Bracelet of the Day: SimplElegance Bracelet

SIMPLELEGANCE BRACELET

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Aztec Gold" (55127)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 6mm 2-hole cabochons "Alabaster Metallic Azure"

I found this pretty pattern HERE in the AsszaBeadingArts Etsy shop. Although the designer lives in Hungary, the pattern is in English and it's only $3.90. She doesn't specify Miyuki or Toho seed beads so I assumed that Miyuki would work the best and I think I was right about that but I haven't actually tried Toho beads. This bracelet is only about 1/2-inch wide and very delicate.

I made a couple of small samples and decided that I wasn't all that happy with the 6mm druks because they tend to either stick up too much or they're sunken in too much. I also wasn't keen on the method used to make the motifs. So, I tried using 6mm 2-hole cabochons instead which required an entirely different method. The end result looks pretty much the same as the original made with druks except that the bracelet comes out flat on the back. I'm sorry that I can't explain how I made mine differently because I don't have permission from the designer to do so.

Here is a sample that I made with 6mm druks:

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Aztec Gold" (55127)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 6mm druks "Turquoise Lister"

Here is how it looks from the back:

I added 8/0 seed beads on the ends of my bracelet so that I could attach my clasp with jump rings. I ran into an issue with one of my clasp loops in the spot where it attached to the bracelet. As I was weaving around to get into the proper position to add the netting, I broke both of the 15/0 seed beads that my clasp loop was attached to. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've broken a bead so it took me by surprise. I was using FireLine and a size 12 needle so it shouldn't have happened. If I make this pattern again, I will come up with a way to change the end beads to 11/0s instead of 15/0s. They're just too tiny for the kind of stress that is put on the ends of the bracelet and for the number of times you have to go through them. Thankfully, I was able to sneak in two new beads and I also was able to pull my clasp loop, which had gotten very loose due to the missing beads, back into position without it being too noticeable. I really didn't want to take the whole thing apart and start over so I was very relieved that it worked. If I'd been making the bracelet as a gift for someone, instead of for myself, I would have started over.