Bugle Cluster Beaded Bracelet

Free beaded bracelet patterns like this Bugle Cluster Beaded Bracelet from Bead&Button Magazine are a lovely way to accessorize. Learn how to make beaded bracelets that are complex and fabulous with this great tutorial. These funky beaded bracelets are inspired by crochet patterns, so they are truly unique!

Materials:

• 4 g 6 mm bugle beads
• 55 g 6/0 seed beads or 4 mm cube beads
• 4 g 10/0 or 11/0 seed beads (If desired, substitute
• 4 mm cubes for the 6/0s and 11/0 seed beads for the 10s.)
• 2-in. (5 cm) head pin
• Fireline 6 lb. test
• beading needles, #11
• chainnose pliers (optional)
• roundnose pliers
• wire cutters

Instructions:

For a bracelet 63⁄4 in. (17.1 cm)

BRACELET

1. On 1 yd. (.9 m) of Fireline, pick up four 6/0 seed beads, leaving an 8-in. (20 cm) tail. Sew through all four again, and position the beads so you have two stacks of two beads each. Picking up two 6/0s per stitch, work in two-bead ladder stitch until the ladder is approximately ½ in. (1.3 cm) short of the desired bracelet length. Make sure the number of stacks in the ladder is divisible by three. End the thread.
    
2. On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of Fireline, repeat step 1 to make a second ladder, but don’t end the thread. Position the two ladders so the working thread exiting the end stack of the second ladder is going toward the first ladder.
    
3. Pick up a 10/0 seed bead, a 6 mm bugle bead, a 10/0, a 6/0, a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0, and sew through the two corresponding 6/0s in the opposite ladder (figure 1, a–b).
   
   
    
4. Pick up three 10/0s, and sew through the next two 6/0s in the ladder. Pick up a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0, and sew through the 6/0 picked up in the previous step (b–c). Pick up a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0, and sew through the corresponding 6/0s in the other ladder (c–d).
    
5. Pick up three 10/0s, and sew through the next two 6/0s in the ladder. Pick up a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0, and sew through the center 6/0 you sewed through in the previous step (d–e). Pick up a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0, and sew through the corresponding 6/0s in the opposite ladder. Pick up three 10/0s, and sew through the next two 6/0s in the ladder (e–f).
    
6. Repeat steps 3–5 for the length of the bracelet, ending and adding thread as needed.
    
7. To add the embellishment along the center, sew through the beadwork to exit the end center 6/0 (figure 2, point a).
   
   
    
8. Pick up three 10/0s, a 6/0, and three 10/0s, sew through the 6/0 your thread exited at the start of this step, and continue through the first three 10/0s and the 6/0 just added (a–b). Repeat, sewing through the 6/0 added in the previous stitch (b–c). Repeat again, but instead of picking up a 6/0, sew through the next 6/0 in the center of the bracelet (c–d).
    
9. Repeat step 8 for the length of the bracelet. Don’t end the thread.

CLASP

1. To make the toggle loop, sew through the beadwork so your thread is exiting an end stack, going toward the center of the bracelet. Pick up a 10/0, a bugle, a 10/0, a 6/0, a 10/0, a bugle, and a 10/0. Sew through the corresponding two 6/0s in the opposite ladder (figure 3). Retrace the thread path a few times, then end the thread.
   
   
    
2. To make the toggle bar, string a 6/0, a 10/0, a bugle, a 10/0, a 6/0, a 10/0, a bugle, a 10/0, and a 6/0 on the head pin. Trim the head pin about 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) past the last 6/0, and make a small loop with roundnose pliers (photo a). With chainnose pliers, bend the loop so it is flush with the end 6/0, if desired.
   
   
    
3. With the remaining tail at the end opposite the toggle loop, sew through the beadwork to exit the center 6/0. Pick up six 10/0s, and sew through the center 6/0 on the toggle bar. Pick up two 10/0s, and sew back through the middle two of the six 10/0s just picked up (photo b). Pick up two 10/0s, and sew through the 6/0 your thread exited at the start of this step (photo c). Retrace the thread path to reinforce the connection, and end the thread.