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Studio Wednesday – The Birth of a Freeform Peyote Bracelet, the Final Part

By artandtea

For the final phase of my bracelet, I created a rectangular paper template and placed it underneath my beadwork so I could see which areas needed to be built up. You can make a flowing organic shape that does not have straight edges, if you’d like. Use your imagination to draw any shape template to use as a guide.

Now it’s time to create my clasp. Because my bracelet is wide, I’ve decided to place 4 medium size pearls along the left edge to see how they would look.

I like the look so I go ahead and sew them on one at a time, being careful of the spacing as I bead.

Once they’re all placed on my bracelet, I reinforce them by running the thread back through each pearl. This is an important step to make sure they are securely fastened. You can even go through the beads a third time if the holes in your “buttons” allow it. Switching to a thinner needle can help in this process. Now it’s time to add loops to the other side.

As I add my loops, I peyote stitch between them and check the spacing against the pearls on the other side.

I peyote stitch around the loops to strengthen them and also because I like the look.

My free-form bracelet is complete!

Time to choose a new color palette…

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This entry was posted on October 1, 2008 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Beads, Color, Creativity, Jewelry, My Studio, Photography, freeform peyote. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

21 Responses to “Studio Wednesday – The Birth of a Freeform Peyote Bracelet, the Final Part”

  1. amanda Says:
    October 1, 2008 at 10:26 pm | Reply

    OMG that’s amazing. The colors are very festive and either autumn- or Christmas-like.

  2. Steph W Says:
    October 1, 2008 at 11:16 pm | Reply

    Wow -that is just fantastic! That would be a bracelet that I could wear with every single thing I own!

  3. artandtea Says:
    October 1, 2008 at 11:22 pm | Reply

    Thanks Amanda! I guess when I started this colorway, I was thinking of the more muted palette of the coming fall.

    Steph, you’re so kind! Thanks!

  4. Kim Cavender Says:
    October 1, 2008 at 11:46 pm | Reply

    What a fantastic bracelet! I really enjoyed seeing the progression of this piece.

  5. libzoid Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 12:40 am | Reply

    Karen, I love the finished bracelet! Thank you for sharing your process.

  6. Patti Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 12:44 am | Reply

    I’ve never done beading – your bracelet is fantastic, I love it! Looks like it’s time consuming but well worth it.
    take care,
    patti

  7. artandtea Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 12:55 am | Reply

    Thanks Kim, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

    Thanks Libby, you’ve very welcome!

    Thanks Patti! Yes, it took quite a few hours of beading but I loved every minute. :-)

  8. teeveebee Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 5:18 am | Reply

    That is probably the most beautiful bracelet I’ve ever seen. Just exquisite!

  9. artandtea Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 10:36 am | Reply

    Thank you so much, teeveebee!

  10. Ruth Ann Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 4:06 pm | Reply

    Fabulous! Can I be on your Christmas list?

    Ruth Ann

  11. artandtea Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 5:31 pm | Reply

    Thanks Ruth Ann! Sure. ;-)

  12. acrawley63 Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 11:39 pm | Reply

    Hi Karen,

    Whoa! The bracelet is stunning. Congratulations on sharing the process and the final piece. I think I hear the Smithsonian calling….

    -Amy

  13. Judy Says:
    October 2, 2008 at 11:40 pm | Reply

    Karen… this is jaw dropping beautiful!!! I think that says it all.

  14. artandtea Says:
    October 3, 2008 at 12:49 pm | Reply

    Thanks so much for your kind feedback, Amy! I really enjoyed the process and sharing it.

    Thanks Judy, you are very kind!

  15. LB Says:
    October 4, 2008 at 1:40 pm | Reply

    I like the colours you chose! It came out great! :D

  16. artandtea Says:
    October 4, 2008 at 2:45 pm | Reply

    Thanks LB!

  17. doras_explorations Says:
    October 5, 2008 at 12:05 pm | Reply

    Karen, the bracelet burned out amazingly beautiful ! I really like how you made the clasp, it integrates perfectly into the design instead of being an ‘afterthought’. I find ‘engineering’ and attaching clasps to be the most difficult aspect of beadwork. By the time I finish a piece and it’s time to add the clasp, I just want to move on to the next project, so I get very impatient !

  18. doras_explorations Says:
    October 5, 2008 at 12:07 pm | Reply

    Ooops, I meant ‘turned out’, not ‘burned out’, LOL !!!! I’ve had a bad cold, so my mind is not functioning too well !

  19. artandtea Says:
    October 5, 2008 at 12:14 pm | Reply

    Thanks Dora, I’m glad you like it! I know exactly what you mean. The clasp is an important design element in the piece and it took me a long time to understand that. Like you, I got impatient at the end of the project so I would slap something on that was functional, not thinking of the design impact. Now I do. :-)

  20. Jojo Says:
    October 6, 2008 at 12:00 pm | Reply

    I absolutely LOVE this bracelet! So colorful and fun…and what a great clasp style too. Fantastic!!

  21. artandtea Says:
    October 6, 2008 at 1:38 pm | Reply

    Thanks for your kind feedback, Jojo!

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