Design Guide: Leather Wrap Bracelets with Czech Glass Beads!

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another blog brought to you by Eureka Crystal Beads. By now I’m sure you’ve seen, absolutely everywhere, these super fun leather wrap bracelets… Have you tried making one yet? They are so easy to make and a great project for any skill level! Another great aspect of them is that you can work in as much or as little of a pattern as you like – meaning – repeat the same bead sequence over the length of your bracelet for one look OR go wild with your bead selection and end up with something wonderfully eclectic! In this blog I’m going to give you some DESIGN TIPS for these great bracelets.

If you’ve never made one of them before and you need the beginner ins and outs, please check out the VIDEO TUTORIAL I did on the Eureka Crystal Beads YouTube channel first for the basics!

First, pick out a fun selection of beads to work with. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, select some 2-hole Czech glass beads to work into your project as well. (Don’t worry, I’ll explain how!) Here’s what I chose to use:

4mm Button Czech glass beads
5mm 2-hole Mini-Tile Czech glass beads
3mm Czech Firepolish beads
2-hole Czech Superduos in 3 colors: Color A, Color B, Color C
Toho size 11 seed beads in 2 colors: Color A, Color B
Toho size 15 seed beads
1.0mm leather cord
Gold-plated TierraCast button
In addition, I also used 6lb FireLine, size 12 beading needles, and Beaders Wax.
U-Pin (optional)

Measure the length of leather cord needed to wrap the desired number of times around your wrist and then double it since we’ll be starting in the center of the cord and using both ends. Additionally, add on another 6 inches or so to account for the cord needed to form the beginning and ending knots as well as the loops to make it adjustable. For the basics of how to get the bracelet started, I again will direct you to the video tutorial I made (linked above) as this blog will focus more on design techniques.

Ok, now just some quick reminders:

We’ll have a LEFT CORD and a RIGHT CORD.
Your FireLine will always go through each bead (or each bead hole in a 2-hole bead) twice: once passing from left to right and again passing back right to left.
When passing Left to Right, your FireLine will always be BELOW the Left and Right cords. When passing back Right to Left, your FireLine will always be ABOVE the Left and Right cord.

DESIGN TIP 1: Create a TAPER. This is a nice and clean way to begin and end your bracelet. In my example, row 1 was made simply with (1) Toho size 11 glass seed bead. Row 2 used (1) 3mm Firepolish Czech glass bead, and row 3 used (2) size 11 seed beads. Then I jumped into using the larger beads. I also ended my bracelet using these same beads to taper down.

DESIGN TIP 2: Create a fun design using Toho size 15 glass seed beads and 3mm Firepolish Czech beads. Pictured, I did one row with: (2) seed beads and a 3mm Firepolish bead. The next row I used the same beads but loaded them on in the opposite order. I did a total of 4 rows like this, alternating, and they all interlocked nicely for a lovely look! You can see them pictured here in between the 2 rows of gold seed beads.

DESIGN TIP 3: Using 2-hole Mini-Tile Czech glass beads! Follow these steps to add one:

Pass from Left to Right and, staying behind the cord, go through the top hole of your Mini-Tile. Catching yourself around your Right leather cord, pass back through the same top hole but stay above the 2 cords. Now, catch yourself around your Left cord and then pass through the second hole of the same Mini-Tile, staying below the cords. Catch yourself around your Right cord and pass back through the same (second) hole to the Left cord again. That’s it! Easy!

DESIGN TIP 4: Using Button Czech glass beads! This is a real easy one:

Row 1: (3) Size 11 seed beads
Row 2: (1) Size 15 seed bead, (1) Button bead, (1) Size 15 seed bead.
Row 3: (3) Size 11 seed beads
Row 4: (3) Size 11 seed beads
Repeat Rows 1-4 to continue this look!

DESIGN TIP 5: SUPERDUO Czech Glass Beads!! Everyone’s favorite 🙂

Pass 1, L-R: Load (1) Size 11 seed bead, (1) Superduo – through top hole, (1) Size 11 seed bead
Pass 2, R-L: Go back through same beads/holes as Pass 1
Pass 3, L-R: Pick up (1) new Superduo, pass through bottom hole of Superduo added in previous row, pick up (1) Superduo.
Pass 4, R-L: Go back through same beads/holes as Pass 3
Pass 5, L-R: Go through bottom hole of first Superduo added in Pass 3, add (1) Superduo, go through bottom hole of second Superduo added in Pass 3
Pass 6, R-L: Go back through same beads/holes as Pass 5
Pass 7, L-R: Pick up (1) Size 11 seed bead, go through the bottom hole of the Superduo added in Pass 5, and pick up (1) Size 11 seed bead.
Pass 8, R-L: Go back through same beads/holes as Pass 7. DONE!!

(Consider adding even more Superduos in the same fashion for a neat snake-skin look!)

DESIGN TIP 6: Measure the loop for your button! Once you’re at the end of your bracelet and you’re ready to make your button loops, getting the size of your loops can be tricky! In the image here, you’ll see how I’ve placed my button in between the 2 cords (you can only see one cord here because the other is behind the button) and I’m pinching the cords together at the top of the button. Remove the button but keep your fingers pinched in the same place. This is the exact spot to make your knot. 🙂

All Finished!! I just love how fun and funky this bracelet looks with all of these beads and techniques all used together! Consider making your own – head on over to Eureka Crystal Beads for all of the materials needed! Exact colors I used are linked above together in the materials list.

Until next time!

-Leah