Crarfty jewelry: chain and thread.

So I was browsing some high end designer jewelry a while back, and though I never buy designer things, it's sometimes interesting to look through such items. I came across this bracelet that i thought was really cute...except it was $385!




the $385 bracelet.

Looked simple enough. So I decided to make my own; except with brass chain, since well, I like brass chain better. 


the materials.


- Thick curb chain (I used brass chain from Michael's, $2.99)
- Embroidery thread, of your color choice(s).
- Clasp, charms, jump rings
- Jewelry pliers, clear nailpolish




1) Measure a length of chain that will fit comfortably around your wrist. Then cut 6 strands of embroidery thread that are three times the length of your wrist. These 6 strands will count as one set. Repeat this to make another one, so that you have two sets. (I chose 3 colors, so I used 2 red/2 blue/2 purple in each set)


For the sake of this tutorial though, I separated the strands - let's clall them Red/Purple and Blue/Purple! It will be much easier to follow along this way.


2) Tie the strands together, then string Blue/Purple under & through one end of the chain.



3) Red/Purple goes over Blue/Purple, then under and through the chain


4) Red/Purple goes over the chain, and Blue/Purple goes over Red/Purple.


5) Then Blue/Purple under and through the chain....


6) Red/Purple goes over and through the chain. Keep repeating until you're done!

*Depending on how thick/wide your chain is, you may need more or less embroidery thread. The original by Bidermann only had the thread wrapping around each link once. I had a much wider chain, so the thread wrapped around each link three times.


7) Tie it off, trim it down if you'd like, add a few dots of clear nailpolish to secure the knots. Add some charms and a clasp.


It was a little tricky figuring out how to braid two strands around each chain link - essentially, the chain is the 3rd "strand" of the braid...The whole thing is pretty much a bunch of overs and unders and through the chain.

Source:craftster.org