Add a wrap to a paracord bracelet...

I used some gutted green paracord to add this outer wrap to a black woven paracord bracelet.

Woven paracord bracelets, one strand two working ends.

Here are three paracord bracelets made with the same weaving pattern(doing figure 8's with the two working ends), for the same wrist size(mine at 8.5"), but using different amounts of paracord by varying the number of core strands. 5/8" curved side release buckles are used on each one.

Left: about 8 feet of paracord used, woven around a 2 strand core

Middle: about 10 feet of paracord used, woven around a 4 strand core(2 pairs/2 strands)

Right: about 12.5 feet of paracord used, woven around a 6 strand core(2 pairs/3 strands)

You can see how they increase in size/diameter/thickness with the more cord used for the core strands. This applies to the other variations/methods of making paracord bracelets and even lanyards with attachments on both ends for the core strands to wrap around, like snap hooks, key rings, and carabiners.

A 3/4" buckle will allow an 8 strand core, and a 1" buckle can fit a 10 strand core. In the past I've tried 1.5" and 2" sized buckles, but with so many core strands these just seemed way too bulky. I played around trying them with bracelet and belt versions but didn't personally care for the results(YMMV).

Photo collage of weave process shown, after looping onto side release buckle ends. You can finish by sewing, melting, gluing, or tucking the ends(I used tuck method on this on).

These next three photos show how the cords look when on the side release buckles before weaving, for the 2 strand core, 4 strand core, and 6 strand core paracord bracelets.

The core strands are paired off and you take turns with the two working ends: left side working strand over one core and under the other, right side strand over one core and under the other. Repeat that left/right pattern until you reach the other end. Then tuck/pull the working ends under a couple of the previous weaves with hemostats or needle nose pliers, and trim the ends to finish.

For a to color version, just sew/melt/glue two colors together, attach to buckle with the connected section in the core to be woven over...

Pocket knife fob made with 1.4mm red and black braided nylon cord with an EDC depot pill fob attached.

A Rope Ladder

There are several types of rope ladders that can be made. I remember using one as a kid, that someone set up to climb a tree overhanging a lake, with another rope tied further out on a branch to be swung from out and over the water.

I've seen some use flat wood planks or round pole sections, others may just be knots spaced along a length of rope.

Not everyone can manage climbing a knotted length of rope, but having rungs makes a rope ladder easier to 'navigate' for most. This type of ladder also makes it easier to get back into a boat from the water and has also been called a 'knotted bathing ladder'.

I chose to make this simple one that can be found in various knot books, including 'The Morrow Guide to Knots'. A good online link, with an animated diagram for this type of rope ladder, can be found at Marinews.com. This type of ladder is easy to make and also easily taken apart if you need the rope for something else.

I used a 50 foot length of 3/8" sized 'high strength' rope for this ladder that ended up at about 9 feet long overall. There are 7 rungs set about 14 inches apart and just wide enough for hand/footholds.

It's up to you to choose the amount and type of rope, the width of the coiled rungs, and the distance between them and that will determine the final length of a finished ladder. For safety's sake, know the strength of your rope, don't guess, and use at your own risk.

These instructions will make more sense if you follow the animated diagram. You start off at the center of your length of rope. I made a figure 8 knot with the rope, but other instructions may start it off differently.

You come down with one length for the first rung and make two bends. Take the other length of rope and run it through the first bend, then under the next, and start tightly coiling that rope around both bends. When you have the rung length that you want, run the cord through the loop end of the other bend.

At this point, things are still loose enough to adjust and even out the rope from the center point to the rung, if needed, tighten up and work any slack out of the coiled section, pull the rope on both ends to finish tightening and go on to making the next rung, alternating the bend/coil rope sections as you go.

The top section/loop of the ladder can be secured to a fixed object for climbing or attached to another separate length of rope, which can be thrown up over a branch on a tree or other fixed object, and then secured for climbing.

A final photo showing the rope ladder hanging from the second floor railing. It looks a bit uneven because the rope came from a tightly coiled package and still wants to revert back to that shape. Pulling with a little weight on the bottom made it look straight and even, but stepping back for the photo with just a walking cane hanging from it and it still looks uneven. I don't want to adjust it while it's still 'springy'.

And no, I ain't gonna test it from the railing. That would fall into the 'famous last words' category of 'Hey ya'll, watch this!', and would not end well for me or the railing, lol.

On a side note, I wonder if they still have climbing ropes in school gymnasiums?

An inverted tripod/hourglass tower...

I recently made this small model of an inverted tripod/hourglass tower, with wood dowels and nylon cord using basic square, diagonal, and tripod lashings.

I helped build a full size version of one, when I was about 12 years old with my Boy Scout troop in the early 1980's. It was one of many projects I learned to make with useful knots and ropework.

Searching around online, I came across a few links with similar projects also found under 'pioneering projects', like this one.

Doubled Paracord Bracelet

Tied the same way as using a single strand for a paracord bracelet , but using two. You don't wrap the cord twice around the buckle ends, like the single strand on a 1/2" or 5/8" buckle, since there's now two center cords looped onto one end.

Measure out the wrist length with the four working strands wrapped around the other buckle end and pair them off to start knotting.

I used around 16 feet of paracord(finished amount used) for the doubled one, for an 8" wrist. I most always use more than I need, starting off with two 12 foot strands, and ending up trimming off 2 feet of each strand at the last knot. It doesn't go to waste since I'll use the remainders for zipper pulls, paracord cross, etc...

*Added a few pics for those that had a bit of trouble visualizing the start. You find the center of the two lengths of cord and use a lark's head/lanyard loop/cow hitch, to attach them to one side of the side release buckle. I've shown two ways to start, either works fine: side-by-side or one in the center of the other.

Then run the four strands around the other buckle end, for the wrist size(I usually add 1/2" to 1" to the actual wrist measurement for a comfortable fit).

Laid next to a ruler/tape measure, you're measuring from the flat side of the female end of the buckle, to the base of the prongs of the male end of the cord. You don't figure in the prongs, since they'll be inside the other part of the buckle when worn. As shown, I'm measuring it at about 9" to fit a 8.5" wrist.

You'll start tying the knots from there. After you tie each knot, hold the core strands with one hand and push the knot up towards the buckle, to tighten them up and work any slack out as you go.

When you reach the other end and can't fit any more knots, you can finish by either using something like hemostats to pull and tuck each of the ends thru the last knot, then trim and tuck the ends in, or trim and sew/melt/glue the ends to finish.

Another weaving method...

A blog reader sent me a link to some hemp knot work and asked if I was familiar with it. It was one of those done with a weaving method(figure 8 with one cord around 2 core strands).

Here I've made an example of one with paracord and a side release buckle. I used a short piece of orange paracord for the core strands and looping onto the buckle ends(about a 2 ft) and figuring the wrist size then making one square knot/cobra stitch to lock the size down. And then I used green paracord to do the weaving around the core strands(about 6 ft).

I didn't take my time with this, so the start/finish may need some tweaking and if done in the same color, you don't notice the buckle connections.

Here's a couple of links to photos, from a previous blog post, showing the weaving method done loose and tightened. You can vary the amount of tension and how tight you knot/weave the cord, as you can when you make various types of paracord bracelets, but you need to do it the same way throughout, start to finish, to keep a uniform look from one end to the other.

Shown with a few other paracord bracelet variations for a size comparison.

(*added 4/1/2009) Ken made a great slide show tutorial on the Instructables website for this method of weaving a paracord bracelet. If the slides are going too fast, just use the pause button and you can stop it and view each photo and move back/forth as needed to follow the tutorial.