This beaded toggle clasp is extra-large and can serve as a focal piece for your bracelet. I attached mine to the Amber Islands loom bracelet. You can also use this clasp with a square stitch or peyote stitch bracelet.
Please click to enlarge any image in this tutorial.
1. Gather Your Materials
The completed toggle clasp.
One toggle clasp requires the numbers of glass beads listed below. You can use any colors of beads you'd like. I've indicated the colors I used for my Amber Islands bracelet and clasp.
- About 2 grams of size 8/0 Miyuki round seed beads in aquamarine white pearl; Bead ID #8-430* (A)
- About 1.5 grams of size 8/0 Miyuki round seed beads in blue topaz; 8-0018 (B)
- 4 long (4mm by 7mm) magatama beads in silver-lined gold; LMA-3 (C)
You'll also need beading thread, a beading needle, and something to cut your thread. I used size D, C-lon thread, which is also what I also used for the weft threads in my loomed bracelet. To cut the thread, I used beading scissors.
Finally, you'll need one wooden toothpick and wire cutters to trim the toothpick.
2. Position the Thread for the Toggle Ring
The thread exiting the correct bead to begin the base of the toggle loop.
Prepare a length of beading thread about three feet long, and thread the needle. Weave the thread into the bracelet beadwork at one end, and then sew through the rows and bring the needle out where you want to start making the loop portion of the clasp.
The base of the loop should be centered over the middle of the bracelet band as much as possible. The example bracelet has nine columns, and I brought the thread out between the second-from-last and third-from-last beads in the last row.
3. Make the Base Loop for the Toggle Ring
The thread path for completing the base ring for the toggle loop.
Pick up 3A, 1B, and 3A. Sew back into the beadwork, as shown. (Please remember that you can click on the images to enlarge them.) Then sew over to where your thread originally exited, and pass through the entire base loop of beads again for reinforcement.
4. Reposition the Thread
The thread exiting the middle bead in the base ring.
Reposition the thread by pass up through the first four beads in the initial base ring again.
5. Make the Toggle Ring Loop
The toggle ring loop completed.
String 29A. (Note: If you plan to wear your bracelet very taught against your wrist, you can increase to this number to about 31A to make it easier to latch the clasp.)
Pass through the middle bead in the initial base loop, going in the same direction that you passed through it previously. Pull the thread taught, and then sew through the entire toggle ring loop at least two more times for reinforcement.
6. Weave-In the Thread
How to weave-in the thread after completing the loop.
Sew back down into the beadwork and weave-in the thread. For loomwork and square stitch, you can use the back-and-forth thread path shown in black in the photo on the left. Make half-hitch knots over existing thread along the way. Then trim off the thread close to the surface of the beadwork.
7. Stitch the Beadwork for the Toggle
The flat peyote stitch beadwork for the toggle bar.
Prepare a new length of thread that is about one and a half to two arms' spans long. Be sure to use this length, even if it's longer than you normally work with.
Stitch 15 columns and ten rows of flat peyote stitch (this will be odd-count peyote).
8. Trim the Toothpick
The trimmed toothpick.
Use wire cutters to trim the toothpick to just shorter than the width of your swatch of peyote stitch. Center the toothpick on the swatch.
9. Zip Up the Beadwork Over the Toothpick
The beadwork being zipped up over the toothpick.
Zip-up the ends (the first and last rows) of the peyote stitch beadwork to create a tube around the toothpick.
Reverse direction, and sew back through the beadwork to the other side. Bring the needle out through an edge bead.
10. Add the First Embellishment Magatama
The first long magatama being stitched on.
Pick up 1C with your needle. Then sew down into one of the edge beads across from where your thread exits at the end of the tube.