MELANIE BRACELET
- 11/0 seed beads Toho "Metallic Bronze Antique Gold" (225)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Brown Bronze" (457P)
- SuperDuo beads "Crystal Grey Rainbow"
- 3mm fire polished beads "Matte Brown Iris"
This started out as a variation of the "Duo Bobble Band" pattern but I ended up embellishing it to the point where it no longer looks much like "Duo Bobble Band" at all. So, I've decided to give it its own name and I will write up the instructions for it when I have the time. I might even post the pattern for download here but if I do it won't be until after the holidays.
I love the way that this bracelet turned out. It's very soft and flexible and I think that may be due to the semi-matte seed beads that I used. For that reason, I think the pattern needs more testing to make sure that it will work well with other kinds of beads. As a test, I did make one small sample using shiny metallic seed beads. I also tested to see if 3mm druks would work in place of the fire polished beads. Below is my sample and a list of the beads that I used to make it:
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
- SuperDuo beads "Aquamarine Dark Travertin"
- 3mm fire polished beads "Smoky Topaz Luster"
- 3mm druks "Smoky Topaz Luster"
I used druks on the left side of the sample and fire polished beads on the right side. The stitching seems a little tighter and more crowded with shiny seed beads which caused the seed beads in the center of each scallop to pop out a bit, especially over the druks. This also causes the edges of the scallops to curl over a little, at least with druks. I don't want to omit that seed bead though because it gives the scallops stability. I also don't want to make the scallops any larger so it looks like the best option is to use fire polished beads. I might also try replacing the center 11/0 seed beads with 15/0 beads and see if that give more room for the druks/fire polished beads. I have a feeling that probably won't work well though. I think it might turn the scallops into points and that's not the look I'm going for.
This bracelet takes a lot of thread and I had to use Nymo B because of the number of passes through some of the beads. FireLine would also work but it would be very expensive to use 5 yards or more of it. I started with a 4-yard length and then added another 2-3 yards to add the embellishment. Bear in mind that I was making this bracelet for myself so it's a very small size. I made this one 6 inches and it's a little loose on my wrist but, if I'd left off a motif, it would have been too tight. Obviously it would take a lot more thread for a larger bracelet.
It's gorgeous! I love the color combo, it looks very vintage/old and I love that!
ReplyDeleteBoth are very pretty! I thought it was the Duo Bobble pattern at first. How long does it take you to make a bracelet like this? I know you have a lot of experience and it would take me longer.
ReplyDeleteHave you looked at Walmart or sporting stores for Fireline? It is cheaper than the craft stores.
Walmart around here doesn't sell the 6 pound FireLine. I have also checked some of the fishing websites and the only 6 pound that I've seen for sale was in green. I've bought it a few times at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon but the last couple of times I got it from Aura Crystals online. Their price seemed about the best at the time. I just checked and they've got a 50-yard spool for $7.90 (.16 per yard) or a 125-yard spool for $19.10 (.15 per yard). I think it was around $13 for a 55-yard spool at Hobby Lobby before the coupon which works out to .24 per yard. I buy the large spools of Nymo which cost about a penny per yard.
DeleteI forgot to answer your first question. I rarely watch the time when I do my beading but I'm guessing it took me a couple of hours to make this bracelet. It's hard to say though because I sometimes put down my work for a while to do other things.
DeleteI love the way you used the superduo beads in this bracelet - sparingly. I especially like the aquamarine version. Just lovely.
ReplyDeletevery nice combination of colours, can,t wait to see the pattern and make it myself!
ReplyDeleteI love your bracelet! Thanks for sharing it. Your creation is more than worthy of 5+ yards of thread. Think of good thread as the bones of your piece. You may not see it, but it is very important to the structure of your finished project.
ReplyDeleteI do use good thread, just not FireLine very often. I really don't like working with FireLine but I have some patterns that turn out better when I use it. A lot of the time though, it's too fine and doesn't give some projects enough body. Earrings are a good example where FireLine often doesn't work well and it causes the earrings come out too soft and flimsy. In those cases I use Nymo D. When I need finer thread, I usually go with Nymo B. Plus, I always do more reinforcement than patterns usually suggest.
DeleteI really dislike Fireline. I like Wildfire much better. When I first started beading, I used Sono a lot. I still prefer it for projects that don't need a lot of body. I tried Fireline for use with crystals (at all my beading friends' suggestions) I found it uneven in consistency, and it seems to tangle a lot more than beading thread or even Wildfire. I also like that beading thread is available in different colors. I figure that Fireline wasn't really made for beading, but was used before there was any other alternative for use with crystals and bugles. Now Wildfire is actually made for the purpose of beading, and I find it much smoother than Fireline. My friends swear by Fireline and insist that I must have gotten ahold of a bad batch. I got it at two different times in two different colors, so I doubt that. I guess we all have our own preferences. I haven't worked with Nymo yet. Does it need to be conditioned before use?
DeleteI've never tried Wildfire. Maybe I should try it once just to see how I like it. I've never heard of Sono. I agree with you that FireLine is horrible for tangling and it's almost impossible to get knots out of it. I always condition my thread, even FireLine which some people say doesn't need to be conditioned or stretched. I use Thread Heaven and I also stretch my thread, even when I'm only making samples. It only takes a minute and makes a world of difference.
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