Multi Wrap Macrame Bracelet Tutorial

I had some folks request a tutorial for a macrame wrap bracelet like the ones I showed in post here and it's so easy to do, I thought I'd take a stab at it.  You will need:

• 2 pieces of Superlon Tex 400 cord or C-lon Heavyweight cord in whatever colors you like
• An assortment of interesting beads with holes big enough to get one piece of cord through
• Some 8/0 and/or 6/0 seed beads
• A button or bead for the closure

You will also need a very basic knowledge of knots. I used a lark's head, half knot, square knot and overhand knots, in this piece.  If you aren't familiar with them, check out my friend Donna's page here.   Keep in mind that there is no "wrong" here, so if you're not comfortable with one of the knots, skip it or do something different.  If you're an advanced knotter and you want the short version of these instructions, you can skip clear down the page to the bold part.  Otherwise:

Start with two pieces of cord 150" long each and fold them in half - this is where the loop will be.  Still working there in the middle, use one cord to make a series of larks head knots around the other cord.  Check it periodically by holding the four cords together and attempting to slip your button or bead (whatever you are using for your closure) through the loop.  You don't want to get clear to the other end only to find your loop is too small, trust me.  When you get the right length, pull all four cord together.  Hopefully your knots stayed fairly well centered on your cords and the four lengths left hanging are somewhere near the same.  Use the same cord you did the larks head knots with to make a series of square knots around the other two cords. 

Did I lose you?  It's not hard, really.  And if the larks head loop thing has you worried, just make a loop the right size and tie an overhand knot and move on.  Your closure won't be as fancy, but it will work just fine.  I had to be different, so I added beads to the knotting cord between each knot, but that's entirely up to you.  Now pat yourself on the back, because if you got this far, it's easy sailing from here on out.  If you're still worried about the knots, I did a little pictorial tutorial here - click on the photos to see the written instructions.  Channel your inner girl/boy scout.

Now all you're going to do the rest of the way down is knot those four cords.  In the example above, when I knotted with the green cord, the navy was hidden inside.  Then I switched to knotting with the navy cords around the green ones, and an easy way to switch is to put all four cords through a bead.  Then you can start knotting with the other color without the transition showing.  You will want to switch your knotting cords from time to time or you will run out of one color and end up with a short bracelet!  Another way to transition is with an overhand knot, and I like that between beads.  In the example above, the green diamonds are Czech glass and the hole was only large enough for one cord, so I put the one cord through and the other three behind the bead and tied a knot.  No problem.  There is no "wrong", remember?

To get the two-look in the knotted section after the diamonds, I used one green and one blue cord for knotting square knots.  It's kind of fun and different.  Then after the white bead (hiding my transition), I did square knots with blue cord around the green.  I slipped an 8/0 white seed bead on the outer (knotting) cord on each side between the square knots. 

The funky striped bead you see next is a Kazuri bead.  The hole was large enough to get all four cord through and again, it hides my transition to knotting a half knot spiral with the green cord. 

Still with me?  Ready for more?  If it seems like your bracelet is getting really long, that's good.  Mine was about 30" finished, which allows me to wrap it around my wrist  four times.  My wrist is only 6" so you would think this would be too long, but it isn't.  You have to allow some for the bulkiness of the beads and for the bracelet wrapping over itself on your wrist.  As you're going along, try wrapping it on your wrist to check the length now and then.

So, back to the instructions.  Green spiral, then some lampwork beads with overhand knots in between followed by another spiral, this time using one green and one blue cord (when you're choosing the cords to knot with, choose the longest ones - a couple will be shorter if you did the two color knotting up above).  Overhand knot at the end of that section, then beads with a couple square knots between.  Bead to hide transition and back to knotting with the other color.

OK, now we're to the circle.  I took one green cord and one blue cord down each side of the circle and made larks head knots alternating colors.  So I did a blue larks head and then pulled the green cord from behind and tied a larks head with it.  When I got enough to cover the ring, I pulled all four cords together and started square knotting again.  You can totally skip this part if you don't have a ring the right size or if you're still not sold on larks head knots.  Totally up to you.

When you get a couple of inches from the length you want, it's time to add the button.  In this case I used a plain old four hole button.

