Welcome to Free Project Fridays! I'll be posting a new free beading project every Friday here on Beading Daily, so stay tuned for some great new beading projects!
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The Jazzy Herringbone Bracelet made by adding little groups of embellishments to a basic twisted tubular herringbone rope.
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I love herringbone stitch, and the textures in twisted tubular herringbone stitch make some
pretty fantastic beaded necklaces and bracelets. I love using this beadweaving
stitch to make beaded ropes and straps for my bead-embroidered cabochon
pendants, and lately I've been experimenting with adding a little bit of
texture and color to my beaded herringbone ropes. Jazzing up your next tubular
twisted herringbone rope is easier than you might think, and you can probably
do it with the beads you already have in your stash!
(Before you start this project, make sure that you are familiar and comfortable with twisted tubular herringbone stitch. You'll be adding lots of embellishments to this beaded bracelet project, so it will be necessary that you are familiar with the basic mechanics of the stitch.)
For this beading project, you'll need:
- 5 g of size 11° Japanese seed beads in color A
- 5 g of size 11° Japanese cylinder beads in color B
- 1 g of size 15° Japanese seed bead in color C
- 15 g of 3.4mm Japanese drop bead in color D
Here's how to do it:
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Start working tubular twisted herringbone stitch,
alternating pairs of A and B. After you've worked about 1/3" of twisted
tubular herringbone, add embellishments between each set of beads. Add a set of
B beads and pass down through the next bead in the previous round. Before
passing up through the next 3 beads,
pick up 1 C, 1 D and 1 C. Pass up through the next 3 beads. Add a set of A
beads and pass down through the next bead in the previous round. Add another
set of CDC and pass up through the next 3 beads. |
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Alternate adding a set of embellishment beads between each
set of A or B beads in every other round. Alternating rounds for embellishment
beads will give your tubular twisted herringbone rope a fun texture while
keeping it soft and flexible. Make sure that you pull snugly on your stitches
when stitching the rows with no embellishments between bead sets to keep the
stitching tight. |
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I used a custom-made peyote stitch toggle for this bracelet.
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Because you're adding embellishments to your tubular twisted
herringbone rope, you might have to make it slightly longer than usual for a
bracelet. Once you're happy with the length of your herringbone rope, you can
add a clasp. For my bracelet, I decided to make my own peyote-stitch toggle and
embellish the ring with more of the Japanese drop beads.
Experiment with adding different types and sizes of
embellishment beads between your bead sets! Try adding tiny freshwater pearls,
2mm or 3mm crystals, size 8o seed beads or 1.3mm cube beads. Mix up
your colors and most of all, have fun!
After you make up your own version of this bracelet, why not take a minute and share a photo of your beaded creation with us in the Reader Photo Gallery?
Happy Beading!
Jennifer
Filed under: Seed Bead Patterns, Herringbone Stitch, Bead-weaving, Crystals, Peyote Stitch, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Crafts, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Necklace Making, Bracelet Making