DIY gifts are so much fun to make and they are extra special to the recipient because they were made with love. A few months ago, I showed you how to make wax string bracelets inspired by Pura Vida — this time I wanted to share a new style for Valentine’s Day. The fishtail braid style is so easy and it looks super pretty — perfect for your valentine.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
♡ scissors
♡ fire (a candle or a lighter)
♡ ruler
♡ beads (optional)
HOW TO MAKE A FISHTAIL BRACELET
1. Select the colors you want to use
The fishtail braid style creates a really pretty v-shaped pattern. The pattern looks best when you use 5-7 different colors — this will also make it a lot easier to follow the pattern, but do whatever you prefer. There are four segments to this bracelet:
- Main Fishtail
- End Cap
- Drawstring Tails
- Sliding Knot Closure
Choose whatever colors you want for each segment. I bought a bunch of different colors of the wax string which gave me some options to choose from. You can customize the colors for each recipient to make each gift unique to their tastes.
2. Cut the string for each segment
Main Fishtail
Cut a 13-inch strand of the wax string for each color you chose. It’s recommended that you use between 5 and 7 different colors to help differentiate the pattern. Then, cut each of the 13-inch strands in half. So you should have between ten (10) and fourteen (14) 6.5-inch strands left to work with.
End Cap
Cut two (2) 7-inch strands of the wax string in the color(s) you chose. These end caps will give your bracelet a more solid look and help the fishtail pattern look more seamless.
Drawstring Tails
Cut two (2) 8-inch strands of the wax string in whatever color(s) you chose. These are the tails of the bracelets that you can pull to adjust the size of the bracelet.
Sliding Knot Closure
Cut one (1) 4-inch strand of the wax string in the color you chose. This is the tiny knot closure that holds the drawstrings together and allows you to adjust the size of the bracelet.
3. Add a Drawstring Tail & secure with End Cap
Gather all of your Main Fishtail strings together. You should have two strings of each color; hold them together so they are even.
Take one of the Drawstring Tails and tie a knot about half an inch from the end of the Main Fishtail bundle. Ensure the ends of the drawstring are mostly even.
Next, take one of the End Cap strings and tie a knot around the Main Fishtail bundle just below the Drawstring Tail knot you just tied.
Flip the Main Fishtail bundle over and position the Drawstring Tails up toward the short ends of the Main Fishtail bundle.
Tie a second knot with the End Cap string around the Main Fishtail. Flip the Main Fishtail bundle over again, and tie another knot with the End Cap string towards the end of the Main Fishtail, covering the Drawstring Tail knot. Ensure that the actual Drawstring Tails are still positioned up and out of the way. Repeat flipping the bundle over and tying End Cap knots until ~1/4″ of the Main Fishtail strings are remaining.
Position the Drawstring Tails down — out of the way from the remaining Main Fishtail strings.
Carefully light the ends of the Main Fishtail with your lighter or candle to melt the string down until just before it reaches the End Cap knot.
Move the Drawstring Tails back up toward the end of the Main Fishtail bundle. Trim the ends of the End Cap strings to 1/4″ and light the ends with your lighter/candle to melt the string down. Be careful not to melt the End Cap itself.
4. Create the Main Fishtail
Separate your string in half so that the colors are split evenly. Organize your colors into whatever pattern you want your fishtail to be.
Move the outermost string on the right side in towards the middle, and add it to the group of string on the left side. Next, move the outermost string on the left side in towards the middle and add it to the group of string on the right side. Because the string is coated in wax, it’ll “stick” in the position you hold it so you won’t lose your place easily.
Repeat this process of moving the outermost string from the right to the middle, then moving the outermost string from the left to the middle until the Main Fishtail is ~4″ long.
5. Add a Drawstring Tail & secure with End Cap
Take one of the Drawstring Tails and tie a knot about one and a half inches from the end of the Main Fishtail bundle. Ensure the ends of the drawstring are mostly even.
Next, take one of the End Cap strings and tie a knot around the Main Fishtail bundle just below the Drawstring Tail knot you just tied as you did in Step 3.
Flip the Main Fishtail bundle over and position the Drawstring Tails up toward the short ends of the Main Fishtail bundle.
Tie a second knot with the End Cap string around the Main Fishtail. Flip the Main Fishtail bundle over again, and tie another knot with the End Cap string towards the end of the Main Fishtail, covering the Drawstring Tail knot. Ensure that the actual Drawstring Tails are still positioned up and out of the way. Repeat flipping the bundle over and tying End Cap knots until the string is too short to make any more knots with the end of your End Cap strings.
Position the Drawstring Tails down — out of the way from the remaining Main Fishtail strings, and trim the Main Fishtail ends until they are ~1/4″ long
Carefully light the ends of the Main Fishtail with your lighter or candle to melt the string down until just before it reaches the End Cap knot.
Move the Drawstring Tails out of the way of the End Cap tail strings. Trim the ends of the End Cap strings to 1/4″ and light the ends with your lighter/candle to melt the string down. Be careful not to melt the End Cap itself.
6. Secure the Drawstring Tail
On one side of the Main Fishtail, gently twist one of the Drawstring Tails in the direction it’s naturally going and hold it twisted. Repeat with the second Drawstring Tail.
Hold both twisted strands taught together and release the Main Fishtail so that both drawstring halves will twist together and form one stronger tail.
Tie a knot at the end of the Drawstring Tail, leaving about 1/4″ out at the end. If you want to add a bead to the ends, you can do so on the end. Light the ends of the drawstring tail with your lighter/candle to melt the string down, but not melting the knot.
Repeat on the other end of the Main Fishtail.
7. Add the Sliding Knot Closure
Place your bracelet on a flat surface and position the two Drawstring Tails so they overlap each other. Tie a knot around both Drawstring Tails using the sliding knot closure string.
Tie 4-5 square knots around both Drawstrings to create the sliding knot closure.
Check out this video if you need more detail on tying the special square knots.
Light the ends of the Sliding Knot Closure with the lighter/candle until just before the actual sliding knot to lock everything in place.
These bracelets are super easy to make and perfect to give as a gift because you can customize the colors. I love the way the fishtail pattern looks.
GIVE TO YOUR VALENTINE ♡
Wrap up your bracelet in some pink tissue paper or wrap it around a gift card to their favorite place as an extra gift. Thoughtful gifts are the best, and this one is easy and fun for you to make!
If you like this Fishtail Bracelet DIY, you will probably enjoy my other post on DIY Pura Vida-Inspired bracelets. Share on Pinterest and let me know if you have any questions on these wax string friendship bracelets! ♡
