Where is the festival of lights
FREE Project: Festival of Lights Bangle
♪ [music] ♪
I have a confession to make.
There might be some extra bags under my eyes today because I happen to have
developed a new project that I'm going to show you today that I've became completely
obsessed with making.
And it happens to be this arm full of bangles, is this not just
fabulous or what?
They are, what I'm calling, my festival of lights bracelets.
I made all of these in one night.
Yes, including a partial version to show you how we can add a clasp to it.
So, let's just add another sparkler to this.
Oh, yes.
Do these not look fabulous? Oh!
Seriously, I became so enamored with my own project that I just stayed up all
night making them.
I finally went to bed at 6:00 a.m. only because my eyes would not stay
open another minute.
So, I think you're going to fall in love with them just as much as I am.
Let me take these off so that I can kind of show you what's going on here.
You can do that either as a bangle, and I will talk about how you're
going to size the bangle, or you can do it with a clasp.
I think most people are going to want to do it as a bangle because that way you
don't have that clasp.
The thing is, if you do a clasp and you wear multiples of them,
then of course, you're going to have multiple clasps to deal with, and they're
always going to have one that's sliding to the top, you know how that goes.
So, hopefully, my instructions for helping you size your bangle will make sure that
you get exactly the size you need.
Let's take a closer look at what this bracelet is.
There's actually a base that we create first, and it's this bottom piece.
The thing that I was starting to make was completely different than what I ended
up making, I just kept playing with something, with this initial base,
and eventually got to this beautiful bangle.
That's basically the way I design quite frequently.
I had originally planned on creating just a multi-wrap bracelet,
just using this pattern right here, but I was having so much fun with that,
that I wasn't ready to be done with my project yet.
And that's where I started adding on and adding on and ended up with the bangle.
So that's what we're going to make first.
Then we go and we add these little picots along both sides.
And then, our last step is bringing those picots, on both sides,
up to the center and adding the crystal along the top edge.
Okay, so let's start out by talking about what beads these little critters are
right here, down in the base.
Because it's got this long narrow thing with seed beads coming out on either side.
What that bead is, is this right here, and I think it's going to be easier
for you to see with this color.
There's two versions, there's one called a twin and one
called a SuperDuo.
And they are pretty close to identical beads, basically they're two holed beads,
and so you can kind of see the hole here and then the hole here.
And it has then this elongated profile along the top.
The twins are a little bit more irregular.
The SuperDuos, the sizing is just more consistent from bead to bead.
So, if you have an option of using SuperDuos or twins, I would go
with SuperDuos as my first option.
Having said that, several of these bracelets that I was just showing you were
made with the twins, so you just have to be careful and call
out any of the super wide ones or any of the super skinny ones.
Okay.
So, the way we're going to start this out is you're going to actually cut yourself a
pretty long length of thread.
By doing that, you will be able to actually use a single length of thread,
but what I'm going to have you do is... I had actually already threaded my
needle but, to start out, when you've got the really long length
of thread...this one is not quite as long because I'm just going to make a little
Barbie bracelet, you know how I like to do... I'm going to take one of the ends
of my fire line and pop it through one of the holes.
And then, I'm going to take the other end of my fire line, and pop it through the
other hole on this twin, and get those two ends together.
And then, I'm going to bring this twin down, so that it is now centered
on my thread.
What I discovered, as I was making these is, if you cut yourself about 3 arm's
lengths of thread...and let me show you what I mean by "arm's length of thread."
It means, if I'm holding my fire line here, here we go, my fire line,
and I'm pulling it out the entire length of my arm, that is one arm's length.
And if you do that three times, that's going to give you enough thread
to complete this whole bracelet.
Now, the thing is not all of our arms are about the same length.
So, if you need to measure measure, my arm's length here is roughly a yard.
So 3 yards should work for you to be able to finish this entire bangle with one
length of thread.
Okay, let's go back to the beads here.
So we're going to pretend that this is a 3-yard piece that I've now centered
this bead on.
And what I'm going to do is we're going to kind of use this bead as a stopper bead,
but it's also part of our project.
So, I'm going to take one end, this is the end that's coming
off of this side, and I'm going to poke it back through the hole
on the opposite side.
And that's what's going to secure this thread.
