Bracelet of the Day: Bobble Bangle - Sandjet

BOBBLE BANGLE

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Hybrid Antiqued Metallic Black" (TY-11-Y503)
• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (TR-11-223/c)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Hybrid Antiqued Metallic Black" (TBRD8-Y503)
• 4mm round agate beads "Sandjet" (Beads One - not available online)

I've wanted to make today's bracelet, as well as tomorrow's, for the longest time. I had the round beads for them set aside since way back when Deb first came out with her "Bobble Bangles" pattern, which you can buy HERE. This is the pattern that Teejay adapted to come up with her "Duo Bobble Band" pattern which I've written about so many times. She basically used 2-hole SuperDuo beads in place of the two 4mm round beads that go down the center of Deb's version. She also made a few other little changes to make her clever idea work.

At first glance, you might think that I used very little "metal" in this one; pretty much just the bronze accent beads going down the center. But, the black seed beads actually have a slightly metallic finish and I love how they look next to the matte agate beads. I think this bracelet will go well with pretty much any outfit that has some black in it.

To make this bracelet fit me correctly, I had to attach my magnet clasp with jump rings. So, I added 8/0 seed beads on both ends for the jump rings to go through. I had to attach two jump rings on each end on tomorrow's bracelet because that one came out slightly shorter than the black one. That's because the turquoise druks I used are a little larger than the agate beads. You might think they  would make the bracelet LONGER but that's not the case. Because the druks are fatter, they caused the seed bead base to expand width-wise which made it a little shorter.

I decided to use a dark gun metal colored clasp on this even though the accent seed beads are bronze. I thought that a bronze clasp would stand out too much against all the black beads and the clasp I used is so dark that it's almost black. In this instance, I don't think that mixing "metals" was a bad thing to do. The only thing I did differently than Deb's instructions was to replace the middle seed bead on each end with an 8/0 seed bead for the jump rings. When I wove around to reinforce the clasp loop, I skipped the 8/0 bead to pull the 11/0 beads on either side closer together to form a "V".

I take that back. I also added the accent beads down the center of this bracelet. I added them in Step 4 of the pattern. When you add the three 11/0 seed beads on the outside of the motif, replace the middle one with your accent color. It's important to make sure that the accent beads end up on the right hand side, which will be the inside of the bracelet when you attach the second side. When you look at the diagram in Step 12 of the pattern, the accent beads should be in every other motif starting with the second one. An un-accented motif MUST be the first motif with its point facing left due to the way the clasp part of the bracelet is added on later. I learned this the hard way and had to start over.