First we're going to grab our materials:
- Voyage Fabric Pack
- Scissors (not pictured)
- Needle & Thread
- Chopstick
- Fine-point Tweezers
- Batting
- Baker's Twine
- Tapestry Needle
- Bracelet Clasp
Then we're going to cut a narrow strip of each fabric, about 1 1/2" wide.
Fold and pin each strip of fabric along the length and stitch the strips into a long tube. Cut the tubes into 1 1/2" segments.
At this point I suggest putting something fun on television and finding a comfy chair: sewing the beads is not difficult, but it does take a little time (about 10 minutes per bead once you get the first few out of the way).
Slip the small tube of fabric over the chopstick (it makes it easier to sew around the circumference of the tube) and sew a small running stitch about a 1/4" from the end of the tube, starting and ending at the seam. Remove the tube from the chopstick and pull the stitches tight to gather that end, wrap your thread around the gathered fabric 2-3 times and make a single stitch through it. Do not cut your thread, yet.
Use the tweezers to turn the tube inside out through the still-open end, then use the chopstick to fully turn out the stitched end. Turn the open end of the fabric inside (about 1/4"), and then stuff the "capsule" with batting.
To finish the bead, sew a running stitch along the folded, open edge of the tube, pull it tight, and make a few more stitches along the gathered end to secure it. Knot your thread, and bury the tail inside the finished bead.
Repeat as necessary.
Now, for one of my fabrics I decided to cut each tube in half and make smaller, roundish beads.
The process is the same (though only a 1/8" hem along the top and bottom), but I found it useful to use the tip of my finger inside the bead opening as I stitched along the top edge, my fingernail keeping the batting in place in it's very tiny shell.
For the bracelet I used 6 of the capsule beads and 5 of the rounds, laying them out on my bead board to roughly the length of my charm bracelet for reference.
I cut a length of each bakers twine (one blue & white, one yellow & white) a little more than double the length of my finished bracelet, and threaded both onto a tapestry needle. Once the first bead was strung, I left a 3" tail at the beginning end (for attaching the clasp, later), and knotted the threads on either end of the bead.
Even though this sort of bracelet, even if both threads were to break, is unlikely to have its beads go spilling everywhere, knotting between the beads is a nice touch for any bracelet. So thread the next bead, knot closely, and repeat until the end.
To attach the clasp, string the twine through the loop on the clasp, tie a butcher's knot, then thread the twine back through the nearest bead to secure the end. Trim the excess flush from the end of the bead and you're done!
I hope you've enjoyed this project and will give it a try, yourself! If you wanted to skip the clasp, I'd add another bead repeat and string it with elastic cord.
Wishing you creative days!
No comments:
Post a Comment