Pick a picture, press a button, and get your own alpha friendship bracelet pattern. You get the written rows, a preview of the finished band and an interactive guide that takes you through every knot. It is free, and it runs right here in your browser.
New here? These patterns are worked out by software and have not been tied with real thread yet, so treat your first try as a test run.
How it works
1. Choose a picture. Drop it on the box in the tool, or tap the box to pick one from your device. Simple shapes, letters and icons work best.
2. Set the size. Choose how many knots wide the band should be and the most thread colors you want to use. Fewer colors are easier to tie.
3. Follow the guide. Tap a thread to see its path, tick off rows as you finish them, or walk through the whole band one knot at a time.
Pictures that work best
Bold, high-contrast pictures give the cleanest bracelets. Icons, hearts, letters and pixel art beat busy photos. Crop to the part you care about first, because width is precious: a face gets only a few knots across. Soft edges between two colors can turn into a third, in-between thread, so a picture with hard edges, or fewer colors, usually looks better.
What is an alpha bracelet?
An alpha bracelet is a friendship bracelet where every knot is one square of a picture. Instead of the diagonal stripes of a classic bracelet, you tie rows of knots over straight base strings, and the colors you choose build up a tiny image, a bit like cross stitch you can wear.
Questions
What do I need to make one?
Embroidery floss in the colors the pattern lists, scissors and something to hold the strings steady, like a clipboard or a safety pin on a pillow. The guide tells you which thread to pick up and when.
Is my picture uploaded anywhere?
No. The pattern is made inside your browser and your picture never leaves your device.
Why does the tool warn me about two similar colors?
When two neighboring threads are very close in color, they are hard to tell apart once knotted. Try fewer colors, or pick your own thread list, and make the pattern again.
Has this pattern been knotted for real?
Each pattern is worked out and checked by software and has never been knotted on real thread. The colors you see on screen are close matches to DMC floss, not exact ones, so compare them with your real skeins before you start.
Credits
The DMC color table comes from the sharlagelfand/dmc project (MIT License). DMC is a trademark of its owner; the codes are used only to name the threads.