Autumn Glow Memory Wire Bracelet

I like memory wire bracelets, you can have a lot of fun with them.  They are great to teach to beginners as it's just a case of threading beads really, but the designs and colours you use can make them really different.

Memory wire often comes in a single coiled piece of about four wraps. You can also buy a continuous piece and cut it yourself so you can have as few or as many wraps as you like.

Randomly strung 'Bead Soup' can give a lovely eclectic feel, and can go with almost anything.  Or you can add a bit of a design feature and make each wrap of the coil different, resulting in something that looks like you have a mass of matching, but single, bangles on.

Here is one I designed for a Pattern Club I ran way back in 2007.

You will need:

• 1 x Memory Wire 
• 2 x Memory Bead End Caps 
• 26 x 8mm Glass Beads 
• 52 x 8mm Bead Caps 
• 7g x Sz 8 Hex Seed Beads 
• 2g x Sz 11 Seed Beads

What you do:

• Glue the memory cap onto the memory wire, to give it more strength glue a hex bead on the memory cap too (you will need to thread this bead onto the wire first) 

(As for glue, I used to stock a wonderful one, but sadly they no longer make it, I have since found that acrylic nail glue is quite good for this project, you can usually find it in your local £1.00 shop)

• Thread onto the wire enough Sz 8 Hex beads to make a full single wrap.

• Thread the following beads onto the wire in this order: 
• 1 x Seed Bead 
• 1 X Bead Cap 
• 1 X 8mm Glass Bead 
• 1 x Bead Cap 
• 1 X Seed Bead 
• 1 x Hex Bead 

• Continue this pattern until you have threaded 13 8mm glass beads, which will make a full wrap. End with a single seed bead after the last bead cap.

• Add another wrap of the Hex beads as in the first wrap. 

• Repeat the Bead Pattern for a final wrap, then cut off the excess wire leaving just enough to glue on a memory cap. 

• Glue on the memory cap, dribbling a little glue onto the last bead so it binds with the cap.

Here is a bright summery coloured wrap bangle made with a continuous pattern.   What can YOU do?

© Sue Simmons / The Bead Shed / December 2007