Craft #9-- Thread & Chain Bracelet

Another Bracelet DIY!

Basic idea: thread, weave, or knot some pretty colored string onto a chain to make a bracelet.

You'll need a chain, some string, ribbon or embroidery floss (what I used), a clasp, and your trusty big ol' needle.

I got the idea for this one from pins like this and this, originally intending for it to look more like the latter, so it started out like the picture below, but I changed my mind- thinking it would look better if it were wider, so I took it apart and started over.

I got a piece of chain that was twice as wide as my wrist, and picked out the center link, to be the clasp. Next, I got a nice long piece of embroidery thread, and tied it in the middle, so it doubled up, to the center link of the chain.

Then I started knotting the thread.  I used a technique I learned when I was in elementary school, making clip-in hair wraps (I was super cool), and you also use it when you make friendship bracelets. I've heard it referred to as a 4 knot, since it looks like a number 4. (here're instructions in the friendship-bracelet form) It's essentially just knotting one strand around another.  Here, I used the needle to pull the embroidery floss through a link, creating the knot, first on one side, then the other, back and forth. (If you want to see bigger pictures, just click on them.)

 While you're going, it looks like this:

 I fit about five or six knots on each link, then I moved on to the next one until I got to the end, and I tied on a clasp (didn't have one the exact color as the chain, annoyingly.)  That's it!

 Et Voila! I love it!

 Questions, comments, let me know! :)

Craft #8-- Beaded and Braided Necklace

And a month later, I have another post! And a couple more crafts all done and ready to go. They're all jewelry, so August's posts are going to have a theme to them :)
First up:  beads and braids.
This isn't the actual post that first inspired me, but for whatever reason, I didn't pin the original, and I've seen this one around, same idea, so it'll do.

Basic idea: string a bunch of strands of beads together, and then braid them.

I forgot to take a picture of my materials beforehand, but you can see them in the pictures.  Gold beads, black thread and ribbon, black jump rings, and some gold rings that I found in my craft stash from a long time ago.  I also used this handy-dandy thing:

It's a bead threader! My mom and I went to Michael's craft store, and I found it in the bead section. I knew I wanted to make this necklace, but stringing all the beads myself would pretty much give me arthritis.  You thread the really skinny hooked needle, spin the bowl, and then the hook catches the beads as they spin around. This one was $15, and if you don't want to spin it yourself, they have a battery powered one that spins on it's own.

It was so fast! and fun! I'm definitely going to be making more beaded things for a while.
So anyway, I made 16 strands, one end tied onto a black jump ring. They ended up not being all the same length, so after struggling fix it after I'd braided (didn't work), I took the extra beads off, regrouped them into 4 groups of four, and tied the ends to the gold rings.
Next step was braiding.
I like to be cool and different, so it was definitely going to be a four-strand braid. I took some pictures in a feeble attempt at a how-to for the braid, but this diagram is much better. The braid also looks really cool in your hair. :)

 Once the braid was done, I caught the gold rings onto the black one, and tied extra knots, just to be sure, securing them with clear nail polish.  Adding the ribbon and tying a bow were the last steps, and there we go.
(If you need the pictures to be bigger, just click on them!

 It turned out really well, I'm super happy. :)