Saturday, November 03, 2012

Stairstep stitched paracord bracelet...

I found the 'stairstep applique' pattern in my copy of Bruce Grant's 'Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding'.

I added the stitching to an already tied Solomon bar/cobra stitch/Portuguese sinnet paracord bracelet with a 1/2" side release buckle, using about 4 feet or so of 1.4mm cord with a small Perma Lok lacing needle.

The book's diagrams show a single leather thong being worked through a series of holes in a piece of leather, that could be used to join multiple sections being sewed together, as edging, or added as decorative work.

The pattern is fairly simple with the strand coming from the top end of the bracelet at a slight right to left angle, down over three horizontal strands, back up under two to the right of the previous strand, and repeat.  The start and end of the stairstep stitching cord was secured under a few knots of the underside of the bracelet.

The stitching could easily be varied with how many strands you work over/under and what type of paracord bracelet design it would be added to.

I also tied a navy blue paracord lanyard with orange 3/32" Tether Cord, stairstep stitched down one side and up the other, with one piece of cord.   Shown attached to a Wenger Evo S13 Swiss Army Knife with a medium Flat Titanium Gate Clip.

And another woven paracord bracelet, with medic alert tag, and two parallel lines of stairstep stitching along the length, done with black 0.9mm cord.

36 comments:

Joseph Pepito said...

Is there a video to this?

Stormdrane said...

@Joseph, I've not done a video for this, but as described in the blog post, it is fairly simple.

The stitching strand comes down over three of the paracord bracelet's horizontal cords, back up under two, again back down over three, and repeat... ;)

Anonymous said...

Simple - but really, really nice. I like it.
- Billneepbi

Anonymous said...

Stormdrane. This is awesome. I want to make one! :-)

Peace,
Manny.

devildawg1973 said...

The orange on navy blue looks awesome from the side (last pic).

Anonymous said...

The stitching add a lot to the bracelet and lanyard. I would have never thought about the lacing. I think I'll try one. Thank a lot for sharing this.

Tony (TNIC1945)

Home on the Range said...

I really like that. You know, the bracelets I made using your video are smaller, tighter and nicer than any I've seen for sale commercially.

Unknown said...

Hi Stormdrane,

Not really related to this particular post but have you ever done a post on using various knot techniques to create a dog lead (complete with snap hook and a way to extend it if needed)?

Also, really love your work.

J.

smet337 said...

Good Morning Stormdrane,You always blow my mind with your beautiful work!!I really love the two different looks on the blue and orange,One from one side and another from the other side. Amazing really amazing.You really took an older plain wrap like the woven and now the cobra and brought a completely new design to them.Can not wait to see what is next.Thanks Scot

Stormdrane said...

@Jon, It's been a while since I've tied a paracord dog lead/leash, and even longer since I posted any to my blog, going as far back as August '06 I think.

A search in Google images alone brings up thousands of examples of paracord dog leads/leashes, but I don't believe there are many adjustable versions out there.

I think the challenge with an adjustable one would be in keeping it secure at different lengths, maybe with integrating a D/bow shackle and/or some sliding Turk's head knots...

Troberg said...

Do you do the thin cord as you tie the solomon bar, or do you do the solomon first and then add the thin cord?

Stormdrane said...

@Troberg, I add the thinner diameter cord to an already tied bracelet/lanyard.

You can add the stitching to a Solomon bar, woven, or other pattern that has series of horizontal cords down the length... ;)

Knotty Bear said...

How Do David ;-)

A really neat alternative application from a leather braiding technique. looks great.
Nice Work!

Take care,
Barry ;-)

Unknown said...

Hello Stormdrane, first let me say thanks for the awesome works/inspiration. started tying recently and cant seem to stop. joined KHWW( wardog1911). and follow your blog/you tube etc. I have noticed a variance in cord quality ( 550 specifically)from multiple sources wanted to know where you get yours(550 full size)if you don't mind. I have found good micro and nylon locally. Thanks again.

Stormdrane said...

@TONY, I still get 550 paracord from various sources, online and locally, and the cord does vary in size/color consistancy/quality/price. The lowest price certainly isn't an indication of the best cord...

The Supply Captain has been a reliable online source for 550 paracord, and I had ordered from them back when they sold just through ebay(emmado22), before opening their website. I've recommended them for years and have no affiliation with them other than being a customer.

pam said...

9odstormdrane i first saw your work with the center stitch paracord.i to love to paracord.....but this this is to cool. i would like to make a watch band like this. hope mine looks as good. pam

smet337 said...

