How To Make Rubber Band Bracelets – 10 Favorite Rainbow Loom Patterns

Are Rainbow Looms the rage at your house?   They are at ours and the colorful rubber bands are everywhere!   I don’t know what our kiddos like more, wearing the bracelets, creating them or gifting them to their pals.  We adore DIY jewelry  and friendship bracelets. We have our favorite fun bracelet crafts for kids of all ages and adults to make.

How to Make Rubber Band Bracelets

Rubber Band Bracelets Kids Can Make

All of these bracelets require a rainbow loom and a collection of loom bands.   <— This article contains affiliate links in case you didn’t get one for Christmas!

Crafting rubber band friendship bracelets from elastic bands with different patterns is a fun craft for kids by yourself or with your best friend or sibling. With a bit of practice you will be making pretty bracelets in no time.

Here are our favorite ten Rainbow Loom rubber band bracelets tutorials to make with your kids…

Easy Rainbow Loom Bracelets Kids Can Make

1.   Fishtail Band Bracelet Pattern

After the single chain bracelet, the fishtail is the easiest bracelet for your kids to start out with.  The pattern is easy enough for our newly 5 year old to create on her own.

Craft Supplies Needed:

• 20 bands of a light color
• 20 Bands of a dark color.  
• One S hook.
• One Loom

Directions:

Here is a video tutorial so you can create your own fishtail band bracelets.

2.   Double Fishtail Band Bracelet (aka 4 prong “Dragon Scales”)

Once your kids have a good grip on the pattern “routine” of the regular fishtail bracelet, they will have fun adding some variations – like this colorful double fishtail.

It is super easy for kids to make and after making the double fishtail a couple of times, you can graduate to the wider “scales” versions also featured on the video.

Supplies Needed:

• 60 Bands – 20 Pink, 20 Purple, 10 White, 10 Yellow.  
• One Hook
• One Loom

Directions:

The tutorial video is for “dragon scales” – we call the thinner version a double fishtail as it looks like two fishtails side-by-side.

3. Rainbow Ladder  Band Bracelet How To

This colorful bracelet is looks awesome, and as many of the bands are double stacked, it is the perfect bracelet activity for an older sibling to create with a younger child.   The younger kids can follow the pattern created and add the second row of bands.

Supplies Needed:

• 7 of both bright colored bands: Red & Light Blue
• 8 of the following: Orange, Yellow, Green, Dark Blue, Purple, Pink rubber bands
• 14 Black Bands
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Directions:

This easy step by step loom tutorial video will have you creating a rainbow ladder design with ease!

4.   Minecraft Creeper Band Bracelet

Using the same tutorial as the Rainbow ladder, replace all the colored bands with bright green ones.   You will need 54 green bands and 14 black bands.

Create your green and black ladder.   Turn the bracelet facing in so the black “creeper” line is visible.

Your minecraft fan will love it!

5. Super Stripe  Band Bracelet

This bracelet is pretty advanced.   It seems that most of my kids favorites are the thicker bracelets.

Directions:

This is another one where older kids can probably do the hooking, and preschoolers can put the bands onto the loom.   The video tutorial from Justin Toys is very easy to follow.

6.   The Zippy Chain Band Bracelet

This bracelet was the most frustrating one so far, as it took a couple of tries to get the bands hooked in the correct order, but the finished product looks great!

Supplies needed:

• 27 Black bands for the border
• 12 light blue bands
• 22 White Bands
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Instructions:

Here is the steps to make this rubber band bracelet via video.

7. Colorful Starburst Band Bracelet

These are so bright and cheery!   They are more complicated, probably better suited for an elementary or middle school child to make on their own, but our preschoolers enjoy filling the loom for me to hook the bracelet together.

Supplies Needed:

• 6 Different Colors, with 6 bands in each – you will need a total of 36 colorful bands
• 39 Black Bands
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Directions:

Here is the video tutorial on how to make a Starburst pattern rubber band bracelet. You will want to make the black edging first and then create each starburst.   Be sure to put a “cap” of black at the center of each burst of color.

8.   Taffy Twists Band Bracelet

This is a good “first” complicated bracelet.  

My older preschooler was able to do this one by herself after a trial run.

Supplies Needed:

• 36 bands of “like colors” (ex: 12 white, 12 pink, 12 red)
• 27 Border bands (ex: Black or White)
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Directions:

The tutorial is created by Rainbow loom and is very detailed.  

9. Sun Spots (aka X-Twister) Band Bracelet

This bracelet looks completely different when you change the colors. We call it our Sunny Spot, but other tutorials have called it “X-Twister” and “Liberty”.

Supplies needed:

• 27 border bands – we chose orange.
• 20 Like-color bands – we chose red.
• 12 Bright Bands – we used Yellow.
• 13 Cap Bands – we used Pink.
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Directions:

Check out the video tutorial.  

10. Feather Rubber Band Bracelet Design

This one is a little more complicated and can take some time, but older kids really will enjoy the challenge and the feathery outcome.

Supplies Needed:

• 47 black rubber bands
• 8 band colors each: red, orange, yellow, green and blue
• 4 purple and pink rubber bands
• 1 hook
• 1 loom

Directions:

Check out this easy to follow step by step instruction guide video from Rainbow Loom Room.

FAvorite Rainbow Loom Kit & Accessories

Rainbow looms make great gifts because they inspire great ideas and kid-lead creativity. It is a perfect birthday gift, fun holiday gift or the most amazing thing to have hidden away for a rainy day.

• This is the original Rainbow loom kit that includes enough rubber bands to make up to 24 rubber band bracelets.
• Rainbow Loom Combo with Loomi-Pals Charms that comes in a plastic carrying case.
• 2000+ Rubber band refill kit with assorted colors and a plastic carry box.

Share your Rubber Band Bracelet!

If your kids make band bracelets, take a photo and put them up on our facebook wall.   We would love to see them!

Advanced Loom Bracelet Ideas

• Make your own rainbow loom charms
• Here is a big list of DIY rainbow loom charms
• How to make a XO band pattern
• How to make rubber band rings
• Easy ways to turn your band bracelets into Valentines bracelets to give at school
• Make friendship bracelets, with our printable instructions for a loom!

Which rubber band bracelet pattern are you going to make for the first time? If you have made them before, which rubber band bracelet design is your favorite?