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Friday 11 June 2010

Stuck, String and Treasury

Please help me, if you can! I am stuck on this one. As so often before I get stuck on a detail in the production/manufacturing of a piece. I hate when it happens and it is actually one of the main reasons why I gave myself this One-a-Day-Challenge. I wish to come over this barrier so that I get some tempo in my production. I have soooooooo many unfinished pieces laying around. This one I am very pleased with design-wise. I really like the cubes in peyote and the colours, and that button just lift the whole piece. The thing is that I want that button to work as a clasp, and after pondering about it for a few days I decided that the way of making it work would be this way that you can see in the picture (gosh what an awful sentance). But it doesn't work, coz there's a big gap. I will have to redo it. But how? Should it be some metal hook construction hidden under the button? Should it be magnets? Or what? Please please I need some experienced advice from you!
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One-a-Day-Challenge No 3 is a simple strung bracelet with dark coloured rustic trade beads in glass, a few small trade beads in white and some buttons. All strung on double black waxed linen cord with knots in between. The bracelet is worn two laps around the wrist. Casual and very easy to wear, I've been wearing it ever since I made it a few days ago, also together with other bracelets.
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And finally - another treasury on Etsy by me. I wanted to name it "The feeling of sitting on a fallen pine tree log on a cliff by the open sea on a sunny, warm but windy day". But it was a too long name, so I had to shorten it. All the picks are favourites of mine already, either the actual pice or the seller. I do wanna own all the things in this treasury.

9 comments:

Mary Harding said...

I don't know if this will help but...when I make peyote cuff bracelets I make it so one end overlaps the other so that there isn't a gap. I use a button too. Since your button is in the front this solution may not work for you. You could possibly sew a strong magnetic clasp into the edges if the cuff but I don't have much faith in magnets for bracelets. By the way that is a great bracelet and worth fixing, I think. Maybe check out some Bead and Button or Beadwork Mags for their solutions.

Barbara Lewis said...

The thing about using a hook is that it doesn't have to go all the way around the button ... you can slide it under the button and just around the shank. What if you were to continue the one end of the bracelet so that it comes flush with the other end but then create a piece with beads that would hold the end of the hook. It could be a small loop with beads. That way, you wouldn't see any part of the hook. I hope I'm making sense, but feel free to contact me if I'm not!

Malin de Koning said...

Thank you sooooo much for your advice! I will look into them both. I need to sit with the actual piece as I read through them again to fully understand how you mean. And Mary, I will also check Bead&Button. Good idea.

Malin de Koning said...

By the way, it is meant to come flush, i made the edges straight by adding 10/0 delicas in the in between gaps of the peyote. The button is supposed to kind of cover the "line". The photographs shows how it is not supposed to look. I wasn't clear about, was i.

Libby said...

Beautiful cuff with the cube beads!

Another possible solution might be a loop of color-coordinated elastic instead of the beaded loop. I personally don't like stretch beading cord; a thin, covered elastic loop would be stronger, more secure, and would be mostly hidden under the button.

Your project a day is impressive. I spend too much time looking and not enough time beading.

Malin de Koning said...

I do like the elastic idea because I wouldn't have to change too much. But I understand your point, it isn't really an "elegant" solution.

And "One-a-Day" .... hm, I'm already behind ... but it's a good aim isn't it. Right now I am simoultaneously working on a wire-wrapped necklace, updating and sorting my iTunes library with a bunch of Michael Jackson songs I didn´t have before, and e-mail/blog/flickr/etsy ...
Multitasking, might it be one reason why I don't produce so quickly?

steufel said...

I did a similar project after a pattern from Laura McCabe http://justletmebead.com/downloads%5Cberry_bracelet.pdf

you create a buttonhole and that works like a charm. You can see my version here - I doubled the peyote-band and took a really, really big button.

http://stefaniessammelsurium.blogspot.com/2010/03/beerenexplosion.html

Maybe that would be a solution?

regards

Stefanie

Cindy Gimbrone said...

I agree with Barbara about trying a wire clasp. I think you could do it easily and hide it well. Love the bracelet - it's just beautiful!

Anna Lear said...

Such a beautiful bracelet; the colors make it just a bit "edgy" and contemporary. I can hardly add anything to the wisdom already in the comments; one thought I had was maybe to use a thicker loop, such as leather... but I love the wire clasp idea, too. I hope to see what you come up with!