Braided Seed Bead Bracelet

Step 1

Begin with four 6" pieces of beading wire. Slide all four strands through a crimp tube. Bend the wires back down through the crimp tube & clamp the tube down to form a loop with the wires. This part is a bit tricky- I bent the wires down through the crimp tube one at a time. Trim off the excess wire that's sticking out of the bottom of the crimp, and cover with a crimp cover.

See Tip: Crimping Basics

See Tip: Using a Crimp Cover

Step 2

Next, string the beads onto the strands 1 strand at a time. String on 26 purple 8/0 seed beads, 21 gold 11/0 seed beads, and then 26 more purple. Slide a crimp tube onto the beading wire. Bend the wire back down through the crimp tube to create a loop & clamp down on the crimp tube to secure. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of beading wire. I used dark purple beads on two of the strands, and light purple on the other two.

Step 3

Tape down the top of the bracelet (the end with the crimp cover) to a table. Gently & loosely braid the strands together. When you've reached the end, connect the ends together with a 3mm jump ring. I also placed a 6mm jump, ring around the two dark purple strands, just to keep the braided in place. Lastly, I used jump rings to attach a 1/2" piece of chain to each end of the bracelet. Attach a jump ring to one end, and a lobster clasp to the other. *optional* use a 3mm jump ring to attach a charm to the chain.