Monday, July 4, 2011

Honeycomb Bangle

Lenore from http://www.2beadornot2bead.com.au/ 
mentioned that some people have found Cynthia Rutledge's pattern frustrating because of the difficulty in fitting the rondelle/donut beads.
By sheer good luck, the first one I made using amethyst coloured chinese rondelles worked perfectly.  I used a base of 43 units (big hands!) and the beads sat beautifully in the prepared band.
Decided to make the next one smaller - 41 units but couldn't find rondelles of the same dimension. The cobalt blue ones sat in the band with about 2cm of space, but when all the cross beading is completed, the space was absorbed.

Cynthia Rutledge's site has a pdf for download that has some extra info about making this bracelet, but I have found the surest way to see if the rondelles are appropriate is to string them and try them on your wrist - if 38-42 beads make a length that is way too long for a bangle, each bead is too wide and simply can't be made to fit. Beads that are too narrow can be eased along the bangle and the spaces are disguised by the overlay.