Make beaded jewelry

Learning how to make beaded bracelets is about as gentle as a craft gets. You need very few things, there’s no way to make a permanent mistake until the final knot, and at the end you have something you can wear or give away. Winter evenings suit it: a lamp, a towel on the table and a small pile of colours.

Before you start

Choose a flat table with good light and, if you can, a pale surface so the colours show. Beads roll, so work on a towel or a tray with a rim, which stops them from bouncing across the floor. Keep small beads away from pets and small children, since they can be swallowed.

If you’re buying beads, a mixed pack is a good first purchase. It usually costs less than buying lots of single colours and gives you things to try. Choose beads with holes big enough for your cord. Stretch cord comes in different thicknesses, and thicker cord is easier to handle but needs bigger holes.

What to bring beyond the basics

• Scissors. Small ones are best for cutting cord close to the knot.
• Clear glue, or clear nail polish, for the knot.
• A bead needle, or a piece of tape wrapped round the end of the cord.
• A ruler or string for measuring your wrist.
• Small bowls or a muffin tin for sorting beads by colour.

Step by step

1. Measure your wrist. Wrap a piece of string around it, mark the spot, and measure the string. That’s your bracelet’s length, plus a little extra for the knot.
2. Lay out the pattern. Put the beads in a line on the towel in the order you want. Move them about until you like it. Try three or four colours at most, and repeat a pattern every so often.
3. Cut the cord. Cut about 10 cm (4 inches) longer than your bracelet, so there’s room to tie.
4. Stop the end. Tape the cord’s end to the table, or tie a loose knot, so beads can’t slide off.
5. String the beads in order. A bead needle or a stiff cord tip helps.
6. Check the fit. Hold it round your wrist before you tie. It should slide over your hand easily but not hang loose.
7. Tie it. Bring the ends together and tie a surgeon’s knot: cross the ends, wrap one round the other twice, pull tight, then tie a simple knot over it. Pull it firmly.
8. Add a dab of glue to the knot, let it dry, and trim the ends.

You can also tuck the knot inside a larger bead with a wide hole, which hides it.

Ideas for the second bracelet

Making two is the point: one for you and one to give away. For the second, try a different feel. Use one colour with a single contrasting bead, or beads of a similar colour in different sizes, or letters for a name or a word. If you want a necklace, use the same steps with wire or non-stretch cord and a clasp. That version takes longer, and it helps to ask at the shop which cord suits the beads you chose.

What goes wrong

• The cord is hard to thread. Cut the tip at an angle, or use tape or a needle.
• It’s too tight. Cut it open, restring and add a bead or two. Everything can be reused.
• It’s too loose. Remove a bead, or make a new one with a shorter cord.
• The knot slips. Pull each knot firmly, use the surgeon’s knot, and let the glue dry before wearing.
• Beads keep rolling off. Work on a towel, and keep your finger on the end of the cord.
• The beads don’t fit the cord. Check hole size before you buy more.

Keeping and giving

Take off bracelets before showering, swimming or sleeping, because water and pulling wear out stretch cord. Store them flat in a small box. If you give one away, wrap it in a bit of paper, and tell your friend to keep it away from water. If one breaks, cut off the old cord and restring the beads.

Make it a winter evening

Put on a winter playlist, lay the beads out under a lamp and make one slowly. It’s a small, quiet way to spend a dark evening, and you finish with something you can wear tomorrow.