Preparing Your Paracord
Cut a 4 foot strand of paracord. If you do not have a ruler or measuring tape for this part, use an adult's forearm instead. One forearm is about 1 foot. So make sure the paracord is about 4 forearms long.
Create a 4 inch loop. Make sure the loop is centered in the middle of the strand of paracord. Begin by folding the 4 foot strand in half and placing your fingers 4 inches from the end of the fold. For inexperienced users, try starting with a 5-6 inch loop instead to make knotting easier. This loop is the "body" of the dragonfly Troubleshooting: Make sure the two free ends are separated (one to the left, one to the right), as seen in the picture above.
Making Your First Knot
Cross the left end under the loop and over the right end.
Bring the right end over the body and through the left loop.
Tighten. To make tightening easier, hold the body with your index and thumb while pulling one end at a time to tighten. When the loops get small, you can let go of the body and use two hands to fully tighten. Troubleshooting: Make sure the strands of the body do not become twisted (look at the last picture to compare before moving on).
Making Your Second Knot
Cross the right end under the loop and over the left end.
Bring the left end over the body and through the right loop.
Tighten fully. The tighter the knots, the cleaner the key chain will look in the end.
Making the First Wings
Cross the left end under the loop and over the right end.
Bring the right end over the body and through the left loop.
Do not tighten fully. Make sure to leave about half an inch in both small loops. These small loops will become the wings. The more room you leave, the larger the wings will be.
Cross the right end under the loop and over the left end.
Bring the left end over the body and through the right loop.
Tighten fully.
Pull the 2 wing loops above the last knot you created.
Push the knot below the wings all the way up. Make sure that there is no space between the center knots.
Making the Second Wings
Cross the left end under the loop and over the right end.
Bring the right end over the body and through the left loop.
DO NOT tighten fully. Make sure to leave about half an inch in both small loops. These small loops will become the wings. The more room you leave, the larger the wings will be.
Cross the right end under the loop and over the left end.
Bring the left end over the body and through the right loop.
Tighten fully.
Pull the 2 wing loops above the last knot you created.
Push the knot below the wings all the way up. Make sure that there is no space between the center knots.
Making a Left-Sided knot
Cross the left end under the loop and over the right end.
Bring the right end over the body and through the left loop.
Tighten fully.
Making a Right-Sided Knot
Cross the right end under the loop and over the left end.
Bring the left end over the body and through the right loop.
Tighten fully.
Finishing the Body
Make a left-sided knot followed by a right-sided knot.
Continue these two parts until you have 1 inch remaining of unknotted body. Troubleshooting: Make sure to alternate between a left-sided knot and a right-sided knot. This will ensure that the knots look uniform.
Completing Your Keychain
Trim the 2 loose ends. Make sure to leave one quarter inch of each end. Change locations if you were in your local library so that you don't burn the building down.
Burn the ends. Warning: If you are under the age of 18, seek parental guidance. Use a lighter to burn the first end until it melts and shows a darker color. Immediately take your scissors and press the blade against the melted end. (Do not touch the end with your fingers) Repeat this step with the other loose end.
Attach the loop of the body to your keychain ring.
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