jewelry

Pinterest, tumblr and fashion blogs everywhere are filled to the brim with close-up shots of “arm parties”—wrists stacked with bracelet upon bracelet. I love the look, but have always had an issue when it comes to this piece of jewelry because my wrists are unnaturally small. Every single year I would get a nice bracelet for Christmas. Every single year it would slip off my toddler-sized wrist and be lost forever.

For this reason, I love making my own bracelets, custom-sized to fit me. And after making these tribal beaded earrings, I’ve been on a serious bead kick, so this wrap bracelet was an easy choice.

Before you undertake this project yourself, be warned: it takes HOURS. You’ll make the bracelet using a square stitch, which essentially requires you to individually loop each tiny bead on to its surrounding beads one at a time. I made this bracelet over the course of a few days, doing a little here and a little there.

You’ll Need:

Beads (colors of your choice)
Beading wire (I used thread because I was too lazy to drive to A.C. Moore, but I don’t recommend you do the same. The bracelet will be far too delicate and easy to destroy)
Needle
A button

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut a long piece of string/wire (as long as you think you can manage without it tangling). Depending on how many times you want the bracelet to wrap around your wrist, this DIY requires a LOT of thread/wire. You’ll need to add segments by tying ends together.
Begin your square stitch, leaving at least 8 inches of thread/wire at the end (you’ll need the extra wire to attach the button at the end). I used a row width of 5 beads, but you can vary this depending on how thick you want your bracelet. I’ve drawn out what a square stitch looks like because I felt it was clearer than the photos I took. You’ll use this technique row after row. There’s a great animated tutorial over at Silver Hill Design that I highly recommend if my picture isn’t helping.
When you get to the end (17 million hours later), secure the last bead by wrapping the thread through it several times. String on enough beads to form a loop big enough for the button to fit through. This will depend on the button you choose; I needed 16 beads to form my loop. Secure by looping the thread through the last row of beads several times, ending with a knot.
Go back to the starting end of the bracelet and attach the button using the same technique used for the loop clasp: thread the wire through the last row of beads several times and through the button, securing with a knot.

For my wrap bracelet, I mixed up the patterns between color-blocked stripes and zigzags because I wanted an eclectic mix of color when it was wound around my wrist.

Hope you all have a great weekend! I’m headed off to NYC tonight and then to the Jersey Shore for the remainder of the weekend (look out, Pauly D!).