Occasionally I step out of my comfort zone, technically speaking… Away from techniques I am familiar with to meander into new territories. That is exactly what happened after releasing a new kumihimo bracelet kit using a magnetic clasp. Originally I designed the bracelet with a sterling silver clasp, but it added too much to the cost of the kit… So to keep the price of the kit low, I went with the magnetic clasp.
Then... Several of my customers told me of having problems with the gold finish getting removed due to their skin types. They planned on spraying a lacquer finish… Others including myself found the magnetic clasps preferred to attach themselves to various metal objects.
Finally after losing a bracelet for several days only to find it under my desk attached to a metal leg and metal set of drawers, I knew I had to do something to improve the bracelet.
So after searching for new clasps, I found new European magnetic clasps with strong magnets and advanced designs. These clasps are fabulous but their inside diameters are 10 mm by 7 mm, not the 4 to 6mm inside diameter needed for the bracelets. I look forward to designing new projects with these clasps. So keep posted.
Next, I decided to cover the clasps with beads, creating a tubular sleeve that would prevent the magnet from moving sideways. I remembered seeing tubular cylinders used a spacers made with Peyote Stitch at one of the show I attended. So I spent a weekend learning Peyote Stitch, creating rectangles and zipping them into tubes. hey I made my first beaded sleeves for the magnetic clasps. These beaded tubes are inserted right over the clasp, either left loose, so they can be interchanged, or stitched to one side.
Since adding the beaded sleeves over the magnetic clasps, I have not lost a single bracelet, and if the metal reacts to my skin, the bead sleeve will act as a barrier. Hey - Problems solved!
New designs or design improvements sometimes come in unexpected ways… And Peyote Stitch is easy to learn and very addictive. So try it.
Over the few next few posts or so, I will go over what's involved in making these Peyote Stitch Beaded Sleeves, show you a few versions of the Peyote Sleeve, show several methods of starting the peyote stitch and of doing the rows, and talk a bit about the history of Peyote Stitch and the origin of its name.
References
Peyote Stitch TutorialsEven-Count Peyote Sleeves with Delicas Size 11
Even-Count Peyote Sleeves with Seed Beads Size 11
Get Kits, Materials & Tools
Peyote Beaded Sleeves
Kumihimo Bracelet with Long Magatamas & C-Lon Tex 400 Bead Cord
Magnetic End Clasps in Gold or Silver Tone
European Magnetic End Clasps
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3 comments:
Потрясающе красиво!
It means stunningly beautiful - Thanks for your nice comment, Marion
Love learning something new. This is something I will definately be using.
Thank you.
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