Wrap bracelets - part one

Bracelet made and modeled by my friend Pam Heutmaker

These little wrap bracelets have become so popular recently, that I finally decided I better learn how to make them! You might remember that one of my favorite designs from Stylish Jewelry Made Simple was the wrap bracelet (my review and a picture at the link). You can find a very clear explanation, with pictures, of the wrapping pattern at Art Beads, so I'll just continue here with my own tips.

There are a bunch of different ways to make them, using a cord and a binding thread. Here are some of the possibilities:
Core - satin cord, waxed linen cord, leather or faux leather cord, craft cord
Binding thread - Nymo, fireline, carded silk thread, embroidery floss

Besides those materials, you'll need beads, of course, a button for the closure, fray check or hypo-tube cement, scissors, a beading needle, and possibly a sewing needle.

You'll have to experiment with length to see what works best for your size wrist. I like having enough left over cord to make tying the knots easier, so I used 26 inches for a single wrap and 46 inches for a double (the length will be halved, remember!).

1. Thread the cord through the button shank, or through two of the holes. Center it.

2. Depending upon the method you choose, anchor your "beading thread" and stitch your beads to the cords. You can either loop the thread up and over the cord, or when using the satin cord, you can stitch right through it. Stitch up from the bottom of the first bead, up and around the top cord, back down through the bead, around the bottom cord and angle the thread slightly diagonally in order to add the next bead.

3. When I chose beads which were too small for multiple passes of thread, like the little rose quartz ones (above), I stitched once through each bead and right through the satin cord. Afterwards, I anchored a piece of embroidery floss at the button, and wrapped between each bead going down one side and back up the other.

4. My friend Pam skipped using embroidery floss on hers, and chose waxed linen cord and fireline.

5. For this one, I also skipped the embroidery floss, and used satin cord and Nymo to match.

Next week, I'll show you some more examples, and we'll see how to finish them off.
Part two

Copyright 2014 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.