black wrapped leather bracelet with artifact beads 3118

black leather cord
wrapped
artifact beads

pewter poly clay button
verdigris granite
7 - 7 1/2" (178  - 191 mm) circumference

                     available here






design and photographs © copyright 2013 WhatKnotShop

2 button organic industrial cuff bracelet 3038

 Summer is cooling off and a new batch of assembled designs is waiting in my basket to get published and uploaded to the fiber design section of my Etsy shop. This is an example of industrial organic a contradictory combination of rough beads dark colors and things that suggest a machine made origin.

The cuff is made with the edge stitching technique combining hand dyed cotton with bits of paracord to form a matrix that traps the nugget like beads.

 The closure is a double button and loop toggle that is offset creating a wrap-around effect.

The poly clay beads were made using a screen to produce a knurled texture making it appear that these are nuts or knobs re-purposed from some piece of machinery.

The colors are darker with black and various shade of green accented by blue and grey. The blue glass beads create a mysterious glow.

                       Available here


design and photographs © copyright 2013 WhatKnotShop

one button rope bracelet with polymer clay beads pewter 2764

 This one button design features handmade 10 mm round polymer clay beads placed in a field of blue green and grey cords. The oven bake clay is a "pewter" color which has a bit of a sheen to it.

Read the illustrated tutorial showing how to make these bracelets here.

The beads are secured with the edge binding thread.

 A small button and loop toggle holds the bracelet closed and is easy to manage.

Size is "small" 7" (178 mm) inside circumference when closed.

Here's a similar design you might like.

Here's one made with blue glass beads.

Here's a similar design made with wood beads.

                     Available here



See similar designs in the fiber art section of my Etsy shop.

design and photographs © copyright 2013 WhatKnotShop

one button rope bracelet grey white with clear glass beads 2749

 Whenever I use a grey and near-white cord combination the potential for color actually increases. The grey takes on a warm or cool tone as the eye compares it to the surrounding materials. The off-white braided framing cords push this grey in a "cool" direction. The clear glass beads put in a tiny bit of  spectrum color which the camera filters out of these photos.

Here's the tutorial showing how to make one of these bracelets.

 The other challenge is trying to white-balance the image which has a disproportionate effect on the appearance of the object. These were all photographed on a bright white field with a white balanced camera setting. After importing the the image from the camera the white background is normalized using the Graphic Converter software. Even after this you an see the background retains some residual color.

Here's a more colorful cousin of this design.

Here you can get a sense of the transparency in the embedded beads.

More on-button designs in the Etsy Shop.

                  Available here


design and photographs © copyright 2013 WhatKnotShop

beaded cable tie concept bracelet challenge 2546

 Would you rather an Arachnid? Looks something like a spider but more symmetrical and without the head thorax or abdomen...

This is a whimsical construction of black plastic cable ties, the kind you find at the hardware store, and tiny doughnut shaped green glass beads, the kind you find at the bead shop.

There is a cultural distance between these two shopping venues. I'll leave it to another post to discuss this or you may comment if you like...

 This example is only about 2" diameter which is small but the design can be expanded in two ways:

Add more beads to each tie increasing the segment length: -|||||||- to  -|||||||||||||||||||||-

Add additional ties to form a nine or ten or even eleven part polygon.

Design variation: Place an uneven numbers of beads on each tie, and color of beads and ties.

In this closeup you can see the beads are placed on the ties then the tail of one tie is placed in the ratchet of the next tie.

For the people who do numbers theory the ratio of beads to chords might be interesting. Post your suggestions.

Lastly if you have an idea on how to gracefully terminate the ties please post a comment.

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

beaded green cuff with three button toggle 2482

 One of the design features of many cuff style bracelets is the clasp or buttons that hold the bracelet closed. This design makes a big deal out of this detail by using three buttons and loops in an interlocking pattern. The bracelet is made from cord segments and glass beads that have been laid out and drawn up into highly textured fabric. Extra lengths of the framing cords were used to form the loops that flip over the buttons.

 Three small buttons are stitched into the framing cords with four ply nylon thread. This assembly is done on a mold to ensure that the buttons and loops placement are coordinated. The loops are made snug but not tight to allow for the addition of more cords and beads. Then the cross stitching is done with the nylon thread. The assembly is left in a relaxed condition while all the cross threads are placed.

Here you can see the position of the three loops and buttons in the finished bracelet.

Two of the loops thread inside the larger third loop in an overlapping pattern. The natural pressure on the inside of the bracelet makes the loops settle under the buttons which makes it more secure.

This bracelet will be available in an upcoming boutique sale. Check Finch's Holiday Time Boutique for details, place and time or visit the fiber art section of my Etsy shop to see some other designs similar to this one.
design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

white star knot bracelet with blue and green beads 2106

 Here is another in the continuing series of star knot bracelets made with beads. This one is made with 2 mm braided nylon cord (actually sold as kite string) and two colors of plastic pony beads.

The blue beads are placed on the perimeter where there are two parallel bights. The green beads are placed at the center "spine" of the knot where the cord passes laterally though the loops.

The construction is a single pass of the cord making this a rather lightweight design.

