| Chunky Marble Beaded Bracelet |
What You'll Need to Make Your Own Chunky Marble Bracelet:
- Marbles! It will take anywhere from 7 to 9 to fit most wrists. The ones pictured came from a Rite-Aid Drugstore toy department. They look matte black, but when you hold them up to the light, they are actually a deep green.
- 125 size 11 Japanese seed beads per marble. The project shown used iridescent matte black.
- 2 triangle beads per marble plus 4. Iridescent matte topaz were used in this project.
- Silver lobster clasp and jump ring.
- Size 0 black beading thread doubled and waxed.
- Size 13 beading needle.
Then go forward through the bead just added. Continue adding beads in the same manner until you have enough to fit snugly around the center of your marble. It took 25 for the bracelet shown, but you may have to adjust the number of beads to fit yours.
Connect the two ends by going through the bead on the opposite end on the same side that your thread is on and then going through the other side of the original bead.
Now add a row of brick stitch. When you reach the end of the row, connect the first and last beads by going down through the first bead and back up through the last bead. Add another row of brick stitch and connect the ends in the same way.
Now we will add another row of beads on each side of the ring using a different technique. Pick up a bead and then go back down through the bead your thread is coming out of. Continue diagonally through the next two beads, ending with your thread coming out on the other side of the ring.
Pick up another bead and go back through the bead you just left. Go up through the left hand bead and the bead to the right above it, exiting through the bead next to the one you added the first bead to. Repeat this process until you have added a bead above each bead in the two outer rows.
Push the marble into the ring. It should fit snugly. Now run your thread through the row of beads you just added and pull tight. Since the beads are vertical in this row, it will be slightly tighter than the inside rows providing the decrease needed to keep the marble in place. Weave to the other side of the ring and run your thread through the vertical row on that side. You may need to go through the outer rows more than once in order to get it to stay tight. Then weave your thread into the work to secure and snip off the excess.
Bead several more marbles until you have enough to reach around your wrist.
To connect the marbles together, weave down to the center row of brick and pick up one triangle bead. Go up through a bead in the center row of your second marble, through the triangle bead, and down through the bead you originally left. Thread through the circuit you made as many times as you can to strengthen the connection then go up through the bead next door in the center row and repeat the process, connecting it with a triangle bead to the corresponding bead on the other marble. Reinforce this connection as well. Then weave to the opposite side of the bezel and connect the next marble in the same way.
Once all your marbles are connected, weave to the end of the bracelet just as though you were going to connect another marble. Pick up 1 triangle bead, 2 seed beads, your jump ring, two more seed beads and another triangle bead. Go through the bead in the center row next to the bead that your thread is coming out of. Weave through the beads you added again and go through the other side of the bead you originally left. Go through the whole circuit at least one more time to strengthen it, then weave our thread back into the bezel to secure. You may have to adjust the number of seed beads you use to make the bracelet fit better. Add the clasp to the other end of the bracelet in the same way and you are done!
When makeing something modular like this, it's interesting to think of other ways the components can be used. In this case there are lots of possibilities. You could use one beaded marble for a pendant with or without fringe, you could use two for earrings, you could use them as necklace components, etc.
You can find marbles at the toy store or here's a link to a Sack of 100 Marbles if you just want the basics. If you crave different and more interesting marbels for your beaded bracelet, try Land of Marbles for a great selection of marbles. Also look for semi-precious stone marbles at rock shops, agate ones are usually easy to find and would make a great beaded bracelet. Have fun!
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