Home/How to make kandi
How to make kandi, from the first bead to the knot
Prepare beads and cord, estimate materials, and read a colour chart. For weaving a cuff, use a separate tutorial for your chosen stitch.
What kandi actually is
Kandi is jewellery strung from pony beads — barrel-shaped plastic beads, usually about 9 mm wide and 6 mm tall, with a hole big enough to take a thick cord. The style comes out of rave and festival culture, where cuffs are traded, stacked and given away.
Kandi includes single-strand bracelets, woven cuffs and other strung bead pieces. A square chart plans colour positions; construction depends on your chosen design and stitch.
If you are here to make a specific design, the kandi pattern maker turns a photo into that grid, and the kandi patterns library has ready-made charts. If you are starting from zero, read this page first — the sizing maths will save you a wasted evening.
The short version
- 9 mm pony beads, elastic cord, sharp scissors.
- Use a test strip to check your bead count and fit.
- Choose a stitch tutorial before planning a woven cuff.
- Read the colour chart in your stitch tutorial’s direction.
- Follow your cord manufacturer’s directions for finishing.
What to buy
You do not need much, and the cheap version works. Buy beads by the bag in the colours you actually use, not a 48-colour assortment you will never open.
Pony beads, 9 mm
The standard. Sold in bags of 500–1000. Opaque colours read best in a pattern; glitter and translucent beads look great but blur the design.
Elastic cord, 0.8–1 mm
Stretch cord is what makes a cuff pull over your hand. Fishing line works but does not stretch, so size it properly.
Sharp scissors
Bead cord frays when cut with dull blades, and a frayed end will not go back through a bead hole.
A bead scoop or tray
Round trays stop beads rolling off the table. A rimmed plate works fine.
Clear nail polish or glue
One dab on the knot stops it working loose. Do not use super glue near the beads — it fogs them.
A printed chart
Phone screens go dark at a show. The maker exports a PDF with a bead list you can carry.
Estimate beads, then check a test strip
The estimates below divide circumference by bead width. They do not model a woven cuff, stitch offsets, stretch or tension, and cannot guarantee fit.
Divide the wrist circumference by the bead width, then add one or two beads of ease so the cuff slides over the hand. A 6.5 in wrist is about 165 mm; at 9 mm per bead that is 18 beads, and most people make 19 or 20 so it is not tight.
The chart width and the number of beads around are two different numbers. A nine-bead-wide chart is one repeat — you will string it several times around the cuff, or pad it with background beads on each side.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic, the cuff calculator takes your wrist, bead size and rows and gives you a rough bead-count estimate.
| Wrist | Beads around | Example chart rows |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 in / 14 cm | 16–17 | 7 |
| 6.0 in / 15 cm | 17–18 | 7–9 |
| 6.5 in / 16.5 cm | 18–20 | 9 |
| 7.0 in / 18 cm | 20–21 | 9 |
| 7.5 in / 19 cm | 21–23 | 9–11 |
How to read a coded bead chart
Use the grid to follow colours and count beads. Choose the reading direction from your stitch tutorial.
This digital preview uses the same colour positions as the chart. The background and border are included in the bead count.
Open this chart in the maker →Check your reading direction
A colour grid does not specify a stitch path. Follow your chosen stitch tutorial and mark the row you are working on.
Every fifth line is heavy
The darker grid line groups beads in fives. Count to five, not to twenty, and you will stop losing your place mid-row.
The letter is the bead
R is red, W white, K black. The table beside the chart converts each code to a name and a count.
On a printed PDF, the last page is the bead list. Pull those beads into a tray before you start — hunting for a single orange bead halfway through row six is the most common way a project stalls.
Before turning a chart into a cuff
A colour chart tells you which colours to place. It does not show a thread path.
Choose a stitch tutorial
Peyote, multi-stitch and X-base constructions use different offsets and thread paths. Use instructions for that construction before choosing a chart size.
Make a test strip
Use your actual beads, cord and tension. Measure the strip and check the stitch repeat and join before planning a full cuff.
Use the chart for colours
Check your stitch tutorial's reading direction. Internal letters such as R, W and K identify approximate colours, not manufacturer part numbers.
Prepare the materials
Count each repeat and any background beads. Follow the stitch tutorial and cord manufacturer's directions for string length and finishing.
Five things that go wrong
1. The pattern is too detailed
Nine beads cannot hold a face with shading. Reduce to three colours and a bold outline, or go wider and accept a bigger cuff.
2. Beads are not all the same size
Cheap bags vary by a millimetre, which is enough to make rows bow. Sort out the odd ones before you start.
3. The string is too short
Measure against the finished length, not the flat panel — the panel stretches as you work it.
4. The knot slips
Elastic cord needs a double knot plus glue. A single knot will open the first time the cuff is stretched.
5. Colours clash under club lights
Two mid-tone colours that look distinct on a screen can merge in the dark. Add a black or white separator row.
Before you start a big piece
String a 3 × 3 test square in the colours you plan to use. It takes two minutes and tells you whether the palette reads the way you expect.
Then check the cuff calculator for bead counts, and run your image through the maker to get a chart with a bead list attached.
Ready to chart your own?
Photo in, coded chart and bead list out. Free, no account.