DIY beaded bracelets: four new kits from Abris Art

A bracelet is the smallest piece among our jewellery kits and the quickest way to try bead embroidery on art canvas. The stitched area is 150×42 mm, around 1,400 beads, difficulty rated simple. Here are four new designs.

The new designs

• ADB-011 «Tradition in Beads»
• ADB-012 «Treasure of Traditions»
• ADB-013 «Serpentarium»
• ADB-014 «Beauty of the Stars»

What is in the kit

• Art canvas with the full-colour pattern already printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen.
• Czech Preciosa beads.
• A beading needle.
• Findings to assemble the piece: two crimp ends, a hook, a jump ring and a chain.
• Detailed step-by-step illustrated instructions for the embroidery and the assembly.

The chain does more than close the bracelet: it lets you adjust the length, so the same piece fits a narrower and a wider wrist without any reworking.

How long it takes

Around 1,400 beads in three colours works out at roughly six to seven hours for someone who has never done bead embroidery, and three to four hours with a little experience. Two or three evenings to a finished piece.

For comparison, a collar in the same technique is 8,000–9,000 beads and several weeks. The technique is identical and only the volume differs, which is why a bracelet works so well as a trial run before a larger piece.

Three things worth knowing before your first bracelet

• Keep the thread tension even. On a small area uneven tension shows immediately: a row of beads either stands up neatly or sprawls.
• The first row sets the tilt. Every row after it follows. If the first row goes down crooked, it shows along the whole length.
• You do not need to bead right to the edge. The outline of the piece is already printed and there is no need to go beyond it: the margin disappears under the crimp end.

We covered the stitch itself and its variants separately: the monastery stitch and other bead embroidery stitches.

Who it suits

It is a good option for a first experience with beads, for a gift you can make over a weekend, and for anyone who wants an accessory to go with a particular outfit. Three of the four designs use ethnic motifs, so the bracelet works both on its own and alongside traditional embroidered clothing.

The whole series is in bracelet kits, and the rest of the range is in jewellery kits.