Crystal ruffle bracelet

On their own, beads are singular, shiny flecks of glass. Woven together, they can mimic fabric. These feminine ruffles work up quickly and call attention to the delicate beauty of a square rivoli. 

SUPPLIES

Bracelet 7 3⁄4 in. (19.7 cm)

• 14 mm square rivoli
• 20 g 11/0 cylinder beads
• 10 g 13/0 Charlottes
• 1 g 15/0 Charlottes
• 6 mm magnetic tube clasp
• Fireline 6 lb. test
• beading needles, #13

Note: The instructions are written for 11/0 cylinder beads, but you can substitute 11/0 seed beads if you wish, as in the silver bracelet. If you substitute, use an 11/0 seed bead for every mention of a cylinder, and be aware that you may need to adjust your bead counts.

INSTRUCTIONS

Bezel

1. On 1 yd. (.9 m) of Fireline, pick up 42 11/0 cylinder beads, and tie them into a ring with a square knot, leaving a 12-in. (30 cm) tail. Work in tubular peyote stitch to make a bezel, adjusting your tension for the corners. Work a total of three rounds of cylinder beads, insert the stone (photo a), and work two rounds of 13/0 Charlottes on each side of it. Do not end the working thread or tail. 

2. Work one round of tubular peyote stitch with 15/0 Charlottes on each side, and end the thread.

Ruffled bands

As you work the ruffled bands, end and add thread as needed.

1. On a comfortable length of Fireline, pick up 17 cylinders, and tie them into a ring with a square knot, leaving a 12-in. (30 cm) tail. Sew through the first three beads again (figure 1, a–b). 

2. Pick up nine cylinders, and sew through the next cylinder in the ring toward the previous cylinder (b–c). Sew through the first six cylinders added in this step (c–d). 

3. Pick up six cylinders, and sew through the next cylinder in the base ring toward the previous cylinder in the base (d–e). Sew through the last three cylinders added in the previous step and the first three cylinders added in this step (e–f).

4. Pick up nine cylinders, and sew through the next cylinder in the base ring toward the previous cylinder (f–g). Sew through the last three cylinders added in the previous step and the first six cylinders added in this step (g–h). The cylinders added in steps 2–4 form one fan cluster.

5. Repeat step 3 twice and step 4 once to make a second fan cluster.

6. Repeat step 3 twice and step 4 once  to make a third fan cluster. 

7. Repeat step 3 twice, but the second time, do not sew through the first three cylinders.

1. With your thread exiting the middle cylinder at one end of a ruffled band, sew through one half of the clasp. Sew back through the bead your thread exited at the start of this step (photo b). Retrace the thread path several times, and end the thread.

2. Repeat step 1 on the other ruffled band with the other half of the clasp.

3. On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of Fireline, attach a stop bead, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Working in flat even-count peyote stitch, pick up 14 13/0s, and make a strip that is 14 13/0s wide with 17 13/0s on each straight edge (34 rows). Adjust the number of rows to make sure the peyote tube will fit around the magnetic tube clasp. Remove the stop bead. 

4. Zip up the two edges, and sew through the beadwork to exit one end of the tube. Slide the tube around one half of the clasp with the thread exiting the edge nearest the ruffled band.

5. Pick up three 13/0s, and sew through the middle cylinder attached to a clasp half (photo c). Pick up three 13/0s, and sew through the next edge 13/0 of the peyote tube (photo d). Repeat around the tube, and end the thread.

Assembly

8. Sew through the next 12 cylinders along the outside edge of the fan clusters toward the middle fan cluster (figure 2). Repeat steps 2–7, using the ruffled fan instead of the cylinders in the ring as a base.

9. Repeat step 8 seven times for a total of nine fans or until you reach the desired length for one half of the bracelet. If adjusting the length of the bracelet, take into account the size of the bezeled square rivoli and the clasp. 

10. Sew through the beadwork to exit an edge cylinder at the end of the first fan cluster in a ruffled fan. 

11. Pick up three 13/0s, skip an edge cylinder, and sew through the next edge cylinder to form a picot (figure 3), working toward the opposite end of the band. Repeat the picot stitch along the edge of the band until you reach the end fan cluster. Sew through the beadwork at the base of the fan cluster to exit a cylinder at the edge of the opposite fan cluster, and repeat the picot stitch toward the clasp end of the band. Stop when you reach the edge cylinder at the end of the first fan cluster, and end the thread, but do not trim.

12. Make a second ruffled band to match the first. 

Clasp

1. Thread a needle on the tail of a ruffled band. Sew through the beadwork to exit the middle cylinder in the ring, and sew through the corresponding middle cylinder of the bezel (photo e). Retrace the thread path to reinforce the connection.

2. Sew through the beadwork to exit an edge bead on a fan cluster, and sew through a corner bead of the bezel (photo f). Retrace the thread path to reinforce the connection.

3. Repeat step 2 for the other edge fan cluster and bezel corner. End the thread.

4. Repeat steps 1–3 with the other ruffled band.