Stretchy Polymer Clay Disc Bead Bracelets
I’ve seen these stretchy polymer clay disc bead bracelets online and in stores from time to time, and I was struck by the number of possibilities. So many colors and textures and different types of beads! You can make them as elegant-looking as you like, or you can make them fun and playful. As you can see, so far I’ve gone the fun and playful route. But with different color combinations and/or the addition of some metal beads, they can look a lot different.
I’ll share the beads I bought and used, but there are tons of possibilities out there! I had so much fun searching Amazon to see what I could find.
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Supplies:
- Stretch Magic elastic cord*
- Polymer clay disc beads
- Letter beads
- Smiley face beads
- Colorful iridescent beads
- Glue such as E6000 or G-S Hypo Cement
- Scissors
- Ruler
Optional:
*I made my first bracelets using the .8mm elastic that came with my polymer clay beads (so that’s what you’ll see in the pictures), but then I bought 1mm Stretch Magic. I’ve used it in the past, and the reviews are good. I haven’t had any problems with the original stuff; I just don’t know enough about it to judge its quality.
The part of this process that took the longest was just getting the beads off of the strand. The good news is you only have to do it once, and then you can make a bunch of bracelets. But goodness, there are a LOT of beads on each strand. I highly recommend having a bead organizer without movable dividers for this, by the way. The beads are only 1mm (or less) thick, so I accidentally mixed up my colors more than a few times just by bumping the dividers. Since I was using a box I already had, I made the best of it.
Here’s what I did…
To determine what size bracelet I needed to make, I wrapped a piece of string around my wrist and measured that. I added a little extra to that measurement to allow for the extra thickness added by the beads. The piece that I actually cut was about 5-6 inches longer so that I’d have enough to tie it off.
Before I started stringing, I tied a loose knot in one end of the bracelet. I still kept an eye on it to make sure it didn’t come undone, though. I did not want to lose the progress I made stringing alllll of those beads!
I have since bought a bead board to lay out my beads in order, but I used a ruler this time to keep track of what I was doing as I went along. I tried to plan out my design so that it would fit together seamlessly once I tied it off.
I’ve had issues in the past with elastic knots coming apart. So this time I used a surgeon’s knot. I actually had no idea what it was before this project, but I found the explanation at The Spruce Crafts very helpful.
For added security, I put a dot of glue onto the knot. I used my trusty E6000 because it’s what I had, but I read a lot of recommendations for G-S Hypo Cement.
A very useful tip I read about elastic bracelets was to avoid stretching them out as much as possible. When you put them on, try to roll them on over your hand. I don’t expect the elastic to last forever, but hopefully this will help it last a long, long time.
I think my next step will be to buy some crimp beads to cover my knots on future bracelets. I like the idea of protecting the knots a little more.
If you make a bracelet, I’d love to see it! You can find me on Facebook or Instagram.
Happy crafting!