And now you've got thread coming out on both sides and it will not,
this bead will not move around on you.
So now you've got it nice and centered.
What I would do with one end of your thread is actually wrap it on a bobbin.
And I have kits available for these bangles, and your kit actually includes a
bobbin for you to use to do that wrapping.
I actually forgot a bobbin, so we're just going to pretend that I'm
wrapping this around a bobbin.
And then, that way, it stays out of your way, and you're only working with half
of the thread at once.
So I'm going to take the half that I'm going to work with, and get
my needle threaded.
Okay.
There we go.
And this first base section is super, super-duper easy.
I'm just alternating, picking up a twin by passing through one
side of the hole, and a seed bead...and a twin...and a seed bead.
One thing about these twins, because there are two holes to them,
you do have to make sure and look, as you're picking each one up, that the
other end, that the hole on the other end isn't blocked up accidentally,
because that will happen occasionally.
And if you're really far into your project and you're just now finally coming back
and going through that second hole and you find that it's blocked up,
you have to rip all the way back to where you added that twin to replace it.
And it can be a real pain in the butt.
So what I do is I actually visually...you can either look at it visually on your mat
and kind of see that the holes are open on both ends or, as I pick it up, oop,
I need a seed bead next, and then one...what I can do is
kind of look down, and I see the color of my mat shining through that hole.
And that way, I know that, that hole is open.
And so, you're just going to keep adding seed beads and twins until you get the
length that you desire.
And your next question is going to be, "Well, how on earth do I know what kind
of length I desire?"
So here's the thing.
Because they're both SuperDuos and twins, and then, I also want to show you one
other thing, these twins, or SuperDuos, are not...especially the twins,
SuperDuos are pretty even, but some of these are fatter than others.
So, this one's kind of a fat guy but this one's kind of a skinny guy.
You can kind of see the difference, here's a skinny and a fat.
And that will make a little bit of difference in your sizing also.
So, giving you an exact number can be a little bit difficult.
As an example of that, all three of these bracelets...well, no,
actually these two bracelets were made with the same number of twins in the base.
Because I needed it to fit my hand, and my number happens to be 70.
So, I made both of these with 70 twins.
And yet, if you look at these, this one is a little bit different
in sizing than the other, and it's just the thickness
of those twins, as I went along, that made that difference.
Then this particular bracelet, again, made with 70 of them.
In this case though, they were SuperDuos, so they were more even.
And I actually had to go back and pull out two of those.
This one's actually made with 68 on my base because the 70 made it so big.
And so, the 68 of the SuperDuos is, like, my ideal number because that way I'm able
to get it on.
It takes a little bit of effort, what I want to make sure is that
if I flap my hand, it's not going to fall off.
So, go ahead and string up to, say, 70 of these.
And then, let's come back after that, and I'm going to show you how you're going
to size it on your wrist, depending on whether you're going to add a
clasp or whether you're doing a bangle.
So, I already started talking a little bit about sizing, but let me show you exactly
how to do the sizing.
If you are creating a bangle, what you need the bangle to fit is the
widest part of your hand when you're kind of holding it like a duck.
And so, that's usually right around the knuckles area.
And the easiest way to measure that actually is I went to the internet and
searched on "printable ruler" and came up with a printable ruler.
And so, that way it's just a piece of paper that I cut my little ruler out,
so it's nice, and flexy and bendy.
And I put it around the widest part of my hand, so I kind of grab it with my thumb
here just to get it secured first.
And then, I put it nice and tightly around the widest part of my hand when I've got
it held like the duck.
And at that point, I can actually slip it off, pinch it and slip it off,
and I'll take a piece of tape and kind of tape it.
And so, that's what I know the diameter of my piece should be.
And if it's a little bit smaller than that, that's okay because, you know,
you can work those bracelets on.
You have a little bit of a wiggle room range there.
My particular bracelets, or my particular size,
ended up being just a little bit over 8.5, so, like, 8 and whatever that is.
So, just basically about 8.5.
And where that comes into play is I can actually show you here,
with this bangle that fit me so well, is that this fits perfectly on the
interior of this bangle that I made.
It's just the bangle is just a hair bit smaller.
Like I said, it's okay if it's just a hair bit smaller because the beads will slide
on your skin a little bit.