Morning Stormdrane,Love the green woven!!How much 0.9mm cord did you use for one side?My wife and I really love all of your work as you must know.Thanks for your help and have a great day Scot

Stormdrane said...

@Scot, I just started with about a 4 ft long scrap length of 0.9mm cord to do one side, and tht was more than I needed, but I didn't keep track of the actual amount used, which could vary depending on the the bracelet or lanyard it would be added to... ;)

Anonymous said...

Hey Stormdrane: I'm new to all this but I've been trying to make a "dojo band" for jiu jitsu, like this ones:

http://dojobands.com/catalog.aspx?CategoryKey=6

Mainly what I want is a bracelet with a black bar (on a different color bracelet). And also like this weaving a lot.

Could you help me out please?

thanks!!!

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, I don't have any specific tutorial for tying that type of bracelet with the different colored band, but all that's being done is having a separate 'band' color added in with the core strands of the 'primary' color.

With the section you want the 'band' to be, you switch primary working end with band core strands for that section, then back again to finish the rest of the bracelet.

It could be done with one working end type bracelet or two working ends.

Rattlesnake Jake said...

SD,

Do you tie the Solomon less tight to give more room for the 0.9 to go through or do you tighten as normal, then lace?

Thanks,
Jake

Stormdrane said...

@Jake, That depends on how tight you tie the ones you make. I had no problem adding 1.4mm and 0.9mm cord to paracord bracelets that I had tied several years ago, but using larger diameter cord, like 1/16" or 3/32" required a looser tied base knot, like the lanyard I tied with stitching added to both sides.

Since I tie paracord bracelets/lanyards by hand(some use jigs) I use a consistant amount of tension, not too tight or loose, but some folks may make the knots much tighter, and that might make it hard to add in stitching... ;)

smet337 said...

Back again Stormdrane,On the cobra with the 1.4 down the middle mine is swerve?Yours is so perfect any helpful hints as to how you kept yours so straight?Ok thanks again Scot

Stormdrane said...

@Scot, I just make sure the cord is positioned and lined up where I want it before tightening and making the next stitch, doing that from start to finish. If it isn't coming out like I want, I undo it and start over...

Charley Brown said...

Nice work Stormdrane! What type and where do you get the .9mm and 1.4mm cord used for stitching?

Stormdrane said...

@Charley, I bought the smaller diameter braided nylon cord off ebay. There are links in my blog's links list for a few sources: mowfugger on ebay, fixmyblinds.com, GPJ Rope, and R&W Rope. ;)

Pame said...

These are pretty cool. I used to have one way back in the day. The armed forces love to make these surprisingly. They also though have all the five fifty cord anyone could ever want and a lot of waiting to do. Cool stuff.

Anonymous said...

SD - I was looking at the nylon cord at hobby lobby (artiste brand) and wondered if you thought it would work for this kind of project...they have ALL kinds of colors. Just their site out...would like your opinion on this. Chris

Stormdrane said...

@Chris, It's been a while since I bought any cord from Hobby Lobby. It's hard to tell about cord just by looking at it online, so I couldn't say for sure about whether or not any certain type would work, but if it's a small enough diameter, it probably would work for stitching.

Unknown said...

hey I saw your video on YouTube On the to buy Turks Head lanyard. I watch the video and it great 3 *. After that I've had nothing but trouble and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong any hints u can give
thanks Chris

Anonymous said...

maybe im stupid...but im new to this..my sister bought me one of these bracelets and i cant figure it out how to braid it. Is there any step by step pictures ..yeah i know you described in the blog but i dont understand.. :(

thx for a great site

Stormdrane said...

@Anonymous, I have not done a tutorial for adding stairstep stitching to a paracord bracelet, but if you look at the previous blog post with the center stitching and video tutorial, the process is just slightly different.

Instead of alternating the stitching to create the 'V' effect, the stairstep stitching is just repeated along side the previous stitch at the same repeated angle. ;)

ARNWRKR said...

Very nice and would go over well the VA Hospital.

Kirby said...

Where are you getting the .9 and 1.4mm cord for the center stitching?

Stormdrane said...

@Susan, Some of the 0.9mm and 1.4mm cord came from ebay(mowfugger is one source in my links list), some from RW Rope(also in my links list), and Atwood Rope Mfg also makes some micro sized cord. ;)

Janez Novak said...

I have done quite a few paracord bracelets (you can see a few examples here).
In my case I find it really hard to get cord like that! I have not tried this kind of stitching, but I have done lacing, with the use of 550 cord. But for center stitching, you really need micro cord. I wonder if any stores hold thinner nylon cord.

Mark