Bracelet of the Day: Roulette - Elderberry & Gold

ROULETTE BRACELET

• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Matte Metallic Flax"
• 7mm CzechMates 2-hole cabochons "Pacifica Elderberry"
• SuperDuo beads "Matte Milky Amethyst"
• SuperDuo beads "Bronze Pale Gold"

I decided to alternate the colors of the motifs in this bracelet because I wasn't sure if I had enough of the gold SuperDuos. It turned out that I did but I'm glad that I made it this way. I think it would have looked a little boring with so much gold. Plus, I had SuperDuos in a color that's nearly identical to the Elderberry cabochons and this way I got to use those too.

I have good news about what I thought was a problem with SuperDuos that are 2.5x5mm vs the ones that are 2x5mm. It turns out that only certain colors are troublesome after I did some more experiments last night.

First I tried making a motif using Twin beads as someone suggested in a comment. I can safely say that the person who did the tutorial online definitely did not use Twin beads in the example photos. Twin beads have a completely different shape than regular SuperDuos. They're also a little smaller than real SuperDuos so the motif came out very tiny and the cabochon didn't fit in the hole at all.

Next I chose some SuperDuo beads at random that were labeled as 2.5x5mm. The motif came out perfect and it inspired me to try a few more tests!

Next I used a color that I knew I had tried before that didn't work. They're just plain opaque glossy black SuperDuos. Once again, the hole in the center of the motif was too small for the cabochon. So, I tried making a motif with 6/0 seed beads instead of 8/0 beads. That helped but the motif was still too wonky.

There were two or three other SuperDuo colors that I had tried before but I couldn't recall what they were. So, for my final experiments I chose four more colors that I know for a fact are 2.5x5mm because I got them from Red Panda. Every one of them made perfect motifs and the cabochons fit nicely in the holes.

I will try to take photos of all of these samples this afternoon. I will add the photos to Friday's post along with the bead color information.

You'll find the free "Roulette" bracelet tutorial HERE (link has been disabled for your safety). Read my previous post, HERE, for details about what I changed to make the pattern work with the 2-hole cabochons.