Learn how to make Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelets for the Eras Tour, and get over 435 (!!!) Taylor Swift bracelet ideas to get you started!
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If you’re a Taylor Swift fan, you’re probably well aware of the new and super awesome tradition that has soared in popularity during The Eras Tour – exchanging friendship bracelets!
Crafted with love and care, these bracelets feature beads, alphabet letters, and charms that nod to Taylor’s iconic lyrics, songs, or albums. They’re fun keepsakes that not only celebrate friendships but also allow you to wear your fandom on your sleeve—literally!
Drawing inspiration from the colorful “Kandi” bracelets that are popular in music festival culture, this trend isn’t just about stylish accessories; it’s about building a genuine sense of community among Taylor Swift fans. Whether you’re making one for an old friend or hoping to swap with a fellow fan (and new friend!) at the show, these bracelets are a great, creative way to show off your love for Taylor’s music and engage with fellow Swifties!
I attended two performances of The Eras Tour this year (with a third Taylor Swift concert on the books for next year!), and I made dozens of bracelets for both of the shows. It was SO much fun making and swapping bracelets that I have started making bracelets for ALL the themes and occasions now! (Check out this fun DIY Teacher Bracelet Set that I made recently!)
The final days of the first US leg of The Eras Tour recently ended August 24th in Los Angeles, but don’t fret fellow Swifties! You can catch “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie (AKA “The Taylor Swift Movie”) at theatres beginning on October 13, 2023! (That’s Friday the 13th, kids!)
The Eras Tour international shows will kick off in November with 75 more shows around the globe, after which Taylor will circle back to the US and Canada in the fall of 2024 for a few additional shows as well! Fans are keeping their fingers crossed that Taylor will announce even more additional tour dates to follow. 🤞 🤞 🤞
The Eras Tour friendship bracelets aren’t just for everyday fans, though! The VIP tents have been crowded, and reports of celebs who have been spotted trading bracelets at recent shows include:
- Mindy Kaling
- Emma Stone
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson
- Mariska Hargitay
- Josh Gad
- Reese Witherspoon
- Taylor Lautner
- Paul Rudd (who also sported a “13” on his hand!)
- Brie Larson
- Simu Liu
- Eddie Vedder
- Shania Twain
- Mark Zuckerberg (rocking the heart eye!)
- Selena Gomez
- and Flavor Flav, who just might be the biggest Swiftie of all!
Why Do Swifties Trade Friendship Bracelets?
The origins of this bracelet-making craze can be traced back to a specific Taylor Swift song, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” off of her 2022 album, Midnights.
The song features a poignant bridge that really struck a chord with fans. Swift sings: “Everything you lose is a step you take / So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it.” These lyrics weren’t just poetic; they served as a call to action for Swifties everywhere, and soon the friendship bracelet trend was being spread all over social media!
Fans took Taylor’s wisdom to heart—and to their crafting tables. They began to create friendship bracelets not just as fashionable accessories, but as meaningful tokens that embraced the song’s message about the journey of life and the value of friendships.
Before long, these friendship bracelets evolved into a staple must-have of the Eras Tour experience, turning the singer’s advice into a real-world expression of fan community and affection. Now, showing up to the Eras Tour concerts without an arm-full of bracelets is like missing out on a significant part of the Swiftie culture!
You May Also Like These Other DIY Bracelet Ideas!
DIY Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelets
These DIY friendship bracelets don’t take very many supplies or very much time to make, so you will surely end up wanting to make a whole bunch of them – it’s SO much fun! Just follow our easy tutorial below!
Supplies Needed for Taylor Swift Bracelets:
There are LOTS of different types of beads that you can use to make beaded bracelets, and we have listed some of the most popular supplies in the list below. Personally, we are HUGE fans of clay bead bracelets because they look a little more polished and are perfect for everyday wear, even after the concert is over!
- Clay Beads (6mm) in assorted colors
- Pony Beads
- Faceted Beads
- Round Beads
- Seed Beads
- Alphabet Beads
- Elastic Beading Cord
- Washi Tape (Scotch Magic Tape also works well!)
- Assorted Spacer Beads
- Super Glue Gel or GS Hypo Cement
Or, save time by buying an all-inclusive friendship bracelet kit instead!
