How to Start a Basic Lanyard

Did you love creating lanyard bracelets as a kid? Did you call it Boondoggle or Scoubidou instead? No matter what you call it, your children will also enjoy it!

I remember the camp days when we’d receive our lanyard strings…I always anticipated choosing the colors and then choosing which stitch I was going to create. This is why, a couple of years ago, when I was perusing the aisles at Michael’s, trying to brainstorm a kids’ activity for my Chanukah party…my eyes lit up when they landed on the lanyard.

For those who don’t have such memories, lanyard is simply plastic strings that we’d use to stitch bracelets or keychains. They’re waterproof, durable, and there are lots of different stitches and designs you can create. I recommend this activity for kids at least 9 or 10 and up (pre-teens especially). 

All the color options are such eye candy.

Nowadays, you don’t need to buy lanyard by the roll. You can get tons of colors in one package, complete with the accessories you need to finish the keychains or bracelets. Lanyard keychains are perfect for adding the backpacks. It’s nice to have extra hooks on hand as well. 

Once you have your lanyard, you’ll need to learn some stitches. We have this Lanyard/Boondoggle book and it’s a great way to get started, both with the basic stitches and some more creative lanyard projects. Though you can see a couple of the most basic stitches below, it’s fun to give kids a range of ideas without having to personally show them step-by-step. 

Here are some favorite stitches that, once you learn as a kid, you never forget.

The Box Stitch

You’ll start with 2 long strings of lanyard (2 different colors). Place them perpendicular to each other, then loop one of the colors over the center in opposite directions.

Weave the other 2 strings (the other color) over and under (over an open end and under a closed loop, as shown)

Pull tight!

There are lots of variations of Box Stitch…the stitches can be turned on an angle to create a “Barrel” variation, or you can use more strings to create a large box or barrel. Once you know the basic box, you can create really interesting lanyards by using more strings (i.e. if you barrel a double or triple box, the results are really cool). 

And now for…Chinese Staircase (or the Cobra variation).

Again, choose 2 colors. Fold the strings in half. For the Chinese Staircase, you only need one color string to be long. The other can be shorter. Note: I kept this Chinese Staircase to one color. You can also put one of each color on the inside, and one string of each color on the outside. Then you’d need evenly-sized strings, even if the shorter ends stay on the inside.

Cross one string over the center 2 strings.

Place the other outer string over the first string, then under the 2 middle strings, and through the loop.

Pull tight!

In Chinese Staircase, you stick to working with the same string for every stitch. In Cobra stitch, you alternate between the two outer strings (the center ones don’t get touched; they’re just there to help keep the shape).