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This is a quick article on making a turk’s head paracord bracelet.
I have lately been working with turk’s head knots and you will be seeing a lot of different examples of paracord bracelets and other decorations using the knot. I have used the knot in some of my previous projects, such as the paracord sword wrap, which turned out a lot better than I was expecting.
So, why not make a bracelet out of the turk’s head knot? It is a very simple project. You do not need much to make it and it stands out with its look.
In the following segments I cover the basic supplies needed for the bracelet, some of my experiences making the bracelet and a few images of the bracelets I made using a simple, 3-lead turk’s head.
A few bracelet characteristics:
- Difficulty: medium
- Cord storage: medium-high
- Child friendly: no
The bracelet can be worn loosely, since in most cases you will be slipping it onto the wrist through your hand, meaning you can not make it tighter than your hand width.
The supplies
Making these bracelets requires little supplies. You do not need a buckle, since the bracelet continues into itself and can be worn by slipping it on and off the wrist. All you need is the following:
Two turk’s heads being tied on a PVC mandrel.
- a single piece of paracord 550
- a lacing needle (highly recommended). I have a tutorial on it if you want to make your own.
- a mandrel- an oval shaped PVC pipe or piece of wood you can use to tie the knot onto.
- a lighter
- a pair of scissors
The technique
It really is not much of a difference in making a turk’s head knot bracelet and making a basic turk’s head. The basic tutorial on tying the turks head knot will explain everything you need to know on making this knot.
The trick to making these bracelets though is choosing the right size mandrel. The bracelet has to be large enough to be worn on the wrist, but not too large, so it does not move around too much. As such the biggest part of making the bracelet is finding something to tie it onto. Because people have different size wrist you will need a few different mandrels if you plan on making more of these.
The next choice is the width of the bracelet. After the basic turk’s head is ties you can choose to double it (making it a two pass turk’s head), triple it (making it a three pass bracelet) and so on. Each pass will add to the width considerably.
Below you can find three examples of the basic turk’s head bracelet, one done with one pass, the second one is doubled and the third one is…tripled :)!
A single pass version. This one is nice if you want a thinner bracelet that can still hold a bit of cord.
The two pass version.
And the three pass version.
hey hows it? I really appreciate your videos because you are 1 of the best, if not the best paracord instructor out there. I create & sell 1000’s of paracord items in stores, gun shops and do custom/decorative paracord items every day for a living and the turks head lately is also a pattern(s) im currently getting much more comfortable with thanks to you. I want to try and incorporate the turks head into my gun slings very soon. last week I made 4 slings for shops and love the look! I average 8-10hrs per day 7days a week making and fulfilling paracord orders,so I can appreciate all your hard work that goes into making high end quality products. Keep up the awesome work& thanks.
Hey Glenn!
I really appreciate the encouragement and the kind words.
I have great respect for people who work with their hands and heads. Keep up the good work, I’d love to see your work!
Mark
I wanted to add a note on finishing this style bracelet.
If you heat the tail end and roll it into a slight taper, you can trim the core strands from your (finished) working end and slide the cover over the tail. Once the cover is worked over the tail end, you can fuse the two covers together. Make sure that you have about 1/2″ – 1″ overlap.
I think it makes for a nicer finish than fusing the ends together or tying stopper knots in the ends. While adhesive heat shrink tubing can also accomplish the same task, I find it too rigid to be comfortable to wear.
If you fuse the ends with heat shrink tubing and find it too rigid or scratchy, you can do a simple whipping with some 95 or nano cord for comfort.