How to Make Beaded Friendship Bracelets
1. Starting the Bracelet
To begin, cut a length of stretchy cord that is approximately 10″ long.
Heidi’s Handy Tip:
To make quick work of measuring, I like to add a piece of washi tape to my desk that is 7″ long, which is the length that I will make all of my beading. Simply extend the cord about 1.5″ from each end of the washi tape and then cut.
Grip the ends of the cord and pull to stretch. Pre-stretching the cord will allow you to tie tighter knots at the end!
Add a small piece of washi tape to the end of the elastic cording, and fold the tape back on itself. This will create a barrier so that your beads don’t slip off the end of the cord.
2. Beading the Bracelet
Following the ideas below, add beads to the bracelet string until it reaches the desired length.
Again, you can use that handy strip of washi tape to easily measure the length at a glance!
3. How to Tie a Beaded Bracelet
My favorite way to tie clay bead bracelets is with a surgeon’s knot. It’s quite simple to do, and it holds better than a typical square knot.
Follow the video above: tie a half-knot, then another half-knot (do NOT pull the second half-knot tight yet!). Loop each tail through one more time, and then pull tightly.
Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelet Ideas
From albums to song titles, lyrics to memes, there are TONS of different ideas that you can use to create your Eras Tour friendship bracelets!
Each of the ideas that you see noted below with a ♫ symbol will make a great friendship bracelet idea, though you may wish to break up some of the longer titles and lyrics into two bracelets so that you can add some colorful beads in there as well!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
A 7″bracelet (average woman’s size) can hold approximately 25 alphabet letter beads with NO additional spacers added.
Album Names
The most basic of the Eras Tour bracelet designs involve beading the names of each of Taylor Swift’s albums (aka each “Era”). You can opt to make bracelets featuring your favorite albums or go big and feature the whole catalog.
Taylor Swift’s album titles are, in order:
In addition to bracelets with the album names, bracelets that simply say “Taylor’s Version” or “TV” are good options, too!
Album Colors
For The Eras Tour, each album has a color associated with it, and bracelets are often made in the symbolic colors of their album. The confetti that falls at the end of the show is also made up of these same album colors.
The colors are:
Song Titles
Taylor Swift’s music career is nothing short of impressive! With more than 220 professionally recorded and released tracks to her name, it’s no wonder she’s dominating the charts and breaking records left and right!
As of August 2023, Taylor Swift currently holds the title for the female musician with the most charted songs (212!), the most Top-40 hits with 119, the most Top-20 tunes at 73, and the most Top-10 smashes with 42. Oh, and let’s not forget—she’s also debuted at number one a whopping five times!
(Just for fun, if you’re interested, you can find all of Taylor Swift’s songs ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine here!)
With all of these song titles to choose from, there are lots and LOTS of bracelets to be made!
The Eras Tour Set List:
Yes, there are over 40 songs on the official setlist!
Some Additional Top-20 Songs:
Surprise Songs
During each performance of The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift treats her fans to a special two-song acoustic set—one song on the guitar and another on the piano. These songs aren’t part of the official setlist; they’re what fans have dubbed the “Surprise Songs.” Taylor aims to cover as much ground as possible from her extensive back catalog of work, so each Surprise Song is typically a one-time-only event on the tour. Because of this rarity, fans are incredibly excited and hopeful that their all-time favorite tracks might be featured at the show they attend.
Some of the most hoped-for and highly anticipated surprise songs are:
Song Lyrics
Swifties aren’t just fans of Taylor Swift’s song titles—we frequently find that it’s the lyrics that really capture our hearts! Given Taylor’s extensive music catalog, the options for lyrical words and phrases are practically endless. So, when it comes to crafting Taylor Swift-themed friendship bracelets, here are some popular lyric choices that you might consider:
Acronyms
Since some of our favorite song titles and lyrics are over 25+ characters, you can frequently find Swifties sporting beaded friendship bracelets with acronyms on them. For example, WANEGBT is often used for We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
Eras Tour-Related
If you’re looking to commemorate The Eras Tour with some personalized jewelry, try creating bracelets featuring words and phrases related to the tour. Make your own friendship bracelets highlighting the name and location of the stadium you attended, along with the date, and even your section and seat number, for a special keepsake.
