A single-color Cobra Braid Paracord Survival Bracelet is a very commonly braided and worn Bracelet. And they are simple and fun to make, as well! Here’s how!
Paracord Needed: 1 continuous length of Paracord at least 8 feet in length.
Buckle: A single 3/8″ or 1/2″ buckle will look fine with this particular braid of Paracord Bracelet. A 5/8″ buckle may look too large.
Review how to measure your wrist size to make a Paracord Bracelet
Review the other materials you might need to make a Paracord Bracelet:
Find the center of your length of Paracord and fold your Paracord in half. Thread the folded loop through the TOP of the FEMALE side of the buckle down through to the BOTTOM of the FEMALE side of the buckle.
Bring the loop of the Paracord UNDERNEATH the Female end of the buckle … and OVER onto the TOP side of the buckle.
Tighten your knot down snugly, forming a Larkshead knot on the TOP of the Female side of the buckle.
Thread the two loose ends of your Paracord through the MALE side of the buckle, from the TOP side of the buckle … down to the UNDERNEATH side of the buckle.
Your Paracord Bracelet should look like this, so far. Adjust the length of the Paracord loop that you just made to approximately the circumference of the wrist that you are making this Bracelet for.
Measure for the initial correct length of the paracord bracelet. In this example, we’ll make a Bracelet for a 7 1/2″ wrist, which will be an 8 1/2″ Bracelet. Here are specific instructions for measuring your wrist size and calculating and measuring for the correct Bracelet size.
Stretch our your Paracord Bracelet, maintaining the correct length that you just measured above. Turn the Bracelet with the UNDERNEATH side of the Bracelet DOWN. You will braid on the TOP side of the Bracelet.
You can start with either of the outside strands of Paracord. In this example, start with the RIGHT outside strand, and bring it OVER both of the two “core” strands.
Bring the LEFT outside strand down and OVER the top of the RIGHT outside strand that you first moved in the step above this step.
Continuing with the LEFT outside strand, bring it UNDER the RIGHT hand strand AND the two “core” strands, and on TOP of the the Right outside strand.
The first knot in your Cobra Braid will look like the picture above.
Tighten the first knot in your Cobra Braid Paracord Bracelet without changing the length of the Bracelet.
This 2nd knot will be the same as the 1st knot, except that it starts with taking the LEFT outside strand over the TOP of the two “core” strands.
Pull the RIGHT hand strand down over the TOP of the left hand strand.
This time, bring the RIGHT hand strand OVER the top of the LEFT hand strand, and then UNDER the “core” strands and through the loop that you made with the LEFT hand strand.
Now that your 2nd knot is completed, your Cobra Braid Paracord Bracelet will look like the picture above.
Tighten the 2nd knot so that it is snug up against the 1st knot.
Your Cobra Braid Paracord Bracelet is taking shape! Strong work!
Now that you have at least two Cobra knots in your Bracelet, this is a good time to take a second measurement to make sure the length has not changed, and is still correct. If you have any questions about how to measure wrist size or Bracelet size, Here are specific instructions.
Remember the old adage, “Measure twice and cut once!”
With your first two Cobra knots snugly in place, you can fasten the Bracelet around your wrist to make sure that the length is correct. If you can easily and comfortably slip one finger between your wrist and the Bracelet, the length is correct.
After all of the Cobra braids have been knotted in place, the Bracelet will get slightly “tighter” around your wrist.
If the length is correct, you can continue braiding the remainder of the Cobra knots in the Bracelet. If the length is not correct, untie the two existing knots, adjust the length of the Bracelet, retie the first two Cobra knots and recheck the length.
When the length is correct, repeat the steps for the 1st and the 2nd knot until you get to the end of the bracelet and have no more room for any additional knots.
One way to finish the Bracelet is to pull the loose ends of the Bracelet around to the UNDERSIDE of the Bracelet, and thread them through 2 or 3 of the existing knots to secure the loose ends.
Trim the excess Paracord remaining from the loose ends.
This finishing method allows you to more easily UNTIE the bracelet in the event you need Paracord, and will also generally be more comfortable along your wrist because there aren’t “hard” and “burned” spots of Paracord to scratch your wrist.
As an alternate method for ending your Cobra Bracelet, some people prefer to trim the excess, as in the picture above, and burn the ends of the Paracord, as in the picture below, to melt the ends of the Paracord and secure them to the Bracelet.
VERY CAREFULLY burn the ends of the Paracord to seal the ends, and melt the ends to the body of the Bracelet to prevent unraveling.
Be VERY CAREFUL when burning Paracord! Most Paracord is made from nylon or polyester. Both of these materials bill burn until they melt and / or catch on fire. DO NOT TOUCH hot nylon or polyester Paracord with your bare skin, as it can stick to your skin and cause a very nasty burn.
CONGRATULATIONS on making a great-looking, excellent Paracord Survival Bracelet!