Free Beading Pattern: Dime Store Bracelet

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Inside-Color Montana Blue/Oxblood Lined" (363)
• 4mm round crystals "Dark Wine" (Chinavoski)

Don't be fooled by the name of this pattern. It's not implying that this is a cheap-looking bracelet. It's called that because of a blog article by Sandra Halpenny, which you can read HERE. The subject of her article is to show that it is possible to get started with beading by buying inexpensive supplies at discount stores. To prove her point, she made this bracelet using beads that she bought at Walmart. At the end of the article she posts the tutorial for making this bracelet. I used slightly higher quality beads to make mine. I used top-quality Japanese seed beads but the crystals I used are cheap ones from China.

You'll get much neater results using Toho or Miyuki seed beads than you'd get with Chinese seed beads. I also found that the kind of thread that I used made a big difference. Sandra recommends FireLine but I haven't tried it with this pattern. When I made my first bracelet (the maroon one) I used Nymo B thread because I knew I'd have to go through the beads a number of times. That was a big mistake. The fine thread didn't give the netting enough structure and it came out all wavy and ruffled. It's not as obvious in my photos as it is in reality but it looks very bad. When I made my second bracelet (the green one), I used regular Nymo D thread and the netting came out perfect and the bracelet is nice and flat. Since I haven't tried FireLine, so I could be wrong, I suspect it might also be too fine for this pattern. Sandra mentions buying 8lb FireLine at Walmart but she doesn't say if that's what she used in the bracelet in her photo or not. That's thicker than the standard 6lb which might explain why her netting looks neat and flat.

If you look carefully at the tutorial on Sandra's blog, you'll notice that she says nothing about finishing off the ends of the bracelet or how to attach a clasp. I just used my typical method of making a loop with an 8/0 seed bead for a jump ring and it worked quite well.

UPDATE 9/14/17: I just discovered that Sandy has moved this pattern to THIS page. She also changed the name to "Small Wave Bracelet". The tutorial on her blog is still free. If you'd like a PDF version, she has a link that will take you to the site where you can buy a copy for 99-cents.

• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Dark Chocolate Bronze Gold Luster" (422)
• 4mm round crystals "Sage Green AB" (Chinavoski)