Homemade Rakhi - DIY using Leather Cord and Beads



I have been making my own Rakhri for the last few years, I love the fact you can personalise them, put a bit more effort in than just buying the standard ones on the Indian highstreet and that I get to be creative for one evening.

This year, and last year I used black leather cord, which in terms of durability lasts forever. My son kept his on for ages, last year I used colourful beads but this year we went for a classic gold and black format.

Although the knot involved looks complicated at first you will get the hang on it very quickly. I will give the sizing for an adults rakhri but for a childs one I would reduce the measurements by 5-10cm depending on the size of their wrists.

Equipment

1mm Leather Cord
Letter Beads
Ruler/ Tape Measure
Scissors
Sellotope

Method

1. Cut one 40cm piece of cord and one 60cm piece of cord

2. Sellotape the 40 cm piece down


3. Thread all your beads onto the centre 40cm piece of cord in the correct order you wish for them to appear


4. Fold the 60cm into half and knot it onto to the 40cm piece around 7cm from the top


5. To make this explanation easier I will label the strings 1,2 and 3 going from Left to Right


6. Take S1(string 1) and place this over S2(string 2) and under S3(string 3)


7. Hold S1 and S2 together in your left hand and in your right hand take S3 under S2 and up through the loop made between S1 and S2


8. Pull S1 and S3 together to form a knot across S2


9. Repeat but this time taking S3 over S2 and under S1

10. Take S1 under S2 and up through the loop made by S3

11. Pull together and keep on repeating on alternative sides until you have formed 10 knots


12. Thread up your first bead and continue knotting across form a knot around the bead, I did two knots between each bead to ensure they are securely held


13. Once you finish all the beads, finish with another 10 loops to match the loops at the top


14. Knot the cord for one final secure hold and cut off any remaining cord


15. You can slide the knots down to ensure the are in the center and that is it, one rakhi made















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