The Beaded Bead Bracelet

I made three more of the beaded beads in the last post to go with the two I had already made. It took me about half an hour to make one bead, and then it took me most of the day to find a clasp. As you can see, I ended up using a Bali toggle. I kept going back into my stash for the perfect clasp, but one was too plain, one was too fancy, one was too big, one didn't have the color stone in the clasp that enhanced the bracelet, several were too hard for me to hook. I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks, but I really didn't want to use a toggle. Short of jumping in the car and heading to my local bead shop, I decided to go with the one in the photo. And, as luck will have it, I like the look, especially since I used chain instead of seed beads to attach the toggle.

Materials Needed:

Beaded Beads (5)
10" beading wire
Beadcaps (10)
6mm Fire Polish (FP) Rounds (7)
Crimps (2)
Wire Guards (2)
Crimp Covers (2)
Toggle Clasp
Chain (1/2")



I used Beadalon's .018 Stringing Wire in Bright. (I don't have a favorite beading wire: I also use Soft Flex, Accu-Flex, C-Flex or whichever I find first in my stash. I use sterling silver, Bali, or Hill Tribe silver in my jewelry, or I use gold-filled findings when I'm working in gold.

I strung the beads first with beadcaps on each end and a 6mm FP bead between. At each end I placed one FP, one crimp, and one FP. Then I slipped the wire guard through the clasp and fed the wire through the guard and back through the FP, crimp, and FP. I pulled the wire tight and closed the crimp. I clipped the wire at the bottom of the second FP and placed and closed the crimp cover over the crimp. I repeated this on the other end of the bracelet. As usual, the design choices are what took the time, much more so than the actual fabrication.