"Fit for a Duchess"

"Fit for a Duchess" 

... is the the name I've given to my latest bead embroidered cuff bracelet.

The base is a gorgeous Shibori Silk Ribbon hand-dyed by Deborah Weaver, showcasing a glorious array of colors that range from soft aqua to greenish-turquoise, bright periwinkle blue to cobalt blue, and a rich ultramarine blue on into a deep purple.  A bit of lavender and hot pink round out the mix.  

Truly fit for royalty.

I pulled out all of my turquoise and purple beads, and had so much fun choosing colors for this riot of a cuff bracelet.  The only difficulty in working with Shibori Silk Ribbon is the reluctance to cover up any of the inherent beauty in the dyed silk.

The photo above shows the ends of the cuff bracelet with lavender flowers, as well as the beaded edge which is made up of iridescent Japanese glass seed beads.

Above photo shows just a peek at the inside of the cuff, which is covered with a deep purple Ultra Suede for softness against the skin.  Also on the inside is a line of the same iridescent Japanese glass seed beads to cover the edges and for continuity.  The main cabochons are Jasper with shades of turquoise and lavender. 

As always, I have used Nicole Campanella's NBB (Nicole's Bead Backing) as my foundation for this bracelet.  This is the only bead embroidery backing I will use, and it makes every project turn out beautifully.  

The Subtle Side of Autumn

 The Subtle Side of Autumn . . .

This most recent bead embroidered cuff bracelet that I made is a commissioned piece for a lovely lady who wears and enjoys the beautifully subtle colors of autumn: bronze, olive, burnt orange, taupe, and brown.  It was a joy making this bracelet because I also love these colors.  The stones I used in this bracelet include Jasper, faux pearl, and Japanese glass Toho beads.

Because I believe that Nicole Campanella's Beadwright Beadbacking is the ONLY backing worth working on for hours on end, I chose her Hawk color, which was the perfect background for these autumnal colors.  It makes the experience of bead embroidery that much more enjoyable when your bead backing material is not only a color that compliments your design, but is 100% perfect for stitching beads of various sizes, and sewing through each of the beads as many as four different times.  If you are a bead embroiderer and haven't tried Nicole's Beadbacking, please do yourself an immense favor and you'll never look back!  Trust me on this!  (See my previous posts for information on Nicole Campanella's Beadbacking and Web site.)

This cuff has an inner brass bracelet inside for stability, and an UltraSuede lining on the inside for comfort.  The advantage of the brass bracelet inside is that the wearer can pull it to stretch the cuff larger, or squeeze it to make the cuff smaller - depending on her wrist size.

 

*Click on photos to see enlarged sizes.  

 

The top photo is the bead embroidered cuff bracelet before it is attached to the inner brass form.  The bottom photo shows the finished bracelet with beaded picot edging.