August 08, 2012

Tutorial: Stacky bracelets

Well, as I promised, a tutorial for the bracelets that I made. This bracelet is quite versatile. I think it looks nice my itself or with charms with beads, rhinestones etc etc.

Firstly, you will need these materials:

~ Strands of faux leather/suede strips
~ 1 strand of ball chain/threaded strand of beads
~ 1 lobster clasp or button
~ Embroidery thread
~ Craft Glue
~ Needle

For this tutorial, I will be making a bracelet with seed beads with a clasp^^

My work table
 Firstly, cut the faux leather strand into a shorter strand. I measure my wrists and give it some allowance. I believe it is better to make it a little longer and trim it if need as compared to having it too short to fit your wrist at all.
1st step
 Dab the end of the strand in the craft glue. I find it easier to do it this way instead of pouring glue onto the strand itself to prevent over-pouring. Surprisingly, the glue holds the faux leather very well and you can peel it off with a tug if you made a mistake. I tried using a needle to sew it, but I found that using glue holds it better. Surprise surprise.

Clasp. Pretty right!
Slip the clasp from the non-glued end or before you put on the glue. And glue it like so. I took a picture before the glue dried because it dries clear. Anyway, it will be covered with yarn. Put this aside to let it dry. 

Pretty!
 Thread the beads onto a string. In this case, I used a crochet thread because it is stronger than a normal thread and it does not fray so easily as compared to an embroidery thread. I suggest giving it some allowance before you tie the knot at the end. It makes things easier.

Winding winding. 
Dab the end of the embroidery thread into the glue and stick it onto the joined part. I like winding it for about 0.8cm because it makes things more secure. Remember to attach the thread with the beads at this point. If you are using a ball chain, do not attach it just yet. 

*ignores messy table*
 I use a hair clip to attach it to something for easy winding. I wind the embroidery thread over each seed bead, pushing the bead up with every row. I like to check the back of the bracelet with every few rounds to ensure that the space is even because I am a silly perfectionist. Hehe.

Lalalu
 I enjoy listening to music while crafting and I do sing along sometimes. I think it gives the bracelet a happy one when I feel happy making it and I hope that the person who has the bracelet will be happy when they look at it because I put in effort to make every single one of them. :) Every bracelets has happy vibes. Hahaha.

*shaky picccctureeee*
Sorry for the shaky picture, did not realise it till I edited the picture D: But you know, just dab the other end into the glue and do the same as what you do in the beginning. make a loop and wind the embroidery thread round and round the strand. Hehe. Thread the embroidery thread onto the needle, make a knot underneath and cut off the extra thread. Then use glue to conceal the ends. Yup yup. That's it.

Here's the picture of the finished product and the other variations you can make! :)

with seed beads

with pearls and a button closure

with ball chains

You can add charms. 
Very stackable
Some tips and tricks:
~ Notice that I do not use jump rings for this project? I feel that jump rings are not really needed so I do not use it because using it means that there is a possibility that the charms or clasp might drop off because I have a bracelet that did that -___- Probably under my tough handling. Haha

~ You can put in charms like I did. I love the way it makes the bracelet look prettier instantly. Just slide the charms in (the right way please) and ta-ta. No jump rings needed.

~ You can make this like a clique bracelet which I am currently doing. Hehe. It would be beyond cool.

Okay. That's all for today. Ciao!

Rebecca:)

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