Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Variation tips for Honeycomb Bracelet

These are the changes made to the bangle pattern, not the pattern itself.
Here are the variations as I found them to be useful. I would definitely suggest to folks that have not yet bought this current April 2011 issue of Bead and Button to do so, to have the full pattern at your disposal. It is well-written and easy to follow!
Make a flat peyote band the length you wish to have go around your arm, minus the clasp length. I did mine 9 rows wide. You could do it less wide, and use the smallest faceted roundelles, or wider, like in the pattern, and use the larger 6 X 9mm faceted roundelles, as in the magazine pattern. I think it would be 7 rows for the 3 X 4mm roundelles. Some folks like their bracelets tight, others loose, and mine is in-between and ended up about 6.75 inches long. I used the two needle method, so that the peyote strip, which is worked lengthwise, lies nice and flat. You can use whatever method you wish.
I find using a different thread from Fireline for the base, which doesn't get much wear and tear, to allow for a bit of 'give', so I used Sono Japanese beading thread- it is 1/4 the price of Fireline and lets me save my Fireline for where it is truly needed. I started with two yards, and ended up with two pieces about 5 inches long.
The outside was done just as in the magazine pattern, with the size 15s making picots, down both sides.
I changed the next step to using 3.4mm drops in place of the pearls on the pattern and completed both sides as instructed.
I now added a piece of about 36" (1 meter, for you metric folks)Fireline to add the roundelles- 6# weight.
Instead of putting all the faceted roundelles on a thread and making a circle, I came out through the drop at the end, picked up a size 11 seed bead, a 4 X 6mm (length by width- hole to hole by side to side) roundelle, a size 11 seed bead and went through the opposite 3.4 drop, then back through the last size 11 seed bead added, the roundelle, the first size 11 seed bead added in this step, and through the drop- this should have you going in the correct direction to go to and through the next drop, following your thread path down the side and continue to add roundelles all the way down.
ADD YOUR PICOTS BETWEEN DROPS, as shown in the instructions in the magazine pattern, before you go through the drop to add the next roundelle. I used a size 15, size 11, size 15 rather than three size 11 seed beads, because the roundelles are smaller than what was called for and were turned the other way, so my last picot beads had to be smaller as well.
I found it easier to add just one side of picots as I added roundelles- on the beginning side-and add the other side of picots after all the roundelles were in place. I had less thread paths that way.
At the ends of the bracelet, I used the end of the first threads to do brickstitch, bringing the piece to a point, and then added a clasp.
I hope I made all this clear- Happy Beading!

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