Project Info:
Quantities Needed For Project:
- 1 Button
- 1 Spool KO Thread or Hana Thread
- 4 Yards 1.5mm Leather
- 1 Tube SuperDuos
- 1 Strand 4mm Fire Polish
- 1 Strand 3mm Fire Polish
- 1 Strand 4mm Round Stones
- 2 Tubes Half Tilas
- 1 Tube 8/0 Miyuki Seed Beads
- GS Hypo Cement
- Beeswax
Additional Learning:
- 1 Button
- 1 Spool KO Thread or Hana Thread
- 4 Yards 1.5mm Leather
- 1 Tube SuperDuos
- 1 Strand 4mm Fire Polish
- 1 Strand 3mm Fire Polish
- 1 Strand 4mm Round Stones
- 2 Tubes Half Tilas
- 1 Tube 8/0 Miyuki Seed Beads
- GS Hypo Cement
- Beeswax
Additional Learning:
Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Estimated time: Weekend
Fen
Project Map
Project and Sample by Drea Carbone
Several years ago Drea made an "Outlander" themed cuff (based on the books/tv show) for her good friend who got her into the fandom. Using all of her favorite things (two-holed beads, color study, semi-precious stones, infinity stitch...) the cuff was a great success! But there was a missing element...Drea wanted a way to make it more special, and spent the next year experimenting with different knots. Keeping with the Scottish Highland themes, a Celtic Love Knot seemed appropriate...and lends itself to the starting "point" of Herringbone with SuperDuos!
With Fen, Drea wanted to capture the Scottish landscape. Another name for moor (and one that just sounds more fanciful!), Fen brings out the lush greens of the land, along with hints of peaty browns and a blue sky.
Find the Celtic Love Knot basics below, and be sure to tune in for all the details on this fun cuff!
Start with two lengths of leather, one 2ft and one 3ft in length. Find the center point of both, this will be the top of your button loop. Arrange so your longer length is the inner strand, the shorter length the outer. In the video, you'll notice I use two colors of cord to help illustrate this--it is very helpful to practice this knot on two colors of cord before starting in on a bracelet!
Your longer, inner cord, will end up also being the inner cords that you begin laddering with. You can clip the shorter cords out of the way for the time being. Begin with a row of Herringbone with SuperDuos. Thread your KO or Hana onto your preferred needle, doubled over...wax if you prefer! Tie the tail ends around one leg of your leather and begin to herringbone ladder. Continue until you have reached the perfect length for your wrist. Do not be afraid to take this off your board to try it on, that is the best way to ensure a good fit! At the end of the Herringbone Ladder section your button will be added, so this is where your fitting really takes place.
When this section is your perfect length you will cross your leather ends and bring them back UP towards your button hole, laddering along the way. Add your button to one piece of leather, or both if the shank will accommodate, then begin to ladder! Keep using Infinity Stitch. It does not matter which side you add your 4mm beads to, the fire polish can be on the right or left, and likewise for the 4mm stones. The trick here is to keep these sections the same size beads, and keep it small. Larger beads will cause your cuff to fan out and look wobbly. I taper out using 8/0 seed beads, adding one or two before I add the 4mm beads, and likewise tapering back down in this way at the end of the row. Once at the end, reinforce your final bead by laddering through it twice. Here you will snip your leather, angle-cut, and use Zap Glue to secure it in place in-between leather strands coming out from your knot. The knot itself and the tapered end of leather helps to disguise this ending, and you won't even notice it in the finished piece.
Finally, we ladder the outer rows. I liked the tartan-esque patterning here, another homage to Scotland. These rows are laddered between the leather used on the last rows going up the bracelet and the original second strands (remember that shorter, 2ft strand? Finally in use!) of leather. These will end behind your button.
The 3mm fire polish and 8/0 seed bead side is a simple pattern. Ladder a 3mm FP and a 8/0 in place, then switch the order for the next row:
3mm-8/0
8/0-3mm
3mm-8/0
8/0-3mm
etc
For the Half Tila side, the Half Tilas are off-set and use an 8mm between as well. Be sure you're treating each hole of the two-holed tilas as separate beading rows! The pattern, row by row here, is:
8/0-Half Tila
Half Tila-Half Tila
Half Tila-8/0
8/0-Half Tila
Half Tila-Half Tila
Half Tila-8/0
etc. The rows that list Half Tila-Half Tila, you're going though the first hole of one, the second hole of the other. Check out the photos in the layout above to get the idea! I think it helps to see it!
Finally, when your final rows are finished, I like to do a dab of Zap to hold the leather in place, gluing leather to leather from the previous row of laddering. I used my thread, still on the needle, to wrap around and around like a silk wrap, then bring the needle back under those wraps to help secure. Add some GS Hypo Cement to keep in place (GS Hypo is a better choice as it will sink into the fibers, Zap is better for leather-to-leather!).
The button loop can also be beaded, add a row of 8/0s here. You can do this first, last, halfway through...whenever! It won't affect the rest of your bracelet :)
Please join us as our worldwide community gathers on Facebook and YouTube at 10:30am Pacific Time on November 10th, 2021. It’s so much fun to go live with us and bead together! After the live broadcast the video will be available above.
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