Almost everyone has an amulet bag or two laying around unfinished for want of a strap. How sad! Your beautiful beaded bags deserve straps. You want to be able to show them off in all their beady glory don't you? To that end, here are some strap ideas to get you started (or better yet, finished!).

Idea One: Round Braid

You can braid strands of seed beads, embroidery thread or silk with this method to make an elegant cord.

This braid takes four strands. Make them about 3 times as long as you want your strap to be just to be safe. The resulting length will vary according to the thickness of the material you use, so strands that are too long are much better than strands that are too short. Knot the ends of your strands together and secure them to something stable. The braid itself is pretty simple. Take the right-most strand (dark blue in this example) and bring it under the two center strands (green and pink) and over the top of the left hand center strand (the pink one). The dark blue strand should now be the right hand center strand. Then take the left-most strand (the red one) and bring it under the two center strands and up over the right hand center strand. Just repeat these two steps (which are really the same step reversed) until you reach the length you want. This is what it looks like if you use satin rattail.



Idea Two: Chevron Chain

The simplest of the chevron chains makes a nice strap and it's reasonably easy to make.



First pick up 3 beads and tie them in a circle. Pick up 3 more beads and go up through the right-most bead.



Pick up two beads and go up through the new right-most bead. Continue adding 2 beads at a time in this manner until you reach the length you need. Try different combinations of colors to achieve an effect you like. This is what it looks like following the pattern of colors in the diagrams with matte black and red-lined green seed beads.



Idea Three: Two Simple Ladders

The first of these was adapted from two-needle to single-needle because I hate using two needles, I'm just not good at it. You may use two if you like of course.



Decide how long you want your links to be. In the example I used 3 beads on each side in between the accent beads. You can use any number and combination of colors and sizes you like. You can also use several seed beads in place of the accent bead. For the instructions I'll use the number I used in the diagram. Pick up one accent bead, 3 seeds, another accent bead, and 3 more seeds. Tie them in a circle and go through the accent bead next to the knot, the 3 seeds following it and the other accent bead. For all the other links pick up 3 seeds, your accent bead and three more seeds and go through the accent bead on the opposite side from where your thread is coming out to form a loop. Then go up through the 3 seeds on that side plus the accent bead. This is what it looks like with black matte seed beads, red-lined yellow triangles and green crystals. I hangs better with weight on it of course.



The second ladder is made in two parts. Again, you must decide you long you want each link to be. In this example I chose to use bugles and seeds.

First string as many beads as it takes to make the chain the length you need by alternating between bugles and seeds, being sure to begin and end with a seed. Then turn the corner by picking up 1 seed, 1 bugle, 1 seed, 1 bugle. Go through the 2nd seed on the base to form a square. Go back through the last bugle, and through the back of the seed after it. Continue the chain by adding 1 bugle, 1 seed, 1 bugle, and going through each seed on the base, back through the bugle and through the back of the seed you left. Here's what it looks like with two bugles and one seed in each link. Again, it looks straighter when something is hanging from it.



Some other Ideas and a Few Tips.

Always use the heaviest thread you can get away with in these chains. Always use a seed bead before and after bugles so no weight is placed directly on them. They tend to have sharp edges and can cut the thread. Daisy chains also make great straps. Check out this Daisy Chain Beading Tutorial page for instructions. Also, a simple strand of rattail can be used if it fits with your design. Sometimes less is more. Finally, pick up the book Indian Bead-Weaving Patterns by Horace Goodhue. This book is stuffed with dozens of chain patterns! The instructions and diagrams leave something to be desired, but you will never find a beadwork book that has more beading information in it than this one. It's definitely worth the struggle to translate the beading diagrams!