Fused Glass Bangle Bracelet

Bangle bracelets are a nice item to have in your product mix, they are less size dependant than clasp bracelets, and are great for people who love jewelry but have difficulty with operating catches and clasps. This bracelet is made with beads that were fused using the Channel Bead Mold. (See the full Channel Bead Mold Tutorial) Some of the beads were then tumbled in a rock tumbler for a sea glass appearance.

Materials:

channelbeadmaterialsAssortment of fused glass beads (these are bottle glass)

Round nose pliers

Bracelet Memory Wire

Memory wire shears

Ruler

Step 1: Arrange your beads in the desired pattern and measure the length to make sure you have enough.

measurechannelbeads9.5″ will make a medium size bangle. If you have a bangle bracelet that you particularly like the size of, measure around the outside of it with a flexible tape measure and use it as a size guide.

Step 2:

Cut a length of memory wire about 1″ longer than your beads. You’ll have the opportunity to trim off the extra at the end. Memory wire is extremely hard and will ruin your regular wire cutters, so use the cutters that are made for memory wire.

cutwireStep 3:

Using the round nose pliers, bend a small loop in one end of the memory wire. The wire is a little difficult to bend, so don’t worry if it takes a bit of effort.

bendendbentendStep 4:

Thread your beads onto the wire in the desired order.

addbeadsStep 5:

Once all your beads are on, use the round nose pliers to bend a loop in the second end of the wire, leaving a little bit of space for the beads to move, about 1/8″. Try to make the second loop the same size as the first, and trim off the extra wire.bendotherendStep 6:

Connect the two loops together to make a finished bangle bracelet. The memory wire will keep the bracelet in a slightly flexible bangle shape.

hookendsAlthough we used channel beads for this bangle bracelet, beads from any of our kiln formed bead molds would work well. Mixing and matching will give you a large selection of bangle bracelets in short order!