Tutorial Tuesday - (The Return) - Braided Bracelets

Morning! Welcome to my 200th post - apologies to those who have been with me from the beginning, that is a lot of crafty waffle to read ;)

Anyhoo, what better way to celebrate than with the return of Tutorial Tuesday!    I actually really love doing them, but they won't be as regular as before - just as and when inspiration strikes!

To start off I have decided to go with a few makes inspired by images off Pinterest. The first one is a gorgeous braided bracelet. You can find the original inspiration HERE. This is my version...

You will need:

Long piece of chain, cut into 2 (with a little piece leftover for the connector),

2 Jump Rings,

2 Long pieces of Lace

Long Piece of Ribbon

Pliers

Scissors

Step 1:

For the one in this tutorial I used 2 pieces of chain, 2 pieces of lace (folded over to make 4 lengths) and 1 piece of ribbon (folded over to make 2 lengths) - this makes up the 3 elements of the braid.

Cut the chain into 2 equal pieces (long enough to go around your wrist - we will make an adjustable connector at the end).

Attach the 2 pieces of chain with a jump ring...

Step 2:

Take 2 pieces of long thin lace in co-ordinating / contrasting colours - you want them to be long because when you braid them they shorten quite a lot. Thread the 2 pieces through the jump ring and pull through until you get to the middle of the lengths of lace. Fold over (you will now have 4 pieces of lace as the second part of your braid element.) 

Step 3:

Take a long length of ribbon and thread through the jump ring, again pulling until you reach the middle. Fold over (you will now have 2 pieces of ribbon as your third element of the braid.)

Step 4:

Gather your 3 elements together. (If you like you can pin your jump ring to a corkboard mat in order to keep it steady whilst braiding.) Braid the chain, lace and ribbon until you reach the end...

...Lay it flat and straighten it.

Step 5:

Attach a jump ring to the bottom of the 2 pieces of chain...

...thread the pieces of lace and ribbon through it. Bring your lace pieces around the front of the ribbon and tie in a tight double knot...

...Cut off the excess ribbon (leave the lace dangling for now.)

Step 6:

Take a small piece of spare chain (enough so that you can slip the completed bracelet over your hand onto your wrist), and attach to the bottom jump ring...

...bring the top of the braid around and attach the other end of the chain to the top jump ring...

...Check you can slip the bracelet comfortably over your hand onto your wrist.

Step 7:

Take 2 pieces of dangling lace and thread through the top jump ring...

...tie in a double knot...

...You now have 2 pieces of lace either side of the connecting chain...

...Which you can use to make the bracelet shorter once on your wrist by tying them together ...

...You can either leave the lace to dangle or tie in a pretty bow...

Voilà a beautiful braided bracelet...

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I also made one using coral embroidery thread instead of the ribbon...

...and you can make them to match any outfit...

...or even stack them up with some washer bracelets...

...Love 'em!!!!

What do you think?

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Hope you enjoyed that tutorial and that it was easy to understand! Any questions please leave a comment or get in touch @

twinklestutustwirls2011@fsmail.net

Have a fantabulous day and I'll catch you soon!

xx

Linking to:

A Round Tuit / Jembellish
Trendy Tuesday / Sweet Lil Gals
Sunday Show-Off / Twigg Studios
Too Cute Tuesday / Funky Polkadot Giraffe