So that's a great way to figure out the interior diameter.
Another way, obviously, is the brute force method, and
in this particular case, because I'm making a Barbie bracelet, I don't have
very much length here, but I would just lay it over my hand here, and I would try
to bring the two ends together, and kind of see how good it is.
That's a little more trial and error, but I'm going to show you where we can make
adjustments at the end when you bring the bangle together if it ends up being a
little bit too big or too small.
I can show you how we can make adjustments.
Now, if you're going to add a clasp to it, it's not going to need to be
quite as long.
And so, here is a piece that I was working on.
And the way I was kind of sizing this is, as I was making that base,
I was bringing it around, and I wanted to leave myself about 1 inch to 1.5 inch
for a clasp to be added right in here.
Because I tend to like toggle clasps roughly about an inch size is what I
generally use, and then, add just a little bit of extra for the
attachments to the clasp.
So this will work out nicely for a clasped version for myself.
Once you've figured out what your number is for your sizing, you might actually
want to write it down.
Like, I know my number is 70 in twins and 68 in SuperDuos.
Now, as I go make all of these bangles, I won't have to worry about changing any
of that up because now I know what my number is, and I can be the same
every single time.
So work on figuring out your sizing and, when you come back, I'm going to talk
to you about how we're going to do the second pass on this, and how we're going
to add our picots.
Now that you've got your sizing roughly figured out, let's do the second pass
on these twins.
And when we get down to the end, I'm going to show you how you can fudge a
little bit if your sizing ended up not being quite as precise as you wanted
it to be.
So, let's take a look at the beads.
What I'm going to do here is...remember that second hole on these twins?
Well, I'm just going to take my thread and start passing the opposite direction
through the twins.
Now, those of you who are paying attention are going to notice that I'm going to have
a little bit of thread showing here.
If I just turn around, the thread is going to sit along this twin
from one hole to the other.
It's no problem at all for that to happen if you're going to do this as a bangle.
If you're going to use a clasp on this, what you might want to do,
instead of having that thread show right there...I'm sorry.
It won't show in the bangle because we're going to bring the other end right
up to this, and so, it will all be embedded on the inside of the bangle.
However, if you're going to add a clasp to it, the clasp will sit right here, and
that little pass of thread will show.
So, to keep that from happening, what we can do is pick up a seed bead when
we turn around to go through that other hole.
And so, now you've got a seed bead sitting there instead of just the thread.
And the other benefit of having that seed bead there is we can use that to attach
your clasp to later.
So, what I'm going to do on this particular one, because I want to show
on the other side how we're going to attach the two ends for bangles,
I'm going to actually take this seed bead off for right now.
And, instead, I'm just going to do my turn around.
And then, you're just going to pick up a seed bead in between each one of these
second holes all the way along.
Hey you. You're just going to work your way along.
Make sure that you don't accidentally skip any of the twins.
I managed to do that to myself last night on one of them, and I kind of had to pull
back for a little ways so that I could get all of the twins in.
Because, you know, they're trying to move around on you, as you're doing this,
and kind of dodge and weave out of the way.
You got to tell them who's boss.
Or at least pretend you're the boss, right?
We all know the beads are the boss.
That's why they end up on the floor and in your clothes.
Okay.
And I'm working away.
The other day, I had beads sitting on the arm of my little love seat,
like I all too frequently do, and my mother was throwing one
of the dog's toys.
And she hit the container of seed beads that I had sitting on the arm
of the chair.
And you can imagine what happened.
That container hit the floor, and the top popped off, and there were
seed beads everywhere.
So, if that ever happens to you, one of the big tricks for cleaning that
kind of mess up is, if you take like a lightweight sock or nylons...I used to say
nylons, but if you're like me, you haven't had nylons in your house
in 20 years.
So, a lightweight sock will work.
And you just kind of slip it over the hose attachment on your vacuum and that can
help vacuum up those beads into the sock so that you can reclaim them.
Okay, I'm almost to the end.
Or you can get rid of your mother and the dogs, but, you know, I don't want
to do that.
My mother is the permanent employee of the month at Jill Wiseman Designs,
she's very proud of that.
She has to be the permanent one now because one of the dogs won it one month,
and she's still kind of bitter about that so...
Okay.
