Shady Business: My Ombré Bracelet Beading Chart

Colormusing’s Palette of the Month for August is Seaspray, inspired by this beaded bracelet that blends iridescent silver, emerald green, and ultramarine blue into this amazing ombré bracelet:

Note: This won’t be a start-to-finish tutorial to make this bracelet; I just wanted to show you how to gradually shift your colors so the result is blended colors, rather than blocky stripes.

Here’s what you need to know about how I made my bracelet:

• It’s Peyote Stitch, simple to learn and fairly quick to work;
• I used #11 seed beads in 3 colors (see them in the photo below);
• You’ll need about 1/2 of a 3″ tube of each color (if you’re using 3 colors):
• It’s 14 beads wide;
• Finished size, with clasp fastened, is 6 3/4″ circumference.

Here’s a look at the beads I used:

Once you’ve picked your bead colors, it’s time to color your chart! But wait… what chart?

Now you can tape your sheets together:

I’ve added some notes to the top of my chart (because I always think I’ll remember, but I don’t):

---

Tip: You will need to do a bit of calculating to make sure your bracelet will be the right size; don’t forget to take the width of your clasp into account! For mine, when I decided on the length I wanted (not too loose), I made a sample piece of beadweaving so I could measure how many rows = 1″. Then I multiplied that number by the length I wanted, and came up with 150 rows. So with 3 colors, I’m going to make sure I’ve completely changed to my second color by the midpoint (row 75) of my chart.

---

Okay, now I can start coloring!

Here’s my whole chart:

Once your own color chart is finished, you can get on with the beadweaving! This is the fun part— after all that planning and preparation, it goes surprisingly quickly.

---

Bonus clasp tip: Truthfully, I just guessed at how to add my slide clasp to my bracelet (I’m still surprised it worked), but if you want to use this kind of clasp, here’s a great tutorial for adding it to Peyote Stitch.*

---

Ombré is one of those techniques where you look at the finished product and wonder, “How did they do that?” Now you know the answer: The key is making the change as gradual as possible. One advantage in beadweaving is that with really small beads like my #11s, you can easily create a very subtle blend with no discernible start and stop points— which is the hallmark of a true ombré.

Want to see sewing stuff from Colormusing? Check out myBratelier (lingerie sewing, including bras!), and Changing Your Clothes, which covers everything from repairs & alterations to dyeing and remaking thrift-shop finds. And don’t miss all my newest projects, including sew-alongs, at the brand-new SewColormusing blog!

Click on the dots above to visit my mother ship, Colormusing.com, where you can also sign up to receive Hue News, Colormusing’s own monthly e-mail newsletter!

---

*I am not affiliated in any way with Fire Mountain Gems & Beads, or any other companies, as of this writing (I will let you know if that changes).

Save