JuliannaMucci

What you will need:

~BEADS!!  lots and lots of beads!!!!  bauble beads, seed beads, accent beads, any kind of bead!!!   This project is perfect for using up leftover beads...the ones you have only a few each of....by spacing them appropriately in the body of the bracelet, textural balance can be achieved nicely!

~Stringing material:   I recommend using fireline 8lb test....is strong and very thin. Nymo will also work, but for durability I totally adhere to fireline. 

~Clasp:  any sort of button will work....or any sort of closure clasp you might want to use.  I do NOT recommend using toggle clasps unless you plan on your bracelet fitting snuggly!  Toggle clasps tend to come undone on pieces that are created to fit loosely on the wrist!

INSTRUCTIONS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The baseline of the caterpillars I have done is ONE strand of beads. I used size 6 E beads for the base of the caterpillar I taught in class.  (you can use an 11 or an 8...it just a little more tedious with the smaller beads)

• String a tension bead. (loop your thread through a bead, fold over the side, a go back through the bead)

• String enough beads so that your baseline is 1/4 inch LONGER than your desired FINISHED length (including length for clasp and closure). (embellishing will shrink it slightly.)

• At then end of your single strand base line of beads, attach your clasp. (button, bead, whatever...I do not use crimps anywhere in these, the entire bracelet is secured by weaving the thread). I tend to favor button clasps. For a button clasp, thread through the hole on back/bottom, add one base line row bead and then another smaller bead. Loop over the side of the last bead added, then go back through the baseline and exit the FIRST bead at the end of the clasp. (depending on the size of the button, several baseline beads can be covered. You do not want to embellish under the button as it will make it more difficult to clasp.

(Come out of the baseline row at the bead immediately at the end of the clasp/button/bead)

This is where the embellishing rows begin. Add accent beads of your choice. (generally keep the length of this ½ " for a fuller bracelet).

• Pull the beads down your thread until they are firm against the baseline...then add a size 11 seed bead to your thread. (it does not have to be a size 11…I tend to add some 8s for texture)

• GO BACK DOWN through the beads you just added...but NOT the seed bead...and go through the very next bead on the baseline row.

• Right now you should have one little twig of embellishment poking out between the last two beads on your base row...and your thread should be pulled out after the second bead in the base line row. (Technically, between the first two beads that are NOT covered by your clasp, if any are)

Now you will repeat the fringe step just described above...all the way to the end of the row...and between each bead in the baseline row. Keep the tension as tight as possible...you don't want a bunch of loose rows!

• At the end of the row you will attach the closure...I use a loop of beads that make up the base line row to wrap around the button closure.

(You just have to play with the number of beads until you find the amount needed to snuggly wrap around the closure button or bead on the other end.)

• Once you have established the right size, wind your thread through this circle of beads several times, then come out through the FIRST bead only of the baseline. (***WINDING THE THREAD THROUGH THE BEADS WILL TIGHTEN THEM UP...MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH BEADS SO THAT ONCE TIGHTENED, THE LOOP WILL STILL FIT AROUND THE button/bead on the other end)

 

• Now it is time to go back up the baseline row adding rows of embellishment like you did the first time...allowing the second row to lay opposite the first row. (BETWEEN EACH BEAD of the baseline row)

This is where the only difficult part comes in. Be mindful of the thread. If it gets tangled in the rows of embellishment, it can be very annoying.

If you need to add thread, it is safe to do so. Leave a 4" tail on the first piece and then knot it with the thread you are adding.

(Fireline knots well...but tie it off several times. At least a double knot in one place…and then several small single knots along the joining of the threads. Try to keep the knots close together so that you are not trying to thread through and cover up 4" of knots. Be mindful that these knots will need to fit through the beads to be concealed. Fireline knots like thread, so they won't be huge...but might not fit through the size 11 seeds that are attached on the ends of the rows.)

(I DO recommend trying to conceal these knots inside the beads on an embellishment row so that they do not clog up the base line row if you are planning on more than two rows of embellishment)

• After securing the two pieces together, thread the excess tail from the original thread through the beads IN THE DIRECTION you are working. Then continue working with the newly attached thread.

• When you reach the button/bead clasp, thread through it again, coming back through the baseline row, and up through an embellishment row.

• Then come up through the securing seed bead, loop over the side of the seed bead, then go back down through the embellishment row.

• Thread through the baseline row, back through the clasp closure and into the baseline row again.

• Repeat this several times, going through the secured clasp, back to a DIFFERENT embellishment row etc... I do this 4 or 5 times...just to make sure the thread is wound enough times that when I cut it, it will not unravel.

These bracelets are very secure...without crimps.

 

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