So, as I get down to this last one, this is going to be your opportunity
to check that length again.
And you kind of want to hold some tension on this, and you can see...so this was,
actually the original idea was I was just going to do a wrap bracelet that
looked like this.
You want to hold some tension on this, and check it around your wrist again.
Then what we can do here is we're going to bring those two ends together and actually
turn it into a bangle.
We're not going to do a lot of extra reinforcing because,
once we turn it into a bangle, that's going to give you one more
opportunity to kind of do any last minute adjusting before we move on.
After we move on, it's going to be a lot harder
to do any adjustment.
So, what I'm going to do is, my thread is coming out this side
of my twin, and so, I'm going to pop it right in that same side on the other side.
What I want to do is make sure that I don't have this twisted.
And, of course, it's easy for me because I'm making this little tiny small Barbie
bracelet, but you want to make sure that it's not twisted when you do this.
So I'm just going to go down, say, two or three twins and seed beads
as I connect that.
So now it's connected on one side.
And I want to connect it also then on the other side, so I'm going to let it sit
right along the edge, come back up through here.
Oop, and see, I can already tell I forgot something.
I didn't put a seed bead in because I've got two twins sitting next to each other
and I should have seed beads as I'm attaching these.
So see, even I can goof up.
I'm just going to back it up... Looped my thread there a little bit.
Oop, now I double looped it.
Okay, just take it off the needle, Jill.
We're always trying to look for the shortcut, aren't we?
Now, I've got a knot.
If this happens to you and you get a knot, the easiest way to get a knot out is
to take your needle and kind of try to poke into the center of it and wiggle it.
And that will usually, eventually, loosen up one end of it.
Sometimes it's easier than others.
Okay.
See, I'm showing you all the things, what not to do.
Aren't I nice?
So, now I'm going to remember to put my seed bead on this time as I connect
these two ends.
And, making sure that it's not twisted, I'm going in the same side hole on the
opposite end here.
I'm going to pass through three or four seed beads...three or four of the twins.
I want to be coming out of a twin because I want to hide my thread along the edge
of the twin.
And then, I'm going to come back in this direction, and connect this other side
remembering to put that seed bead between the two that weren't already connected.
Okay.
And then, I'll go up another couple.
And then, I'm going to turn around and come back one more time on this edge kind
of reinforcing that join.
Okay, so, here's your moment to check this for sizing.
Because right now it's pretty sturdy, you're in your final size
of this bracelet.
And if Barbie were here right now, I'd make her put it on her hand.
And so, this is a good place for you to check it, because if it's wrong,
you don't have very much to back out of, it's pretty easy to back out of to either
add or subtract length.
And the biggest thing is that you need to make sure that you are using an even
number of twins.
Because when we go to add the picots and the crystals, we need an even number.
So, 68 or 70.
Like I said, I have pretty big hands, so that's going to be probably on the
large side of the numbers.
Most of you are probably going to be closer to the 60 range.
Or even smaller if you've got the real petite wrist and a petite hand.
So that's kind of the range that you're going to be in.
And remember that this has to be an even number as you go around.
Okay, so, if you do end up having to pull it out, really all you have to do here is
kind of wiggle it back a little bit.
You'll be able to see those threads in between, and you can pull them out,
bring these two ends back out, and the end that...actually from either
end you'd be able to either add or remove some beads.
So that's how you're going to get that sizing just right for yourself.
And then, like I said, document it so that you don't have
to worry about it again in the future.
All right.
So, once you've got this all connected, now we're going to start adding
the little picots.
And what you want to do is you want to be coming out a seed bead.
It does not matter which seed bead or which side.
I'm a righty, so I like to work on the right-hand side, but if you're a lefty and
it's more comfortable for you to work off the left, that's no problem.
Just pop your thread over there.
And we're just going to do a series of picots.
So, as I'm coming out of the seed bead, I'm picking up three more seed beads.
I'm passing back through that seed bead that I'm coming out of, and then,
I'm moving forward to come out of the third seed bead away so... Boom.
Because I'm adding a picot here, I'm going to skip one, and then,
I'm getting in position to add my picot on the next one.
Because we're only going to add these picots on every other one
of these seed beads.
So, as you pull, see how it just pops into position there.