If you’re a dedicated fan of The Eras Tour, you’ll know that there are several Taylor Swift concert fan chants that you will want to familiarize yourself with before the show. These chants make excellent friendship bracelet ideas, too!
You can also let your creativity run wild with “In My ______ Era” bracelets. Fill in the blank with practically any “era” that you can imagine – you can even go ultra meta with an “In My Eras Era” bracelet!
Taylor-Related
Of course, you can also make bracelets with words and phrases related to Miss Swift herself!
Memes, Jokes, & Viral Moments
True Swifties will recognize these Taylor Swift references, memes, jokes, video shoutouts, and viral moments! These all make excellent bracelet ideas to trade with the most hardcore Taylor Swift fans, and these bracelets are always well-received!
Coordinating Colors & Solids
Of course, you can’t go wrong with coordinating colors and solids! A pretty solid or patterned beaded friendship bracelet can be worn long after the concert has ended!
For my first Eras Tour show at Acrisure Stadium in June, I made a few rainbow-hued bracelets for Pride Month, and those ended up being the most popular ones!
MORE Taylor Swift Song Titles & Lyrics
Frequently Asked Questions About Beaded Friendship Bracelets:
How long should my beaded bracelet be?
The most common women’s bracelet length is 7 inches long, however, the standard range is anywhere from 6 to 8.5 inches. For best results, use a soft tape measure to measure your wrist, and then add 1/4 inch to the length.
Children’s bracelets typically range from 5 to 6.5 inches; men’s range from 7.5 inches to 10.5 inches.
What is the best string to use for bead bracelets?
We recommend using a clear stretchy beading cord that is between .4mm and 1mm thick. Stretch Magic is a popular brand of jewelry cord that we use frequently.
Which beads are the best for friendship bracelets?
To make Taylor Swift friendship bracelets, you could use lots of different types of beads – seed beads, pony beads, round beads, etc. My favorite type of beads to use are clay beads, because I think the finished look is a little more refined and professional.
You can find all of my favorite clay beads and bracelet supplies in my Amazon Shop!
How many clay beads do I need to make a bracelet?
To make a standard 7″ adult bracelet, you will need around 100-140 flat clay beads per bracelet, depending on the thickness of each clay bead (you will notice that some are thinner-cut than others). If you are weighing out the number of beads, you will need around 5 grams of clay beads per bracelet.
If you include any additional letter beads, spacers, or decorative beads, you will need fewer clay beads.
How do I keep my beaded bracelet from untying or breaking?
Follow the step-by-step video demonstration above to tie your bracelets using a surgeon’s knot, which creates one of the strongest and tightest knots possible when working with stretchy jewelry cords. Adding a dab of glue to the knot can add an extra layer of security.
When pulling the knot tight, you’ll want to be gentle so as not to overstretch the cord, which can weaken it and may lead to potential breakage.
Are clay bead bracelets waterproof?
Yes! Clay beads are made from cured polymer clay or vinyl material which are durable and waterproof materials; however, due to other chemicals and components often found in pools and other bodies of water, we still recommend that you remove your bracelets before swimming or bathing for the best results and longevity.
So, now that you have all the how-to details (and more Taylor Swift bracelet ideas that you probably know what to do with LOL!), it’s time for you to start making your own Taylor Swift Eras Tour friendship bracelets!
Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime moment to bond with fellow fans and have an amazing shared experience with other people in the Swiftie fandom!
Remember to tag me on Instagram @HeidiKundin and/or use the hashtag #HIHMakersClub so I can check out your bracelets! I’d love to see what you make!
Check Out These Other DIY Jewelry Ideas!
Don’t Forget to Pin These Eras Tour Bracelet Ideas for Later!
Heidi Kundin has captivated the hearts of millions with her colorful and inspiring approach to crafting, celebrations, and family fun. With over 15 years of experience, Happiness is Homemade has become a must-visit destination for those seeking quick and easy creative ideas and last-minute solutions. Heidi’s warm personality shines through her posts, inviting readers to join her on a creative journey that’s fun, rewarding, and achievable. Heidi is also the author of Homemade Bath Bombs & More and DIY Tie-Dye.