Not Knitting... Experimentation

I found this package of beads at Dollar Tree the other day. For a dollar, I'll see if I can do something with them.

I had this idea in mind. You know those beaded cord bracelets you see people making on Pinterest all the time? It's basically the same thing you did as a kid in summer camp. (I didn't go to summer camp, but I've heard other people talk about it.) Only, I decided to use jewelry wire instead of a leather cord.

So, I made a loop at the end, where I'll eventually attach a clasp. Then I started threading. I really thought this would be cool with only the bugle beads, but A) I'm pretty sure there aren't enough bugle beads in this pack and B) It would take for-freaking-ever. So I thought I might alternate the round beads with the bugle beads.

It still takes a long time to do. Here's what I did in about ten minutes.

I started out thinking I was going to do a bracelet. But now, I'm leaning toward ring.

I'm not sure I will finish this. I'm not unhappy with the results. But it's also not what I had in mind when I started. I think there are a couple of lessons here:

1) Beads should be roughly the same size. Even if I'd done this all in bugle beads or all in round beads, these beads are not uniform. In the case of the bugle beads, there is quite a bit of difference in length sometimes.

2) I should have clamped the end to hold it, instead of trying to do it loose and floppy. I think having the end secure would help a lot.

3) Don't use bugle beads at all. They're a pain in the ass to use and they break. Just use regular beads.

4) Since the wire shows, I'm thinking of using a colored wire as an accent.