I took both green cords up through one hole and down through another and did the same thing with the blue.  Now pull the button down the cord or pull the cords tighter - whatever it takes to get the button in the right place for the length you want.  Now you should have your long knotted strand and then the four bare cords showing AND the four cord ends hanging around in the same place, then the button on the very end.  Take two of the longest cord ends you have left and use those to make another square knot length - this time starting up by the button and covering all those loose cords.  Make sense?  This part will be a little fatter, since you have more "filler" cords, but this whole look is about imperfect, so don't sweat it.  Once you've knotted an inch or so, you can cut off the loose ends of your filler cords (it won't hurt to add a dab of glue in there if you're paranoid like me) and finish knotting until you meet the knotting where you left off, covering up all the bare cord.  Tighten the last knots up well and hit them with a little glue.  Trim off excess.

Whew.  Making this is WAY easier than talking you through it, lemme tell ya.  Short recap:

Two 150" cords, fold in half and make a loop (any kind you like).  Knot your bracelet, alternating colors and knots with random beads or whatever strikes your fancy.  You can make long sections of the same knot or you can make short ones or you can mix them up.  Beads are handy for hiding places where you switch knotting cords.  When you get the length you like, add your button or bead and fine tune length.  Continue knotting under the bead or button back toward the bracelet to cover the cords.  Glue.  Cut.  Wrap it around your wrist, throw your first in the air in victory and go show everyone you know what you made.  

And come back and show me what you do!  Or swing by my Facebook Page and post a photo.  Or just say hi.  Or heck, mock my tutorial - whatever feels right :) 

It's a Wrap

I've been experimenting a bit with S-Lon Tex 400 cord again.  It's what I used to make the multi-strand necklaces I wrote about here and here.  I'm a big fan of stacks of bracelets and wrap bracelets that mimic the look of a stack, and I thought the heft of this cord might lend itself well to that kind of piece.

I kept everything kind of random to get the look I wanted.  I started with a ladder of Czech beads in a cool matte metallic finish in between my Tex 400 cord and I finished that section with a knot and a lampwork bead.  For the next section, I added some gold Tex 400 cord and did square knots with the beads on the outside.  Then came some woven fiber beads I dug out of my stash, and a section I wrapped in some blue cord (the .4mm size).

Next I threaded on some rough Czech beads and did a simple knot between them and followed that with another length of square knots, this time in light gray.  I added a black and white striped trade bead and then a little pop of blue cord again, this time in a spiral knot pattern.  I love the Czech glass dice beads and I have some in sort of an old antique looking finish, so I stuck a couple of those in.  I used a button my Dad made for me for the closure - a slice of antler.

This piece is 30" long and goes around my wrist four times.  My wrist is only about 6", so if you decided to make one of these, be sure to make it plenty long.  I do love how it turned out.  So much, in fact, that I decided to try another.

I went with a color theme of chartreuse, capri blue and white and used some funky diamond shape Czech glass beads and a Kazuri bead as well as some seed beads.

I also used some random lampwork beads and one stray metal hoop - I just continued my knots all the way around it!  A simple white button finishes the whole thing.

I love these colors.  They just seem so crisply summery to me.

I'll definitely be making more bracelets in this style!

Year of Jewelry Week 18 - Pantone 2013

The "assignment" for this week in the Year of Jewelry was to make something in one of the Patone colors for 2013.  I chose Vivacious, a bright shade of fuchsia which is part of the  Pantone Fall 2013 Color Report.  I wanted to do some ombre shading, so I chose the cord range in the photo above.  So far, so good.

 I messed around with the curvy pattern again - its sinuous lines really intrigue me and the shading is such fun.  If you follow my blog and saw my last crash and burn on this pattern, you'll be glad to see I started with LOTS of cord this time.  (If you don't read my blog regularly, you can find out what I'm talking about in this post.)

Oh, and the "failure" piece?  You don't have to worry about him any more - he found a home with a lady who has a 5.25" wrist.  All's well that ends well.

