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Sleek Bracelet

Yeah, there were plenty of beads in the house so I could move forward full throttle on a beading project I have been eyeing up for months, Jill Wiseman's Sleek Bracelet.

Photo from jillwisemandesigns.com
This bracelet is so beautiful IMHO.  I love the glittery gold edges with that dark centre.  Jill advised the bracelet is both light weight and flexible and in fact it is.  So last Saturday I took my shopping list of needed supplies with me and purchased what I needed.


The bulk of the bracelet is made up of Delicas, a small type of cylindrical seed beads in two colours.  There are also bugle beds that make up part of the edging.  

The only stitch used to make the main part of this bracelet is the flat square stitch.  The stitch requires making a square around each pair of beads as one is added.
Image from fusionbeads.com
Once a row is created the beader runs an additional line of thread down the second row from the end and back up the newly added row.  Sounds easy, right, and it is, basically.  The beader needs to be very mindful though not to have the thread slip out of a bead or several beads doing these long stitches because the thread then shows, not something one wants to happen.  I made that mistake a couple of times at the start but as I continued I learned to be very careful.  BTW all these threads make the bracelet strong and that means the odds of it unraveling while it is being worn are slim.  A great combination for the beginner.

After a few hours of beading I ended up with this.

My version of the Sleek Bracelet
The centre of the Delica  is dwarfed by the tip of a pen
Just to give you a bit of perspective about the size of these beads, here's a close up of them with the ball point of a pen.  The Delicas are small; plus they sparkle a lot.  There are times when I swear my eyes are star struck, the needle has to find the centre of the bead on its own.  All the bling can almost blind me.  (That is also why the background of these photos is so dark, it helps subdue all the reflects of the lights above and allows you to see the beads and bracelet.)

I estimate this project is about 40% complete, meaning the odds are good you will see me working on it again on beading Friday.  Oh that and the fact I purchased enough beads to make at least one and perhaps two more bracelets.  I knew this first one would not meet the muster in terms of execution; I need more practice to master the stitch.

Want to see how it is all done?  Jill Wiseman made this hour and a quarter long video for Beadcation.  It gave me all the details I needed.  (Jill does make it look so simple and it is, of course after lots of time on task.)

Sleek Bracelet, a success, so far!


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