Tutorial: Slide Bar Loop Clasp

Weave any loose ends into the beadwork and finish as you normally would for your choice of thread.  Do not remove the final working thread from the beadwork at this point, in case you need to adjust the bracelet length.

Slide bar loop clasps come in a range of sizes and colours but the largest is 31.5mm.  I like these clasps because there is no exposed thread to rub and the attachment is particularly strong as the beadwork is looped around the bar.  I generally only stitch through the join once as it's difficult to get the angle to stitch through a second time once the loop has been made.

I like to finish the existing thread and begin a new thread for the clasp.  This means that if the clasp thread should wear through, the beadwork will remain intact.  This is less necessary for these clasps than for other clasps.

Working at the end marked start in the diagram above, add a new thread and exit the bead highlighted in the close up below.

Pull the beadwork and thread through the clasp.  From this point, the thread is only shown from where it exits the bead as shown by the pink circle.

Take the thread from the bead marked yellow and thread through the bead marked red (or if this is too tight for you clasp, move it down a row to make the loop larger).  This will result in the beadwork folding around the bar as you tighten the thread.  To show the thread path though, I will continue to show the beadwork unfolded.  

Take the thread through the next bead at the end of the beadwork marked yellow and then through the next red bead (on the same row as the previous red bead which is now marked pink).

Keep going, taking the thread through the next yellow bead at the top and then back down to the next red bead.  Past yellow beads are shown as blue and past red beads are shown as pink.

At the end, there is no red bead on the same row so take the thread through the red bead shown below in order to attach the corner of the beadwork to the edge so there is not a loose edge to catch.

The beadwork should now be fully folded to make a loop and it should be nice and tight so the join is less obvious.

The last yellow bead is now right on top of the last red bead in the diagram.  The thread path of the join is shown below.

You can either take the thread through the join a second time or finish off the thread.

Add the second half of the clasp to the other end of the beadwork in the same way.  Try to make sure the joins are both on the same side as this is the back of the bracelet as the pattern does not continue perfectly where the end joins to make a loop.  

The two halves of the clasp slide together.