Failure 101

So, I was messing around the last couple of days, trying to learn how to knot this scallop pattern.  I have had to really think about each knot, which is something I haven't had to do much lately.  I even had to switch off my ridiculously cheesy sci-fi shows to concentrate on the knotting.  I started off fairly well, if a bit slowly:

The color looks a bit more blue than teal in this photo because of the lighting I used last night, but here's where I was.  I used five different shades of cord to get the ombre shading.  I couldn't wait to get home from work this afternoon so I could work on it.  I knotted and knotted and knotted:

I'm absolutely fascinated with the undulations and the color gradient.  I'm admiring my handiwork, when it starts to dawn on me that I'm running short on cord.

And no matter how hard I try, I'm not going to get this bracelet past 5.5".  I've had some suggestions for adding some beads to one end before the clasp and I may have to explore that option.  It's not a total loss, though.  I did get a handle for this knotting pattern, I think.  And I will definitely be trying it again.  If you want to try your hand at this one, I found the video here.  Be warned, though - she doesn't explain the actual knots, just the pattern, and it's not in English.  Or if you'd rather see a bracelet in ombre shading that didn't fail, check here or here :)

Organically Yours - Year of Jewelry Week 17

 

Our theme for this week for the Year of Jewelry was Organically Yours.  I stink at free-form business, so I decided to take the organic theme literally.  My dad made some antler buttons and some antler tip pendants for me a while back and I thought this would be the perfect project for them.  I painted a couple of lines on the pendant to add some color and interest, and then I sanded most of it back off to keep it looking weathered and rustic.

I wanted just a little more color, so I added a cool recycled glass bead from Ghana.  I love the imperfections in the glass.

My usual nylon cord just didn't seem right for this project, so I dug deep and pulled out some hemp.  It just isn't consistent enough for fussy micro macrame pieces, but it's exactly what this piece needed.

Oh, and those two beads in that last photo?  Bone.  Then one of Dad's buttons for a closure to finish it off.

And there you have it:  Organically Yours.

Week 16 Year of Jewelry - My Color Experiment

Yes, I've gone off-road again.  This week's theme was Something Hidden, but I (quite accidentally) went my own way again.  I started off with this bracelet.

I like to play around with color and I know blue and orange is an age old combination, so I put my own spin on it using a deep marina blue cord, teal and turquoise beads and then a pop of mustard.  I loved the result, but someone mentioned using coral instead of mustard, so I had to make another with that variation.

And by this time I was thoroughly smitten with the "what-if" bug and just had to see what would happen if I replaced the coral beads with chartreuse.

That one, by the way, is going in my books as an all-time favorite, but of course, me being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone.  I had to try switching out the chartreuse with lavender.

Needless to say, after all this what-iffing and substitution, I ran out of time to make a "Something Hidden" project.  Unless you count the newest project I have pinned on my board - marina cord with teal and turquoise beads but substituting orange for the lavender.  It's a sickness, really.

7th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Yay!  Today is the day I can show you what I made from the fantastic bead soup my partner Juli Cannon sent me!  Do you remember what everything looked like?  You can go here and read more about everything she sent if you'd like, but I'll give you a hint:

I have been wanting to try a different fringe technique for a while and Juli's lampwork focal was the perfect piece.  I used several colors of seed beads and made billions of loops (okay, you got me... I didn't count and there might not be quite a billion, but there are lots).

And after all that work, the clasp didn't look right.  Well, shoot.  So I stewed around on it for a week or so and decided the only solution was to make my own using some of the matching lampwork beads.

It's simple, but it works and it doesn't distract from the rest of the piece.  That's a win in my book.  

Of course, that meant I had to make another piece to use the clasp, since the rules say you must use at least the focal and the clasp.  I sketched out a sort of funky necklace and it actually came together just like I'd hoped.  That never happens. 

And what's even better?  This piece can double as a wrap bracelet.  In fact, I think I like it better as a bracelet!

Many thanks to my partner, Juli, for the great beads I used in these pieces AND the second set she sent just for me:

And heaps more thanks to our gracious hostess, Lori Anderson, the mastermind behind the whole Bead Soup phenomenon.  She does an amazing job at bringing together a talented group of jewelry designers - 541 designers from 28 countries!  With so many folks eager to participate, she had to split us up into three reveal dates to keep things manageable. Hop on over to Lori's blog where she has a list of ALL of the other participants:  here.  Oh, and don't forget to check out Juli's page to see what she did with the soup I sent to her.  Happy hopping!!