a bc

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Connie Whittaker is an associate editor at Bead&Button. Contact her at cwhittaker@beadandbutton.com.

DYNAMIC DIAMONDSBEAD WEAVING

bracelet

Components1 On 2 ft. (61 cm) of thread, pick up four 80 seed beads, and sew through the beads again to form a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail (figure 1). Retrace the thread path once more.

2 Pick up an 110 seed bead, and sew through the next 80. Repeat this stitch three times to complete the round (figure 2).

3 Pick up a 150 seed bead, a 3 mm bicone crystal, and a 150, cross over the opening diag-onally, and sew through the corresponding 80, going in the same direction (figure 3, a–b). Pick up a 150, and sew back through the crys-tal. Pick up a 150, and sew through the 80 your thread exited at the start of this step (b–c).

4 Pick up an 110, two 150s, an O-bead, two 150s, and an 110, skip the next 110 in the ring, and sew through the next 80 (figure 4, a–b). Repeat this stitch three times to complete the round (b–c), and continue through the following 110, two 150s, and O-bead (c–d). Make sure your thread is exiting the O-bead in the upper-left corner and the crystal is in a horizontal position. End the tail, but not the working thread, and set the component aside. 5 Repeat steps 1–4 to make 13 more compo-nents for a 71⁄2 in. (19.1 cm) bracelet (not including the clasp length).

Connect X-shaped components using seed beads, crystals, and O-beads for a fun and easy-to-make bracelet of open diamonds.

by Connie Whittaker

FIGURE 4FIGURE 3FIGURE 2FIGURE 1

©2016 Kalmbach Media Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. 1

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80 seed bead

110 seed bead

150 seed bead

3 mm bicone crystal

O-bead

Difficulty rating

Materialsgreen/purple bracelet 7¾ in. (19.7 cm)• 14 3 mm bicone crystals (Swarovski, amethyst)• 3 g 3.8 mm O-beads (pastel bordeaux)• 2 g 80 seed beads (Miyuki 2035, matte metallic khaki iris)• 2 g 110 seed beads (Toho 512F, matte sage pewter)• 2 g 150 seed beads (Toho 221, bronze)• 1 toggle clasp• Fireline, 6 lb. test• beading needles, #11 or # 12

Information for the teal colorway is listed at www.BeadAndButton.com/resources.

Basics, p. 78• ending and adding thread

6 Place two components next to each other with the working threads in the top-left position. With the working thread from the right-hand component, pick up an 110, a 150, an O-bead, a 150, and an 110, and sew down through the top-right O-bead in the left component (figure 5, a–b). Pick up an 110, and sew up through the O-bead your thread exited at the start of this step (b–c). Retrace the thread path using a tight tension, and continue through the 110, 150, O-bead, 150, and 110 just added, and the next nine beads in the left-hand component to exit the lower-right O-bead (c–d). Work as before to attach the bottom corners (d–e), and end this thread.7 Work as in step 6 to attach the remaining components, and end any remaining threads.

Clasp1 Add 12 in. (30 cm) of thread to an end component, exiting an 110 as shown (figure 6, point a) with the needle pointing toward the top edge of the component. Pick up four 150s, the loop of a toggle ring, and four 150s, and sew back through the 110 your thread exited at the start of this step to form a loop (a–b). Sew through the next 80 and the following 110 (b–c). Pick up four 150s, sew through the loop on the toggle ring, pick up four 150s, and sew back through the 110 your thread just exited (c–d). Retrace the thread path, and end the thread.2 Repeat step 1 to attach the toggle bar to the other end of the bracelet, but pick up six seed beads instead of four for each side of each loop. Check to make sure the toggle works properly, and adjust the number of 150s in the loops if necessary. w

FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6

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