How to Make Lanyard Stitches

Lanyards feature knots woven together to create decorative patterns and strong pieces of cord. You can use lanyards to make bracelets, necklaces and zipper pull decorations. You can also weave nylon rope or parachute cord into lanyards for camping trips. The weave makes the rope or cord stronger. Lanyard-making can also entertain anyone from small children to elderly adults.

Chinese Staircase

• 1

  Choose four colors of cord. If using gimp, or plastic lace, you may choose three colors along with clear gimp for a colorful lanyard. Otherwise, choose three cord colors you don't use or like much along with your favorite color.

• 2

  Cut 12-inch to 14-inch lengths from three of your colors and about 60 inches from your fourth. Gather the strands together. Bend the ends down across the cords to make a loop. Push the ends through the loop and pull tight to make a granny knot.

• 3

  Separate the longer strand from the three shorter strands. Gather the three shorter strands together, smoothing them with your fingers to make them into one long, straight line.

• 4

  Bring the longer cord to the left across the other three cords, leaving a small loop on the right. Bring the long cord to the right behind the shorter cords and up through the loop you left on the right. Continue this way to the ends of the shorter cords.

• 5

  Tie the ends of the cords in a granny knot to complete the lanyard.

Butterfly Stitch

• 1

  Choose two colors of cord, making sure they complement one another because both will be visible in the final product. Cut one strand of each color about three times as long as you want your finished lanyard to be. For instance, a 12-inch lanyard requires two 36-inch strands.

• 2

  Gather the ends of your cords together and bend them down across the cords to form a loop. Push the ends through the loop and pull tight to make a granny knot. Spread the cords apart to see which cord is in the front, called "A" and which is the back cord, or "B."

• 3

  Bend about one-quarter inch of cord "A" up into a loop. Wrap cord "B" once around the base of the loop. Bend about one-quarter inch of cord "B" up into a loop and feed this loop through the loop in cord "A." Pull cord "A" tight.

• 4

  Continue making loops in both cords and feeding them through each other to the ends of the cords. Tie the cords off in a second granny knot to finish your butterfly-stitch lanyard.