Scalloped bracelet

Make a wavy wristband

with Ndebele stitch
by Jane Tyson

As an avid beader, I decided I had to attend the Bead&Button Show – even

though my home in Australia is about as far as you can get from Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. In May 2001, I achieved my goal and joined hundreds of other
beaders for the annual festivities. This was my first visit to the U.S., and with the
help of friends new and old, I had a ball. My wonderful friend NanC Meinhardt
made the trip possible, helping me with my arrangements and graciously putting
me up in Chicago. NanC also helped me register for the B&B Show class I want-
ed to take almost as soon as class registration opened. Thus, I was lucky enough
to enroll in Margo Field’s class “Rhapsody in Flowers.” I drew inspiration for this
Ndebele bracelet from one of the chains that Margo taught in her class.

108 beadandbutton.com
stepbystep
The bracelet is stitched with waxed,
doubled thread to help maintain firm
tension. After stitching each row, pull to
keep the thread tension taut. If the
beads do not sit in cupped pairs, coax
them into place to form the herringbone
pattern. Try to use slightly smaller
contrast-color beads on your increase
and decrease rows to keep the bracelet
from bulging.
bracelet base
Thread a needle to the center of 10
ft. (3m) of conditioned Silamide. Pick
up 2 main color (MC) beads and
move them to 10 in. (25cm) from the
tail ends. Sew back through the first
bead strung. The two beads should sit
side by side. Sew through the second
bead. Note: you are making a 4-bead,
brick-stitch ladder.
Pick up 1 MC bead and sew through
the bead just sewn through and the bead
added. Pick up 1 MC bead and sew back
through the third bead. Zigzag back to
the row’s first bead (figure 1).
Pick up 2 MC beads and sew
through the previous row’s second
bead. Sew up through the row’s third
bead. Pick up 2 MC beads and sew
through the previous row’s last bead
(figure 2).
Pick up 1 contrast color (CC) bead
and sew through the last MC bead
added (figure 3).
Repeat steps 3-4 until the strip is
about 2-21⁄2 in. (5-6.3cm) long or about
one-third of your wrist’s circumference.
scallop insets
To start the first increase row, pick
up 2 MC beads and sew through the
second bead in the previous row. Pick
up 1 CC bead and sew through the third
MC bead in the previous row. Pick up 2
MC beads and sew through the last bead
in the row (figure 4).
Pick up 1 CC bead and sew through
the last MC bead added.
For the next row, repeat step 1,
inserting 2 CC beads in the middle
instead of one (figure 5). Repeat step 2.
Pick up 2 MC beads and sew
through the second MC bead and the
next CC bead added in the previous
figure 1
row. Pick up 2 CC beads and sew
through the second CC bead and the
next MC bead in the row. Pick up 2
MC beads and and sew through the last figure 2
MC bead in the row (figure 6). Repeat
step 2.
Repeat step 4 three times. figure 3
To sew the first decrease row, pick
up 2 MC beads and sew through the
second MC bead in the previous row.
Sew through the 2 CC beads and the
next MC bead in the row. Pick up 2 MC
beads and sew through the last MC bead
in the row (figure 7). Repeat step 2. figure 4
Repeat step 1 to insert one CC bead
between the 2 pairs of MC beads added
for the next row (figure 8). Repeat step 2.
Repeat steps 3-4 of the bracelet base
four times.
Repeat steps 1-7 to add a third scallop
to the bracelet. figure 5
Repeat steps 8-9.
completing the bracelet
Repeat steps 3-4 of the bracelet base
above until the bracelet encircles your
wrist with a 1⁄2-in. (1.3cm) overlap. After
adding the last row of Ndebele, sew
back through the 2 previous rows, figure 6
repeating the thread path and keeping
the tension taut.
Sew one side of the snap fastener to
this end of the bracelet. Finish the
thread with a few half-hitch knots (see
“Basics,” p. 136) and glue the knots.
When the glue is dry, trim the thread.
Thread a needle to the thread tail at
the other end of the bracelet. Sew the
second half of the snap to the other side
of the bracelet and finish the thread as
in step 2. w
figure 7
Jane lives in Hobart, Tasmania, in Australia.
She has been beading for ten years and
teaching beadwork for eight years. You can
contact her at jrtyson@netspace.net.au.
materials
• 20g 80 Seed beads, main color
• 10g 80 Seed beads, contrast color
• 1 3⁄8-in. (6mm) Snap fastener
• Silamide or other thick, strong thread
• Beading needles, size 10
• Beeswax or Thread Heaven figure 8
Bead & Button • October 2002 109