First of all, let’s tackle the pertinent question: why would you even want to macramé a bracelet?

We’ll give you three reasons, each better than the next:

• because you want to give a friend a meaningful gift, but have no money;
• because you need to keep your hands busy so you can’t bite your nails;
• because you still have no money and plan to sell your handiwork on bidorbuy.

Admittedly, there are many more equally valid reasons to make a friendship bracelet using the ancient art of macramé, but we leave it to you to think of them.

These are the supplies you will need:

• Two strands of cord in two different colours. You may use any kind of cord: cotton, hemp, bamboo or nylon; the thicker the cord, the bigger your bracelet.
• Button or bead for closing the bracelet
• Scissors
• Craft glue (optional, but highly recommended)

This is what to do with them:

1. Cut off about 1.5m long (better be safe than sorry!) strand of each colour.

2. Put the two strands side by side and fold them at one end so that the shorter bit is about 60 cm long. Get hold of the folded and make a loop with the help of a rounded stick (a pencil will do). Note that the loop you create must accommodate the button or the bead you set apart for the purpose of closing the bracelet, so check for fit and adjust the size of the loop if necessary.

3. Secure the loop side of the bracelet (if really pressed, rope in a younger sibling to hold it tight).

4. You now have four strands, two about 60 cm long and two about 90 cm long. Separate them and arrange them in this order: one long strand on one side, two differently coloured short strands in the middle, and the other long strand on the other side.

5. Take one of the long strands and tie it in a knot around the two middle strands. Then make a second knot with that same cord.

6. Next, make two knots in succession with the other long cord. Keep alternating sides, making two knots on each side.

7. When you have enough woven length (about 16 cm, or more if your friend has thick wrists), make a nice neat knot to prevent the four strands from unravelling. Tip: smear on a dot of craft glue to secure the knot and to allow you to cut off two of the tail ends close to the knot.

8. Take the remaining two strands and use them to tie a knot underneath the button or bead that will keep the bracelet closed. Here too you may use a dot of glue to help secure the knot.

And that’s it!

With a little practice, you should be able to finish your friendship macramé bracelet in about 20 minutes, which means that the hands of the sibling holding the loop won’t even go too numb. Let the little mite have a short rest before you rope him (or her) in again for the second bracelet.