That Blue Bracelet

For this bracelet, I took my Zig Zag Pattern no.2 and combined it with a bunch of sea coloured size 11 beads from my size 11 seed bead drawer.  Some of the tubes are so old, I can barely read what they say and I am not sure where they came from.  They were a mix of Matsuno and Miyuki and a variety of finishes.  This meant that there was some variation in the sizes of the beads and resulted in a slightly irregular bracelet.

Irregularity often bugs me, but, in this instance, it was great because it evoked some of that sea effect.  I remember when I first started beading I didn't expect precision and beads to line up perfectly.  Delicas are so beautifully perfect...  It was actually really nice to play with something less perfect, more bumpy.  A little nostalgic...

So I had ten different colours but you could use more or less.  Whatever colours you have in your stash.  This sort of pattern can be a great way to use left over beads, even if they are not blue!  I altered the order of the colours, which adds to the irregularity.  I always like the effects you can get from this as colour can shift in relation to what it's next to.  My colours included slate grey and seafoam which is more green than blue.

The different finishes gives it an interesting effect as well as different parts of the bracelet reflect differently to the light.  I used, two silver lined, three opaques, a matt opaque, a frosted AB finish, a galvanized, a matte metallic and an iris finish.  I love how matte beads soak up the light in a way that makes them look softer.  I love the glitz of silver lined beads.  The subtle shift of colour in the frosted AB and iris beads.  

One thing I noted as I sat and looked at the sea at the weekend was how the colours stacked in lines.  Darker colours where the water was shaded, not catching the light or stirring up debris.  Lighter where it shone in the light.  At one of the beaches, there is a quayside and under it, where the light didn't fall directly, it appeared more inky.  

So the bracelet takes the shifting light effects and colours, the different layers and attempts to say something about what I was admiring...

I wanted the bracelet to remain casual and decided not to add a metal finding.  I also didn't want to do a toggle loop clasp.  I decided to use a button instead and I went to get my button collection and identified the button I wanted at first glance.  It's pearly light turquoise that fits with the bracelet but yet is different to the other shades in the bracelet so it becomes a focal point.

I decided the button needed to be lifted above the surface of the bracelet so that the loop could go behind it without making the button sit at an angle.  So I sewed through a size 11 under each button hole.  This has the added benefit of protecting the thread holding the button on from rubbing by the loop.

I also took some size 15 seed beads and the put them on the thread, the last time it passed between the two button holes, to cover the thread.  I actually used five because they are small enough to sit in the button holes themselves.

My button collection is special to me as my Mother gave me the buttons.  I know that my Mother inherited buttons from both of my Grandmothers and it is likely that these buttons came from a variety of female relatives.  My only regret is that I only took the interesting buttons.  I don't know what happened to the other buttons and wish I had kept them all.

I normally make a loop from one point so that it is a narrow loop, but I decided to do it differently for this bracelet, making a wide loop.  It makes it easier to fit round the button and I think it really suits the look of the bracelet.

The pattern sheets for this bracelet are available in my etsy shop and this is Zig Zag Pattern No. 2.  I hope you have fun with this pattern!