, a cushion or the knee of your shorts, holds a bracelet firmly anywhere. A clipboard works well on a lap. Wind each string into a small figure-eight bundle so the ends do not tangle in a breeze, and keep scissors in a pouch rather than loose in a beach bag.

Wearing bracelets in water

Part of the tradition is tying a bracelet on and leaving it there until it wears through. Cotton floss handles this well, with a few things to know:

• Cotton swells when wet. Knots tighten and the bracelet may feel slightly snugger, then relax again as it dries. Leave a little room when tying it on.
• It dries slowly. A thick, wide bracelet holds water longer than a thin one. Blot it with a towel after swimming so it does not sit damp against the skin for hours.
• Pool chlorine and salt fade color over time. A rinse in fresh water after swimming slows this down.
• Some dyes bleed. Strong reds, deep blues and dark purples are the likeliest to tint a white string beside them.

Thread quality affects how colorfast a bracelet is. The guide to the best thread for friendship bracelets explains what to look for.

Sun, sunscreen and fading

Weeks of direct sun soften every color, and the brightest pinks, purples and oranges tend to change first. Many people like the worn, faded look as a record of the summer. If you would rather keep the colors fresh:

• Put sunscreen on and let it soak in before the bracelet goes on. Lotions and oils darken light floss and collect dirt.
• Wash a grubby bracelet in cool water with a drop of mild soap, squeeze it gently and lay it flat to dry.
• Pick palettes that fade gracefully. Low Tide already looks sun-washed, so a season of wear barely changes it.

A closure for hot days

A bracelet that is tied on stays on, which is fine until you want it off for sports, work or a sunburned wrist. An adjustable closure such as a sliding knot lets the bracelet open wide enough to slip over the hand and tighten again afterward. It also makes sizing easy when the bracelet is a gift for someone at camp or on vacation whose wrist you cannot measure.

Ideas for sharing

• Trip palette: everyone on a vacation or at a camp session wears the same four colors in a pattern of their own choosing.
• Swap sets: make two matching bracelets, keep one and trade the other.
• Color of the day: add one thin bracelet per outing in a color that fits it, such as aqua for a lake day or tangerine for a fair, and finish the season with a full stack.