 Previously published designs include this
black star knot bracelet with red beads which was also published on Pearl's blog back on June 4, 2012

rope bracelet with star knot meridian
(also executed in 2 mm white cord including a reference to the pattern author who designed this knot)

star knot meridian cotton rope bracelet 1739

The design needs a pattern, pins and some patience to lay out. This one required three "go-backs" to correct errors in the weave pattern.

Size is a "medium" measuring 7 3/4" (195 mm) inside circumference with plenty of flexibility.


design by Norbert Trupiano used with permission, photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

red beaded cotton bangle 1823

In this design the red glass beads form a continuous layer between the cotton cords.

This is a very narrow width. High strength waxed nylon binds the cord matrix together laterally and vertically though the beads. Possible design variations include black or other color cord, alternate color beads, and a coded sequence of beads.

8 1/4" (209 mm) inside circumference

          available here



design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

2 button blue green extra wide beaded cuff 1643

 This two button cuff is another in the clothesline series made with a grey hand dyed clothesline which forms the ribs and loops in combination with 3 mm hand dyed cotton cord. Glass seed beads are worked into the seams of the large cord. A row of glass beads forms a seam between the two halves of this bracelet. A pair of buttons and loops hold this cuff securely closed.
The colors are grey, green, and black. Bead colors are cobalt, light turquoise, light blue, and a mix of amber, yellow, pink and clear glass in the seam.

This item is available part of a series of clothesline cuffs in the design section of my Zibbet marketplace

The size is a large measuring 8" (204 mm) interior circumference when closed and 2 7/8" (71 mm) wide.
These unique constructions require between 12 -16 hours of work to build. This one was laid out on a PVC pipe mold where the larger cords were formed into the ribs and loops. The smaller diameter cords are laid out in the valleys and hand stitched into a fabric-like pattern. The bracelet is then removed from the mold and the beadwork is completed. Finally the two halves are stitched together using nylon thread and the larger glass beads.

design and photographs © copyright 2011 WhatKnotShop

3 button toggle cord cuff bracelet with beads 1634

 This is a 3 bead toggle cuff made with up cycled cord scraps, a collection of random beads, and a lot more time than I anticipated. This is one of those projects that was laid out on the mold and then for some reason didn't get finished for months. Seems like every time I picked it up I had to do something else so the design sat unrealized until just recently.
In this view you can see the overlapping cords that are actually on the surface. Usually all the cords are bound horizontally with the nylon thread but this design had a lot of loose ends that were laid out on top of the shell and then stitched down.

 In this view you can see the random bead collection arranged near the edge of the cuff. This adds texture and a bit more chaos to the already chaotic patterns.

This will fit an average size person measuring 7 1/2" (191 mm) when tugged down snugly. It will expand to about 8 1/4" (208 mm) with the toggle beads fully extended.

This one is extra wide 2 5/8" (68 mm) but it's mostly  cotton so it's not uncomfortable to wear...

In this view you can see the three large glass beads which toggle through the loops to hold this cuff closed.

Now listed on Zibbet.



design and photographs © copyright 2011 WhatKnotShop

Double toggle beaded cuff bracelet 915

 Hand dyed blue, grey, purple  and white cotton cord and a collection of blue glass beads are combined in a  wrap around cuff bracelet. The toggle closure is a pair of green glass beads and loops.


This is one of the design )strata( series of pieces that is available exclusively from WhatKnotShop. Each piece is a unique expression created from up cycled scraps of material.

This item is available here. See other similar bracelets in the design section of the Zibbet shop.



design and photographs © copyright 2011 WhatKnotShop

Black beaded fabric bangle 1074

Black polyester cord is bound tightly together in a reverse loop pattern creating the "interlocking fingers" detail. An array of small blue glass beads are threaded in between the cord plies to form an offset pattern.

 This piece is a smaller slip on style measuring 7 3/8" (187 mm) inside circumference. The cord is highly compressed and has no remaining stretch left in it.

Colors are midnight black and cobalt blue.

This item is available on ArtFire handmade marketplace  click here

If you like this design you may be interested in this one as well  click here or maybe this one  click here



design and photographs copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

three new )strata( designs

adjustable anklet

Simple adjustable anklet with two beads, the larger turquoise toggle and a smaller purple one worked into the weave (invisible in back) smallest size 8 1/2" opens up much larger.

Colors are blues, greens, and a magenta center strand.

588

Soft bangle bracelet 8 1/2" with beads.

Colors are rust, blue, grey, black with red, turquoise and blue glass beads. Slip on but flexible.

589

Custom ankle bracelet

Multiple layers of cords, large glass barrel bead toggle and glass pony beads. A bushy tail restrains the toggle bead. Size 8 1/2".

590

black on black turks head knot bracelet with beads

Black cord, black beads make this well, black on black! The cord is 3 mm polyester and the beads are plastic so it is all organic but not grown in a field or made in a furnace. Yeah maybe this isn't for everyone  but there are other offerings that are made of natural cotton and glass. Look around!

Here you can see the beads placed in the weave showing on both inside and outside the bracelet.


This is on the large side of "medium" at 7 3/4" inside circumference right for a larger adult hand. Smaller and larger sizes are available by request.

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these three online shops:

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhatKnotShop
ArtFire: http://www.artfire.com/users/WhatKnotShop
Zibbet: http://www.zibbet.com/WhatKnotShop