Make Jewelry to Match An Outfit

Hey CC fans!  I’m Jamie and normally I can be found blogging over at SweetSeedBeads (check it out!).  Today I’m guest posting here for Candie (whom I absolutely LOVE) and I couldn’t be more excited to share a fun, last minute, Easter dress inspired bracelet with you : )

My Easter dress is “so last year” but I snatched it up for like $14 at the end of the season and am still in love with it…and who doesn’t like a bargain, right?  Finding jewels to match all these fun, spring colors could be quite the challenge though…so, of course, I made my own.  This bracelet was made using a kumihimo braiding technique…here’s how you can make yours!

First, gather your supplies.  You will need:

Kumihimo Braiding Disc
8 Plastic Bobbins
White S-Lon Cord
Size 8/0 Seed Beads (in the color of your dress)
Glue-on Cord Ends and Clasp
Kumihimo Weight (mine is my boyfriend’s fishing sinker tied to a binder clip…totally works)
G-S Hypo Cement
E6000 Adhesive
Scissors

Step 1. Measure and cut eight, 35″ lengths of S-Lon cord.  Tie all ends together in a knot.

Step 2:  String 40 seed beads onto each strand.  For mine, I have four strands with white beads, one with coral, one with tangerine, one with aqua and one with plum beads.  Once all 40 beads are on the strand, wind the strand onto a plastic bobbin and close, leaving about 8-10 beads on the outside.  This will help your cords stay untangled when you begin your braiding.

Step 3:  Set your strands up on the kumihimo disc.  You’ll want to start with a strand on the left and right side of the #8, #16, #24 and #32.  You can see in the photo below what colors of beads I placed in each slot to get the look of the bracelet above.  Looking for a different pattern?  Check out my Pinterest board for tons of ideas.

Once your strands are set, flip the disc over and attach your kumihimo weight to the knot that comes through the center hole.  This will keep the beading taut while you work.

Step 4: Begin your braid (without beads).  Start by moving the strand to the left of the #16 position up to the left of the #31 position.  Finish this set by moving the strand to the right of the #32 position down to the right of the #15 position.  Rotate the disc counterclockwise to the next set.  Begin this set by moving the strand to the left of the #24 position up to the left of the #7 position.  Finish this set by moving the strand to the right of the #8 position down to the right of the #23 position.

Continue this step until you have about a 1/2″ braid coming out from the bottom.

Step 5: Add beads to your braid.  Continue braiding the same way you did in step 4, however, now on each strand, slide a bead down and lock under the previous strand.  Be sure that you do not move on to the next strand until the bead is locked in place under the previous strand.  Continue this step until your beading is long enough for your wrist.  For my 7.5″ bracelet, my beading needed to be 6″ (my cord ends and clasp measure about 1.5″).

Step 6:  Continue braiding without beads until you have about a 1/2″ tail on the end.  Remove the strands from the board and tie a knot in the end to keep your braid from unraveling.  Remove the weight, remove the bobbins and trim the excess cord.

Step 7:  Coat both braided ends with G-S Hypo Cement.  Let dry.

Step 8:  Once the cement is completely dry, line up your cord end and trim the braid to fit inside.  Using a toothpick, coat the braid with E6000 adhesive (this stuff is AWESOME!) and insert the end into the cord end.  Repeat for the other side.  Let the E6000 set up for about 24 hours.

Step 9:  Finish the bracelet by attaching your clasp…mine, easy enough, is just an S-hook.

And that’s it…pretty easy right?  This whole project from start to finish only takes about three hours and can easily be done the day before Easter…so if you’re stressing about finding the perfect accessory to compliment your perfect dress…stress no more…create your own!

Hope you had as much fun as I did…thanks again, Candie!!

Happy Beading!