Jewellery making:charm bracelet

There is nothing new about a charm bracelet, but they are enjoying a revival in the world of fashion this year. Traditional silver or gold charms are replaced with beads. Use the techniques shown here to make other pieces. Necklaces dripping in charms are also popular.

The design shown here is made from bali silver, swarovski crystal and foiled glass. We have charm bracelet kits priced from £8.99 for you to make. Click here for a look. They all come with illustrated instructions.

Getting started

Decide which components you want to use. Lay them out on a surface such as a bead mat where they won't all roll away.
You will need flat nosed pliers, round nosed pliers and cutters for this project. All these tools are available here.

Attach the clasp

First attach the clasp to the chain using a jump ring. Open and close the ring with pliers. We use oval jumprings as they are stronger and stay firmly closed. Decide how long you want the bracelet. Attach the toggle ring at one end and the bar that goes through it at the other. You could also use a simple trigger clasp, which will allow the bracelet to be adjustable.

Using Triangle bails

Next you need to hang any pendant beads and drops from the chain using triangle bails.
Simply open the bail and hook it through the link of the chain where you wish the drop to
be suspended. Using chain nosed pliers close the open ends into the holes of the pendant beads. Suspend all your drops this way.

Making charms with headpins

You will have a selection of glass, crystal & semi precious stones to make your charms from.
Thread the beads onto headpins, here I have used a tiny silver stopper bead to hold the heart onto the pin, cut off the spare pin to leave about 8mm ..............

.......and then using the round nosed pliers make a neat loop using the whole of the protruding pin.

It will look like this. These lovely foiled hearts are available in several colours and two sizes.

Charm styles

Make all your charms by this simple method. Here is a selection of the types of charm that you might create.

Attach the charms to the bracelet

Now hang them onto the chain. Use the oval jumprings. Open them by putting the nose of your pliers into the ring and slowly stretch the ring open. Loop on the charm, attach it to the chain and close with a gentle squeeze of the pliers......

....it will look like this.

The Finished Article

Now hang on all the charms in the order that appeals most to your eye.
If you use a trigger clasp instead of the toggle shown here uou will need to leave
a piece of chain at the end free of charms, this acts as an extender chain and can lengthen or shorten the bracelet as needed.

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