CraftPatterns

Cow print alpha bracelet pattern

Irregular black patches on bright white, a trendy cow print in just two colours.

Preview of the finished cow print alpha bracelet pattern
How it looks finished (rendered from the chart)
Pattern details
Size14 × 48 knots
Colours2 · DMC
Total knots672
DifficultyBeginner (1/5)
Finished size0.7 × 3.8 in (1.8 × 9.6 cm)
Strings14 base strings + 2 colours
LicenceCC BY-NC 4.0 — free for personal use with credit

Materials

ColourCodeNameKnotsShareAmount
BLANCWhite49373%493 knots · ~7.2 m
310Black17927%179 knots · ~2.8 m

About this design

Cow print is all about irregular, organic shapes, so the patches here have wobbly edges and different sizes, from a few knots across to large blotches that reach the edge of the band. They are DMC 310 Black on White, the strongest contrast you can get, so the print reads clearly even on a narrow bracelet. Because there is no repeat, every part of the band looks a little different, just like the real thing. Two colours and no small details make it fast to knot.

Setting up and knotting

A 14-knot-wide bracelet needs 14 base strings, plus one working string in each of the 2 colours. Cut the working strings at least a metre long and wind them on bobbins or card so they stay untangled. Each square of the chart is one knot on a base string: forward knots on rows worked left to right, backward knots on rows worked right to left, row by row from the top. Follow the chart closely even though the shapes are random; small changes add up and can make the patches look blocky.

Length and finishing

At roughly 2 mm per row, the 48-row chart makes about 10 cm of bracelet. Knotting the chart twice (96 rows) gives about 19 cm, which fits most adult wrists; stop sooner for a child. Finish with a braided tie or a sliding knot at each end so it can be adjusted.

Colour chart for cow print alpha bracelet pattern with a bold line every 5
Colour chart preview. The PDF adds symbols, row and column numbers and the full key.

Colour plan

DMC BLANC White does the most work, 73% of the 672 knots, followed by DMC 310 Black at 27%. Every colour is used at least 179 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. Every square of the grid is filled.

Working notes

It is 48 knot rows of 14 knots; the busiest row changes colour 4 times. No square stands alone in its colour.

Anchor equivalents

The nearest Anchor colour for each DMC colour in this pattern, measured as ΔE 2000: up to 3 is very close, up to 6 close, up to 10 approximate.

DMCAnchor
BLANC 926 ΔE 0.4 · very close
310 403 ΔE 0.0 · very close

Row by row

All 48 rows written out, row 1 at the top, where you start knotting
  • Row 1 (left to right, forward knots): 14 BLANC
  • Row 2 (right to left, backward knots): 10 BLANC, 2 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 3 (left to right, forward knots): 1 BLANC, 4 310, 9 BLANC
  • Row 4 (right to left, backward knots): 9 BLANC, 5 310
  • Row 5 (left to right, forward knots): 5 310, 9 BLANC
  • Row 6 (right to left, backward knots): 3 BLANC, 2 310, 4 BLANC, 5 310
  • Row 7 (left to right, forward knots): 2 BLANC, 3 310, 3 BLANC, 4 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 8 (right to left, backward knots): 2 BLANC, 4 310, 4 BLANC, 1 310, 3 BLANC
  • Row 9 (left to right, forward knots): 8 BLANC, 5 310, 1 BLANC
  • Row 10 (right to left, backward knots): 6 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 11 (left to right, forward knots): 7 BLANC, 7 310
  • Row 12 (right to left, backward knots): 7 310, 7 BLANC
  • Row 13 (left to right, forward knots): 8 BLANC, 2 310, 4 BLANC
  • Row 14 (right to left, backward knots): 6 BLANC, 2 310, 6 BLANC
  • Row 15 (left to right, forward knots): 7 BLANC, 1 310, 6 BLANC
  • Row 16 (right to left, backward knots): 9 BLANC, 2 310, 3 BLANC
  • Row 17 (left to right, forward knots): 3 BLANC, 3 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 18 (right to left, backward knots): 7 BLANC, 4 310, 3 BLANC
  • Row 19 (left to right, forward knots): 2 BLANC, 5 310, 7 BLANC
  • Row 20 (right to left, backward knots): 9 BLANC, 3 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 21 (left to right, forward knots): 10 BLANC, 2 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 22 (right to left, backward knots): 1 BLANC, 3 310, 10 BLANC
  • Row 23 (left to right, forward knots): 10 BLANC, 4 310
  • Row 24 (right to left, backward knots): 1 BLANC, 3 310, 10 BLANC
  • Row 25 (left to right, forward knots): 10 BLANC, 2 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 26 (right to left, backward knots): 14 BLANC
  • Row 27 (left to right, forward knots): 2 BLANC, 3 310, 9 BLANC
  • Row 28 (right to left, backward knots): 9 BLANC, 3 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 29 (left to right, forward knots): 1 BLANC, 5 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 30 (right to left, backward knots): 8 BLANC, 6 310
  • Row 31 (left to right, forward knots): 7 310, 7 BLANC
  • Row 32 (right to left, backward knots): 7 BLANC, 7 310
  • Row 33 (left to right, forward knots): 9 BLANC, 2 310, 3 BLANC
  • Row 34 (right to left, backward knots): 2 BLANC, 3 310, 9 BLANC
  • Row 35 (left to right, forward knots): 9 BLANC, 3 310, 2 BLANC
  • Row 36 (right to left, backward knots): 1 BLANC, 5 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 37 (left to right, forward knots): 8 BLANC, 6 310
  • Row 38 (right to left, backward knots): 1 BLANC, 5 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 39 (left to right, forward knots): 14 BLANC
  • Row 40 (right to left, backward knots): 14 BLANC
  • Row 41 (left to right, forward knots): 3 BLANC, 3 310, 8 BLANC
  • Row 42 (right to left, backward knots): 6 BLANC, 5 310, 3 BLANC
  • Row 43 (left to right, forward knots): 4 BLANC, 4 310, 6 BLANC
  • Row 44 (right to left, backward knots): 6 BLANC, 4 310, 4 BLANC
  • Row 45 (left to right, forward knots): 4 BLANC, 2 310, 5 BLANC, 3 310
  • Row 46 (right to left, backward knots): 3 310, 6 BLANC, 1 310, 4 BLANC
  • Row 47 (left to right, forward knots): 11 BLANC, 2 310, 1 BLANC
  • Row 48 (right to left, backward knots): 1 BLANC, 1 310, 12 BLANC

This is an original CraftPatterns design, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: stitch it, share it and gift what you make — please credit craftpatterns.app and don't sell the pattern itself. Want to change it? Open it in the alpha bracelet editor.

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