Fishing Kit Bracelet

My brother Jim is always contacting me with things that he wants me to make for him.  I think he knows that I enjoy the challenge and the idea of making something new is kind of fun.  So a few days ago I get a message from him with a link to a YouTube video of a guy making a paracord bracelet that had a hidden fishing kit in it.  He wanted me to make him one, so I watched the video, and before long I was headed out the door to grab the necessary supplies.

In this picture you can see what was needed.  I've got a roll of braided fishing line, some split shot weights, some #10 fishing hooks, a pair of scissors, a lighter, a roll of electrical tape, some 550 paracord, and a cup of coffee.  The coffee is optional of course.  Well, maybe not optional, but it isn't used in this project.

The hardest thing about making a paracord bracelet for me is always the sizing.  This one ended up being about 8 inches long.  I have a jig that I use for other bracelets, but this one was done by wrapping the cord around my wrist, and adding two fingers to that length.  Not very scientific, but it seems to work pretty well.

Using the electrical tape, I attached two hooks and four split shot weights to the inner strands of the paracord bracelet.  I'll be honest, it was a somewhat sloppy job and I need to think about placement a bit before I make my next one.

As you can see in this picture, it created a somewhat wavy look to the bracelet core and I knew that I was going to have those waves show up in the final product.  From this point it was a matter of wrapping braided fishing line around the core.  I used about 10 yards of line.  I tried to wrap it tighter around the places where I had the weights and the hooks to minimize the bulge that they would produce.

At this point it was as easy as tying a regular cobra stitch bracelet.  Nothing fancy at all.  I used OD green 550 cord and the braided fishing line was a green color as well.  It turned out pretty well, I sort of like how it looks with the fishing line showing through the cobra stitches. 

I will be making another one in the coming days.  I have a plan on how I want to change the position of the split shot weights.  I think I can make the wrapped fishing line a little more consistent as well.  Drop me a note in the comments below if you have any questions.  Go make something with your hands, I promise you it feels great!