Monday, September 21, 2015

Beaded Gemstone Leather Bracelets

IMG_4335

Once again summer is beginning to fade away and winter is not too far over the horizon. It is about this time of year that I end my summer activities and retreat to my little studio to create beaded jewelry and other adornments.

Last week I experimented with making some beaded leather bracelets. I have quite a stash of Miyuki 4 mm cube glass beads and also a lot of gemstone 4 mm cube beads. So, I thought to start creating using those beads.

My technique was to weave a design into a strip using either a square stitch or a peyote stitch and then sew the strip to a leather wrist band. The square beads always fit together nicely. I like to use Fire Line for this sort of beading as it is very strong and is not affected much by skin oils etc. I use snaps to facilitate easy on and off.

I have made these bracelets before and have sold a few. But I added a new twist to these IMG_4336bracelets. I edge beaded the wrist band with #8 Czech glass beads. The edge beads really make the bracelet pop and give it a very festive look.

The two bracelets shown here are about one inch wide and fit an eight inch man’s wrist but the bracelets can be made to fit any size wrist. They are, of course, unisex.

You can find my bracelets for sale in my etsy store, Sirocco’s Trading Post. I invite you in to take a look.