Forum - Newbies - base string length

HazelQ

Advanced

1 year, 3 months ago by HazelQ

I'm new to making alpha bracelets/pattern and I planning to make #118156 with dimensions 27x114. I was wondering what length my base strings should be, some tutorials I watched said you should make them 15cm(6in) which seems a little short looking at the length of the string and the pictures on the pattern of people who actually made it. 🙂

halokiwi

Moderator

1 year, 3 months ago by halokiwi

The base strings always need to be the length of whatever you are knotting plus some extra for loops, ties etc.

You can figure out how long something will be based on the rows. This pattern has 114 rows. If you've made an alpha before, which I assume you didn't, you can measure a certain amount of rows in it and then use that to calculate. If you haven't, you can also tie a little test swatch of 10x10 knots or something like that, that you can always use as a reference.

How long a certain amount of rows is depends on the materials used and how tight you knot.

My recommendation for you would be, if you haven't knotted an alpha before and if you don't want to make a test swatch, to just make the base strings way too long, so you are definitely on the safe side.

For me about 85 rows would have bracelet length, not entirety sure what that would be in cm, but 114 would be longer than I and probably also you would need for a bracelet. This is just so you can imagine how long a certain amount of rows is roughly.

marie_k

Bracelet King

1 year, 3 months ago by marie_k

Hi ! I would also recommend to either make a "test patch" or start with a smaller alpha to try it out. The lenght of the final project depends a lot on the strings you use and your knot tension (I once made the exact same design and ended up with a 5cm difference between the 2 for no apparent reason). For me for example, 1cm = 6 rows so if i make something that is 36 rows, my final project will be 6 cm. I always cut about 6-7cm more than that number so I have extra for ties at the end. It's not the best answer but you'll see with practice it's easier to guess the lenght you need.

If you need I have a video on TikTok @ revolutiomary I have an alpha tutorial pinned and I cover exactly that but in more details 🙂 Hope it helps !

HazelQ

Advanced

1 year, 3 months ago by HazelQ

thank you both for the reply. I'll try and make some easier pattern to test and I'll make sure to check out the tutorial!

HazelQ Advanced	1 year, 3 months ago by HazelQ I'm new to making alpha bracelets/pattern and I planning to make #118156 with dimensions 27x114. I was wondering what length my base strings should be, some tutorials I watched said you should make them 15cm(6in) which seems a little short looking at the length of the string and the pictures on the pattern of people who actually made it. 🙂
halokiwi Moderator	1 year, 3 months ago by halokiwi The base strings always need to be the length of whatever you are knotting plus some extra for loops, ties etc. You can figure out how long something will be based on the rows. This pattern has 114 rows. If you've made an alpha before, which I assume you didn't, you can measure a certain amount of rows in it and then use that to calculate. If you haven't, you can also tie a little test swatch of 10x10 knots or something like that, that you can always use as a reference. How long a certain amount of rows is depends on the materials used and how tight you knot. My recommendation for you would be, if you haven't knotted an alpha before and if you don't want to make a test swatch, to just make the base strings way too long, so you are definitely on the safe side. For me about 85 rows would have bracelet length, not entirety sure what that would be in cm, but 114 would be longer than I and probably also you would need for a bracelet. This is just so you can imagine how long a certain amount of rows is roughly.
marie_k Bracelet King	1 year, 3 months ago by marie_k Hi ! I would also recommend to either make a "test patch" or start with a smaller alpha to try it out. The lenght of the final project depends a lot on the strings you use and your knot tension (I once made the exact same design and ended up with a 5cm difference between the 2 for no apparent reason). For me for example, 1cm = 6 rows so if i make something that is 36 rows, my final project will be 6 cm. I always cut about 6-7cm more than that number so I have extra for ties at the end. It's not the best answer but you'll see with practice it's easier to guess the lenght you need. If you need I have a video on TikTok @ revolutiomary I have an alpha tutorial pinned and I cover exactly that but in more details 🙂 Hope it helps !
HazelQ Advanced	1 year, 3 months ago by HazelQ thank you both for the reply. I'll try and make some easier pattern to test and I'll make sure to check out the tutorial!

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base string length