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Thursday, July 15, 2021

Baubles, Bangles, Bright Shiny Things...

 


In the "can't stop playing" department, we find my most recent creative jewelry projects. Having enjoyed making Boho beads and bead dangles to the point where there are a multitude of them along with charms just sitting in my sewing room, I knew they needed a home. Where better than on my arm? And so these bracelet wraps were born. it doesn't take many supplies or much time to fashion them, and they are fun to make. My Fiber Art Bee friends expressed interest in how to make them, so recently we had a little demo at our Zoom meeting. One piece of good news we heard is that the group is now  cleared to meet in person starting in August.




This is the bracelet I began in the online demo and have since completed. It's made using memory wire as a base. The wire is wrapped with sari silk ribbon to cover it. For this bracelet, I did wrap the wire first with strips of muslin just to provide a bit of padding and to conserve the sari ribbon, which is the final outside wrap. This one features vintage sari silk ribbon, lampwork bead dangles, and charms which include my initials. I've also done an over-wrap of fine gauge wire with seed beads to add more bling. I'll share the steps below in case you'd like to give this a try yourself.




One reason I like these bracelets so much is that I have thin wrists, so finding a bracelet that fits and doesn't slide off is a task. These bracelets conform to any size wrist- one size fits all! The above photo shows the bare bones of a bracelet. I begin by wrapping the wire around my wrist and then using wire cutters to cut a length of memory wire that has about three loops. Any more than that becomes difficult to handle when wrapping with ribbon. Then I use round-nose pliers to form a closed loop at each end of the wire so there are no sharp ends to catch on clothing or poke uncomfortably.




This tray shows the tools of the trade for making the bracelets. Once the wire is cut, you'll need some fabric glue to secure the ribbon or fabric strip at one end of the wire while you wrap. The memory wire is shown in the upper right- it's kind of like a slinky, forever holding its loops. Also shown are wire cutters and the pliers. In the center of the photo is a bobbin used for holding fibers when doing Kumihimo (a braided cord technique). If you are old enough to remember Spoolie hair curlers... the bobbins are like those. And, oh my goodness, they still sell them! I've wrapped the sari ribbon around the bobbin and closed the top to hold it while I wrap. It's a handy tool to have, but not required. You can just form the ribbon into a skein to keep it manageable for wrapping.  Once you have your bracelet wrapped, just over-wrap it with thin wire and seed beads. Then add bead dangles and charms with jump rings to decorate it. Have fun and make one to match every outfit!

4 comments:

FlourishingPalms said...

What a lovely piece! I'm impressed that you have all the supplies and know-how to make this. I too have small wrists, so I understand the benefit in being able to create something custom-made and beautiful. I admire the variety of skills you have!

Lynette (NZ) said...

These are really very cool. Thanks for sharing your process....another thing to add to my 'one day I must make' list xo

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I am having trouble leaving comments. In fact, for nearly two days, even though I kept refreshing, there was no comment box at all. This was especially true for embedded comment boxes, but pop-ups were nearly as bad. It must have been a Blogger glitch.

I think these bracelets are gorgeous. I like how you incorporated some of the beads you made earlier. I'd never heard of the Spoolie, so glad you gave us a link. These turned out great. Another great idea you gave us to think about.

The Inside Stori said...

Simply charming….what a great way to utilize fabrics and babbles!