And now I'm already coming through that seed bead, and I'm ready to add
three more beads.
So, picking up three, pass through the one I'm coming out of,
and keep going forward, so that I'm actually passing through three
of those seed beads.
And work your way all the way around.
And this is why you need that even number, so that this will work out,
the every other will work out.
When you get down to the end and you've attached your last set of picots on this
particular side, you're just going to pop yourself over to the other side, and add
the picots on the other side too.
Oops, I skipped the seed bead there, didn't I?
There we go.
Okay.
So, let's pretend that I've finished this all the way around.
What I want to do is, I'm actually going to go through a twin so that my thread can
sit right on that edge, come back over here.
And then, I want to make sure that my picots are lined up on the other edge.
So make sure that the bead that you're coming out of to add your next picot has a
picot on the other side because we need these to be matched up.
So you'll do the exact same thing here.
Pass through the bead that you're coming out of.
And forward so that you're coming out of the third bead, seed bead.
And match it up all the way along on the second side too.
So, I'm going to put you to work doing that and come back, and we'll start
adding some crystals.
Okay.
So, now you've got your little picots all the way around on both sides.
Hopefully, you came out even because, if you didn't, guess what?
You got to rip out and go back because...and I'm actually going to show
you because I realized, on my little Barbie bracelet sample,
I was so busy talking to you guys that I didn't count myself, and I actually came
out with an odd number which means that I'm going to have
this weird gap.
And I'll show you what it looks like and that you don't want it.
So, let's take a look at the beads.
Because I'm going to pretend like all is well and go ahead and start adding
crystals, but at first, I wanted to tell you, if you use the half-thread method,
what I discovered is that usually I got finished with all of the picots before I
had to switch to the other thread, or I came close to getting finished.
So, right about now is when you should be having the question of how do you end
off this thread.
And the answer is that this is one of those pieces where you can choose whether
you just weave around in it or whether you actually tie a knot.
If you choose to tie a knot, what I would do is tie it right
between...I'm going to move this over because I'm going to end this end
off right now.
I'm going to move it over to where I have a decent angle to get in between a
seed bead and a tween bead here, on this base, and I'm just going to hook
my needle under the thread that's already attaching those two beads together,
and I want to make sure that, that thread stays in that same little intersection.
I'm going to pull it down, so I've just got a little loop left.
The smaller your loop is, the less likely you are to have it
prematurely knot on you, so you go ahead and make it
nice and small.
And again, I'm trying to make sure... There we go, now I got it all in that
same thread intersection.
And then, I pull down nice and slowly because that gives me an opportunity
to catch it, if it starts knotting in a way that I don't like,
before I've tightened it all up.
So I like to pull it down nice and slowly.
So, if you want to continue knotting, what I would do then is keep moving.
Just go right on down the line here.
And I would probably go to the next open seed bead on that base and
create another knot.
The reason I like the open seed beads is just because it's a little bit easier
to get in there and not catch your thread accidentally on these little picot edges.
So, my rule of thumb is two to three knots, after you've tied your last knot,
you want to move a couple of beads away, and then you can clip it off.
If you don't like to knot, what you can do instead is just do a
little weaving around.
So, what I do when I'm weaving around is I will come to the base of one of these
picots here, and I just follow the path of the picot, so I go around the picot.
And every time I'm moving through another one of these picots,
I'm changing directions in my thread, which is what you want.
And then, I would work my way to the next picot, and do the same thing.
After you've gone through and followed the path of two picots, at that point,
you are safe to go ahead, and cut off your thread.
Because this is just a little sampler bracelet, I'm just going to do it after
one, because I'm going to rip this baby apart afterward.
Okay.
So, now I'm ready to switch over to the other side of my thread which I've
actually already put a needle on.
And what I need to do is get it so that it is coming out the tip of one
of these picots.
So, where it's coming out right now, I'm just going to move it forward
to a tip picot.
So we're going to go, it looks like maybe this way.
I'm going to go through the base bead, and then, up a side...
And there we are, I'm coming out of the tip.
And I just happen to be in the perfect position for me because I like to work
away from myself on the right side.
If this is not the position that you wanted, say, you find it more comfortable
to work down towards yourself, you can actually flip this
around on yourself.
There you go, I would just pull my thread through, and now I'm working down.
