Last weekend I tried to put together this bracelet from a free Bead&Button pattern by Wendy Hunt. The pattern actually illustrates steps for making a necklace, but since both time and capital were not extensive, it was easier to modify the pattern into a bracelet.
It turned out great! And then quickly it fell apart. Several times. This might be due to my shoddy knot-tying skills, but I remade it again and again and will hope it doesn't fall apart on my sister-in-law, whose birthday I had made it to grace. Ironically, I had been worried about the large jumprings causing me problems because my stitching usually holds up very well, knots be damned. I'll just have to see as time goes on whether it's a design to last.
I love the way the diamond shapes are linked together by 5mm jumprings holding an extra two seed beads for decoration. Since the 6mm I bought didn't work out, I used 10mm and just added an extra two seed beads. All in all, the bracelet took less than $10 to make since I already had a needle, clasps and plenty of Fireline.
Tips of the week:
1. Don't let frustrations work you up while beading. Needles are very sharp.
2. Try out beadandbutton.com for some great free patterns.
