During middle school and early high school my friends and I got really into making friendship bracelets. Many people will tape the top knot to a table or something similar and then pin the bottom strings in place as well. I learned how to make bracelets from my friend Liz who had been taught to cut up the front or pack part of a spiral notebook with one cut at the top to hold the knot and several cuts on the bottom to hold the strings. The bottom strings held okay (for a few hours until the bottom flaps got bent – then it was useless) but the top knot came undone a lot which for some really detailed bracelets can cause mistakes in the bracelet if it gets flipped over when being put back on.

The My Friendship Bracelet Maker is a device that holds your bracelet perfectly in place the entire time that you craft away. It also organizes your strings in a pull out compartment underneath. When you purchase it will be full with 56 pre-cut threads in 14 different colors. I remember having huge wads of string all balled up in a plastic bag that took forever to untangle prior to beginning to make my bracelets. Not only was it a huge mess but it also resulted in a lot of my string being thrown away completely or at least cut shorter when I had to cut a big knot ball off because the strings were just too tightly knotted to get them undone.

The My Friendship Bracelet Maker is suggested for kids ages 6+. As I mentioned I personally didn’t have an interest in making bracelets until I was 11 or 12 but I thought my 6 year old niece would like this craft. She really likes being able to give things to others and often makes drawings and cards to give to others for the holidays. I thought she would love being able to give others bracelets that she made and when I told her about it she was really excited. When I sat down with her to make the bracelets, it proved to be a bit too difficult for her and she grew really frustrated even with tons of help from myself. The knots that I made were tight and hers were loser, so when she recognized that the bracelet appeared to have some texture inconsistency as a result of the different size/tightness of the knots she was unhappy with the bracelet overall. Now that I know this is a source of frustration for her I can just make my knots looser so that they look more similar to hers or try to teach her how to make hers tighter. Also, the instructions that come with the bracelet maker are for a bracelet that uses several strings. I remember starting off making bracelets that only took 4 strings so I plan to check out the variety of beginner friendship bracelet patterns that are available right on the My Friendship Bracelet Maker website to see which one I think would be easiest with her to try next time. My kid sister is 9 now but when she was 8 I taught her how to make a simple friendship bracelet and she was able to do it fine without too much frustration so perhaps 6 is a bit too young but 8 definitely isn’t. I would have loved to have a My Friendship Bracelet Maker when I was in middle school or early high school because it would have made the process so much easier for me. I also love how there are so many more designs available on the MyFBM website including bracelets that have ladybugs, hearts, penguins, bats, words and more.

Buy it: You can purchase in person at stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby or online at places like toys r us and Amazon.

Connect: You can connect with My Friendship Bracelet Maker on Facebook and Twitter.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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