So, you know, you make it work for you.
Don't try beading at really crazy awkward angles because it will make life much more
difficult for you.
So you make the beads do what you want them to do.
Okay.
So, now we're ready to start adding crystals.
And all we're going to do is pick up a little size 15, a crystal,
and a little size 15.
These are 4-millimeter bicones that I'm using here.
And then, I'm going to pass through the tip of the next picot.
And I'm just going to do this all the way down.
So I'm putting a 15 on either side of those crystals, and I'm working
my way down.
And see how that spacing is working out?
Now, what happens is the spacing is just a little bit...these crystals are a little
bit big actually for this space.
And so, you're going to start seeing some wave action happening as you go along.
That is okay because we're going to fix that by bringing it up to the top.
Okay, so we're going to add one more here and pretend...like, we're going to pretend
like that's the end of our piece here.
And you come all the way around.
And what you can do then is work your way, and this is where I'm going to kind
of pinch it like a taco, start bringing these together and see
where this matches up right here, the tips of the picots match up.
What you're going to do is actually work your way right over to the tip of the
next picot on the opposite side here.
Well, come on.
Don't hook your thread. There we go.
I'm going to pick up a 15, and I'm going to pass through that same crystal on the
opposite side, and then, pick up a 15 and pass through the tip
of the picot.
So, at this point, all I'm picking up are 15s, I'm just passing through the crystal
that's already there.
And as you do this, you're going to kind of start feeling it tighten
up and solidify somewhat.
And you're just going to work your way all the way down and all the way
around your bracelet.
At which point, if you're making the bangle, then all you have to do is end
off your thread and you're done.
And see how that works?
And then, you've got this beautiful little profile on the sides.
And that would be what your finished bracelet looks like.
If you're making the one with the clasp, let me show you something here.
So, here I added my crystals all the way along the edge, I finished
them...let's see, I guess I did finish them on this edge.
And when I went to come back to add just that 15 on either side of the crystal,
on the second edge, when I went to do that turn around to come back the
opposite direction, I picked up a size 11 right there at the tip to make that turn
so that I wouldn't have my thread showing.
On the bangle version, it's okay to have that thread come
across there because it gets hidden as you turn it into the bangle.
But here you need to hide that thread with that seed bead.
Remember how we did that on the bottom also when we came and turned around here
to come back the other direction on the base?
You added a single seed bead there too, and that's where that one is.
So, to add my clasp, I'm actually going to just work my thread,
so it's coming out that bottom seed bead here in the base.
And to add that clasp, what I'm going to do is I'm just going
to pick up a series of seed beads.
Now it's up to you whether you use the 15s or whether you use 11s.
That's a design decision, it's entirely up to you.
I happen to have the 15s sitting right here, so that's what I'm going to use.
I'm just going to pick up enough beads to make a small loop that are going to pass
through the hole in this clasp.
Now, this hole is quite large, and, because I'm using 15s,
these are going to flow freely through this hole.
Depending on the hole size on your clasp, you may have to pick up half of the beads
of your loop, and then, your clasp and then half of the beads
of your loop to do that.
And then, I'm just going to pass right back through, on the opposite side of that
seed bead I was coming out of, to create my loop that will attach it.
And there you go.
And all you have to do is reinforce that pathway two more times.
That will get your clasp nice and secure.
And then, you'll end off your thread, and you'll do the same thing on the
opposite side of your bracelet.
And then, you will have one with a clasp.
Because of the sizing of this particular bracelet, I would probably use a toggle
that is a little bit smaller than this.
Or a lobster claw clasp would work quite nicely too.
So, that is the festival of lights bracelets.
And I can just imagine how excited you guys are because you know how excited I
am about this.
As a matter of fact, I can't wait to be done with this
video because, guess what I'm going to do?
I'm going to go home and make some more.
I will have kits available for you, on my website, at jillwiseman.com.
I'm sorry, jillwisemandesigns.com.
And I'm going to sell them in singles but also in sets of three so,
that are color coordinated.
So I'll have lots of different options for you, you want to make sure that you go
check it out.
If you like the video, go ahead and smack that likie
button down there.
It helps other people find the video, and it lets me know that I'm doing a good job.
Thanks so much.
Happy beading.
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