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May 3, 2013

Braced with Chain and String

Can't believe it's been over a month since I was home.  And can't believe it's taken me this long to write up another blog post!  Life here is busy to say the least.

Before I went home, I had been seeing these bracelets at fancy stores all over the place.. selling for at least $25 each.  Recognizing that they are just chain, suede string, and some connecting pieces, I of course exclaimed, "wait, I can make this!".

I had been unable to find chain that was thick enough for the purpose of these bracelets at my local craft store.  I therefore waited until my trip to America to really scour the craft stores for the right materials for this project.

The bracelet took under 30 minutes to make; I ended up making a bunch of them!

Here's what you need:
- 2 pieces of chain (about 8-10 inches, depending on your wrist).
- Suede string, 2.5 times the length of your chain.
- lobster clasp and jump rings
- craft glue
- pliers
- scissors

What to do:
1. Using a jump ring, attach the first links of the two chains together.
2. Lay the chains down so that they are flat and the links line up to one another.
3. Start weaving the suede string between the links (in, over, under).
4. Once you've weaved through a few links, glue the tail of the suede string to itself.  (Do this on the side of the bracelet that will face your wrist, so that it will not be seen when you wear it.)
5. Continue weaving the suede string the same way between the links of the two chains.
6. At the end, once again connect the last two links with a jump ring.  Again, glue the suede string to itself on the side facing your wrist.
7. Cut any extra suede string from either side, once the glue has dried.
8. Open one of the jump rings on one end and add a lobster clasp.  Close the jump ring.
9. On the other end, attach as many extra jump rings as necessary to allow ease of putting on the bracelet!

With buying most of the supplies in bulk packs from the craft store, the bracelets ended up only costing a few dollars each!

I ended up keeping one for myself and giving the rest as gifts.  Everyone loved them!

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