Supplies
- Coloured seed beads.
- Fine chain.
- Spring clasp fastenings.
- Wide space chain.
- Tiger tail.
- Flat end head pins.
- 3mm crimps.
- 4mm jump rings.
- Flat nose pliers.
- Round nose pliers.
- Wire cutters.
1. Prepare the Chain
Step 1
Cut two lengths of chain 4.5cm long. If you are planning on making a few bracelets, it’s worth cutting several lengths in one go as it will save you lots of making time.
2. Prepare the Tiger Tail
Step 1
Cut a length of tiger tail 20cm long. Taking one piece of small chain, thread your tiger tail through the very end, thread on a crimp and loop back on itself. Make sure the gap between the end of the chain and the tiger tail is quite small before tightly squeezing the crimp closed with the flat nose pliers.
3. Thread the Beads
Step 1
Thread 12 coloured seed beads onto the tiger tail. We used all orange beads for a graphic colour-blocked effect.
Step 2
Now add five gold beads. You don’t have to use gold but they do look really striking with the gold chain.
Step 3
Add another 12 coloured beads followed by a crimp. Taking a second piece of small chain, thread the tiger tail through the very end link and loop back through the crimp and the last five or six beads at the end. Pull tight so there are only very small gaps between the beads. Squeeze the crimp closed.
4. Prepare Connector Chain
Step 1
You can buy specific connector chain but in this tutorial we will be making our own. Look for a chain that has long links but ensure you can attach a spring-opening clasp to it.Cut a length of chain 4cm long.
Step 2
Take a head-pin and thread on one single seed bead. You will need about a 1cm length after the bead to make a loop, and cut off any excess length.
Step 3
Using the round nose pliers, take the end of the head-pin firmly between the two ends and roll the head-pin in a clockwise direction to form a loop. Before you close the loop completely, thread on the end of the connector chain.
5. Add the Closures
Step 1
Open a jump ring by taking a pair of pliers on either side of the opening of the jump ring and pull in opposite directions. Thread on your bracelet chain and connector chain and then close the jump ring.
Step 2
Repeat the above step, but fix a clasp opening instead of the connector chain.