Learn
Handshake first. Etiquette second. Stitch after that. If you only read one page before you go: ask first, never pull, split trade arm and keep arm.
How it works out there
The part nobody puts in a stitch tutorial. Read these in order the week before you go.
- 14 min read
The PLUR Handshake, Step by Step
Peace, love, unity, respect — the four-beat handshake that moves a kandi bracelet from your wrist to someone else's, plus the extra moves some crews add.
- 25 min read
Trade Etiquette: Ask First, Never Pull
The rules that keep kandi trading good: ask before you touch, take a no as an answer, never pull a piece off someone, and remember you never owe a trade.
- 34 min read
Trade Arm vs Keep Arm
Split your stack before you walk in: one arm you trade off, one arm nobody touches. How to load them, how to say it out loud, and how to restock between nights.
- 45 min read
How Many Kandi to Bring
There is no correct number. Ranges for a one-day show, a three-day festival and a camping weekend, plus what to make instead of twenty identical singles.
- 56 min read
What to Write on Kandi
Letter beads run out around twelve characters. What lands on a wrist at 3 a.m., and the four to leave off: artist names, lyrics, characters, drug slang.
- 65 min read
UV vs Glow vs Blackout
Three things people mix up: UV-reactive needs a blacklight, glow beads need charging, and blackout is a design choice. How to test all three before a fest.
- 75 min read
Sprouts, Stickers and Trinkets
Kandi's cousins: how sprout clips are traded, why sticker bombs can get pulled at the gate, and where dice beads and small charms fit into a trade stack.
- 85 min read
Kandi and the Festival Bag Policy
Wear it in, do not pack it in. Typical clear-bag and clutch sizes, why loose beads and scissors are the real gate problem, and how to check current rules.
- 96 min read
Stretch Cord, Sizing and Fit
Why kandi is strung on 0.8 to 1mm stretch cord and not craft lace, how to size a single that clears your hand, and when a breakaway clasp is the safer call.
Stitches
Single, ladder, x-base, tie-off, 3D, peyote, star, mask. Each one builds on the last.
Your First Single
The whole craft in miniature: cord length, bead order, sizing over your knuckles, and a knot that holds. Fifteen minutes from a pile of beads to a trade.
- Single strand
- First string
- 15 min
The Ladder Stitch Cuff
One strand of cord, no needle: build a flat kandi cuff rung by rung, close it into a loop and bury the knot. The first piece with real width on your wrist.
- Ladder stitch
- Weekend maker
- 35 min
Build an X-Base
The real x-base: start from a closed single that divides by three, then net three beads at a time between the connectors until the crossings stack into a cuff.
- X-base
- Cuff builder
- 45 min
A Tie-Off That Survives a Weekend
The knot that keeps a bracelet on your wrist for three days: a real tail, a surgeon's knot, snug against the beads, tucked inside and sealed if it matters.
- Single strand
- First string
- 5 min
Turn an X-Base Into a 3D Cuff
Add outer layers to a finished x-base so the cuff stands off your wrist: where the layer anchors, why every pass goes through the middle bead, and when to stop.
- 3D layer
- Advanced
- 2 hr
Your First Peyote Panel
Flat peyote with pony beads: how the offset rows work, the extra turn odd-count rows need at the edge, and how to keep a panel from drifting off square.
- Peyote stitch
- Weekend maker
- 1 hr
Star Cuff Basics
Points on an x-base: a 30-bead base, nine beads per point, support columns down the middle. The cuff people recognise from across a dark field.
- Star weave
- Advanced
- 2 hr 30
A Mask You Can See and Breathe In
A peyote mouth panel woven on fishing line, with 1 mm elastic ear straps. Panel size, where the straps anchor, and why a full-face build is the wrong idea.
- Peyote stitch
- All-nighter
- 4 hr