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DIY Slim Trilobite Paracord Bracelet (Step-By-Step)

It’s always a good idea to keep plenty of paracord on hand. You never know when it’s going to come in handy, from impromptu repairs to field expedient improvisations.


trilobite Paracord bracelet

The problem is that carrying any quantity in your pocket is both bulky and prone to turning into a tangled mess.

You can avoid that entirely, and even show a little bit of fashion sense, by wearing a paracord bracelet. You can make all sorts of different practical designs to suit your style with basic hardware and a little bit of know-how.

Below is a step-by-step guide to tying the popular trilobite type, which combines good looks, flatness, and lots of cord storage in a tidy package.

You Will Need

First, you’ll need a long length of Paracord for this one, at least 10 feet and preferably more. Because of the nature of the design, you’ll need a long working end and multiple inner standing strands.

So grab a length of cord that is several feet long because you’ll be trimming it down.

You’ll also need a paracord bracelet buckle, scissors or a sharp knife, and a lighter along with a metal tool to seal and press your cut ends.

You can use the side of your scissors or your knife in a pinch, but I like to use a rounded paracord tool for this one.

Steps

Step 1: start by measuring off one working end of your paracord. This should be the circumference of your wrist plus about 5 inches.

So if you have a 7-inch wrist, you’ll need a 12-inch measurement on this working end. Once you have it measured out, make a bend and pinch it on the standing part.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet measuring the proper length

Step 2: feed your loop you just made through one half of the buckle from the top.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet feeding loop through the buckle

Step 3: now pull the rest of your cord through the loop to form a cow’s hitch. Make sure that the free end is as long as I specified at the beginning before you fully tighten the hitch. When you have this length set, pull it snug, but not super tight.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet making a cow's hitch

Step 4: now take the opposite working end of the cord (not the length we set in the previous step) and pass it through the other part of the buckle from the top.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet passing free end through other side of buckle

Step 5: now pull the end of the buckle you’re working on until you have a length of cord that’s comfortable around your wrist.

You might need to buckle and unbuckle it around your wrist a few times to get it just right. Once you have it set, keep control of it and don’t let it lengthen or shorten.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet setting the right length

Step 6: now take the working end of the long part of your cord and pass it up through the part of the buckle you tied the hitch around from below.

It’s very important that you pass it through from below for the step.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet passing working end through other side o the buckle

Your bracelet should look like this at this point. Make sure everything is even, correctly routed and that the length of the bracelet is correct. There is no going back after this point, not easily!


slim trilobite paracord bracelet weaving progress

Step 7: now take the working end from the long part of the cord, carefully open up the cow’s hitch on the one part of the buckle, and pass the end through from the side where the buckle connects.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet pass open end through cow's hitch

Step 8: pull all of the slack through, then route the longest remainder of the cord away from your buckle to the side as shown.

So you should have the short working and that we set earlier pointing towards the opposite buckle, and the long remainder of your cord coming off to one side.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet routing remainder away from buckle

Step 9: now pull the short working end through the buckle it’s pointing at from below…


slim trilobite paracord bracelet pull short working end through buckle

Step 10: continuing on, make a simple knot with that same working end, being sure to tie it around itself and not one of the other strands.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet making a simple knot

Step 11: ensure that all of these strands are of the same length when you apply tension to the buckles, and then fully tighten the knot you just tied.

We’re now ready to begin weaving the bracelet since we’ve established the three inner strands.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet ensuring same length of strands

Step 12: taking care to keep all three inner strands parallel inside by side, start weaving the long working end of the cord through the inner strands.

Starting from the right, go over the rightmost strand, under the middle strand and then over the left strand. See the picture for details.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet long end first weave

Step 13: pull all of the slack through, cinching it down snug and then pressing the weave you just made up towards the buckle.


fishtail paracord bracelet snugging the first weave

Step 14: now start weaving again from the left, this time going under the left strand, over the middle strand and under the right strand.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet second weave

Step 15: as before, pull all the slack through and then push the weave up towards the buckle so it is snug against the neighboring weave.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet the fifth weave

Step 16: repeat this process again and again, alternating whether you start over or under on each side as you go. Remember to keep everything cinched up and tight.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet weaving progress

Step 17: once you have completed the weave and reached the opposite buckle, take the other working end of your cord…


slim trilobite paracord bracelet holding shorter free end in hand

Step 18: and bring it to the right beneath where you have the other strand anchored…


slim trilobite paracord bracelet bringing short free end to the right

Step 19: …and then up and through the loop as shown here.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet bring short free end through the loop

Step 20: now take the opposite working end that you made your weaves with and make a turn to the right…


slim trilobite paracord bracelet move long free end to the right

Step 21: completing a full wrap…


slim trilobite paracord bracelet wrapping the longer free end

Step 22: before pushing it through the center of the strands and out the other side.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet pushing long end through center strands

Step 23: …pull all the slack through, then pull both working ends snug.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet snug both ends

Step 24: grab your scissors or knife and cut off both free ends leaving about an ⅛ of an inch sticking out.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet cutting paracord with scissors

Step 25: using your lighter, carefully melt the ends you just cut before pressing them flat with your tool or the side of your scissors or knife to seal them and lock the bracelet.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet melting ends with lighter

Finished! Your trilobite paracord bracelet is ready to wear.

The trilobite is more involved to set up owing to its multi-core construction, but really quite easy to weave.

It also has some other natural advantages and then it looks quite stylish, is extremely flat and carries a lot of paracord in a compact package. This is another one of my personal favorites.


slim trilobite paracord bracelet pinterest

The post DIY Slim Trilobite Paracord Bracelet (Step-By-Step) appeared first on Survival Sullivan.

By: Tom Marlowe
Title: DIY Slim Trilobite Paracord Bracelet (Step-By-Step)
Sourced From: www.survivalsullivan.com/diy-slim-trilobite-paracord-bracelet/
Published Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2023 23:00:00 +0000



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