As an accessory hoarder, one beloved type that I've battled with all my life, in regards to sizing, are bracelets.  So many times, I'll find something utterly incredible and the bangle, cuff or chain will either fall halfway down my hand or rotate backwards.  It's because of this and my creative OCD'isms I've had this habit of chopping, aka customizing, almost everything I own.  

Using needle nose pliers, undo the center knot from one side.  If you look carefully you'll see where the end of the knot is, or where it's been trimmed, b/c it'll have a cut end that is tucked under and sticking upward.

Follow the pattern and undo the knot till you get past the center main bead.  As mentioned, this braided section of chord isn't really attached to the rest of the bracelet in any way, so you don't have to worry about damaging the rest of the bracelet. 

Once you've removed the braided knot completely, you'll be left with the stopper bead and the two ends that you pull.  Removing that center braided knot, shortens the bracelet about 3.4"-1".

You can still open and close the bracelet as normal, b/c the beads at the end of the two pull strings will stop it from opening completely.  

To secure the two ends and shorten the length that the two pull strings hang at, I wrapped the two pull strings around the bead and tied a loose knot.

Total chop time: about 5min.

Eventually when the string starts getting grungy, despite me being a clean person, I'll swap the chord for either a chain or jewelry wire and add a clasp.

WARNING though: once you remove the braided knot surrounding the bead, the bracelet will open and close easily, so you do have to tie the two ends to secure it in place.

<3 Chow.