Tube Bracelet part 2

Been busy the past couple of days so I haven't had a lot of time for beading. But I do squeeze in whatever spare time I can.

Continuing with the tube bracelet, the pattern called for 6mm stones for the center instead of strung seed beads as a design option.

What I had were 10mm round cherry quartz stones so I modified the pattern a bit. The "tube" is now made up of four components across instead of three. This includes the component in the "spine" part of the bracelet.

In the pattern, it showed that the "tubes" were formed on every component on the "spine". I'm making it every other component for now and will see how the string of cherry quartzs look in them.

Tube Bracelet

Making a bracelet from a pattern designed by Antonio Calles (Bead and Button). I actually started making this bracelet a few weeks ago and ended up joining the components to make a ring and earrings set.

First two components, joined as you go along.

I'm using Nymo thread size D now. I've attempted to for a long time but after reading a lot of forums I learned the proper way to use it.

Nymo thread has to be conditioned. It has to be pre-stretched and waxed with either beeswax or Thread Heaven. I read in one forum that it can actually be ironed lightly so that the wax bonds better with the thread. I never tried this before and I think it works!

I put the prestretched and waxed Nymo under a piece of fabric, like a handkerchief. Then I run the iron a few times across, on a medium heat setting.

When I'm done the thread doesn't fray as much and doesn't tangle at all. I used to avoid using Nymo because of the fraying, but this fixed that.

One way to avoid fraying is to just avoid sewing through the thread itself. This will be a big help when you have to unravel for some reason. This is pretty annoying when the thread is frayed.

Here is the finished bracelet base. I'm making it for an eight year old so it's a bit shorter than it says in the pattern.

The next part of the bracelet is to create the tube.

Herringbone Highway

This is a pattern from the December 2011 Issue of Bead and Button magazine. It's called Herringbone Highway designed by Aryd'ell Hotelling.

In my variation I made only one "lane" instead of the two called for in the pattern. I also used materials I had available.

I'm using 5mm faceted Carnelian round beads with 5mm freshwater pearls for the center of the "highway".

I don't have size 6 seed beads so I used size 8s but strung a 15/o before and after it to fill up the gap.

I used an 8mm round red agate for the toggle.

The finished bracelet.

Bead and Button Magazine thru Zinio

I bought the December 2011 issue of Bead and Button magazine on Zinio today. It's a digital newsstand where you can purchase digital versions of many popular magazines. It's perfect for me because I can't wait for three weeks for my issue to arrive.

I signed up a few days ago and tried their free issues. I downloaded the iPhone app and apparently not all magazines are available yet for the iPhone.

So I downloaded the Zinio Reader for Windows so I can read my magazines on my desktop.

I was excited about the new Bead & Button and found this project I wanted to do. I was going to print it out but the Zinio Reader kept crashing everytime I tried to print.

I emailed them and haven't gotten a reply yet. I sure hope they resolve this.

Despite this, I think Zinio is great. It's so convenient to be able to get the magazines you need in a few clicks.

It's kinda like the Newsstand app of Apple iOS5, but Newsstand doesn't have beading magazines yet.

Swarovski Fan Necklace and Earrings

My next project was the Swarovski necklace and earrings set on the cover of Bead and Button Magazine. I ordered the curved bar links from jjbead.com, the one specified in the resources page of the magazine issue. I did look around other online bead stores but only jjbead had the size that I needed for the necklace and earrings.

Also, since I was just beginning to follow patterns, I had to make sure I used only the materials listed or it might not turn out the same way and I had no way of fixing it.

I was able to buy the Swarovski bicones from a local bead shop, both 4mm and 3mm. I couldn't wait to get started!

And the magazine was right. It was a quick project and it was very pretty. It uses a crossweave technique and the curved bar links made it even more elegant.