Braided Cuff Bracelet

Today I'm going to share my tutorial for these super simple braided cuff bracelets. 
Materials: bracelet size memory wire, seed bead mix ( the blue, pink, black/ gray mix came from A.C. Moore, and the purple and black/  white came from Michaels),  2 eye pins, wire cutters, round nose pliers, and optional bead spinner. 
Cut 12 pieces of memory wire, each about 1 1/2 loops long. (The purple and black/white mix only had 9 pieces). With the round nose pliers, make a loop at the end of each piece. 
Now, we can thread beads onto the wire. I like to use my bead spinner, but this can easily be done by hand. 
Once you have threaded enough beads to make a complete circle, trim the end of the wire, and make a loop. Continue this with the rest of the memory wire. 
Now we can start braiding!
Attach one end of a memory wire circle to the end of the eye pin. 
Now string a bead, a memory wire circle, the another bead. Continue to the last one. With the eye pin, make another loop and attach the last circle to it. 
Separate the memory wire into three sections. Braid it loosely, as the memory wire will bunch up and make it seem smaller. 
Now repeat the finishing for the final side. 
Enjoy! 
I always get tons of compliments when I wear these bracelets. They are gorgeous and fun to accessorize with. 
Alyssa





Comments

  1. I love memory wire and can understand this project. I will create this piece this weekend.

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  2. What size seed beads did you use? This is a fantastic project! Can't wait to make it. Got the memory wire yesterday! Thanks very much for posting!

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    1. Thank you!
      For the tutorial, I used a premade mix from A.C. Moore, and it is made up of 11/0s, 8/0s, and 5mm bugles.

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    2. We don't have A.C. Moore in Colorado. :-( I'll search the internet. Thanks for your fast reply.

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    3. I found the same hank on Joann.com, so maybe you could do an order.

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  3. This looks like fun and the finished product looks wonderful :)

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  4. thank God for people like you who can figure these things out and amazingly print them out so we can understand them

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  5. That is so cool! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Muchas gracias por compartir,las pulseras estan hermosas,bella técnica,maravilloso blog felicitaciones,eres una gran artista....abrazos de Cali-Colombia con amor...<3

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  7. Thanks for sharing. I've been on a memory wire bracelet kick and this adds a whole new dimension to it. I'll try one of these tomorrow.

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  8. Hello,
    thanks for your easy to follow instructions,I'm all the way in Nigeria, Africa and you've been a big help but is there another name for memory wire and does it come in sizes?
    Thanks

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    1. Memory wire is Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy Wire. I hope that helps! Memory wire comes in various sizes, such as a ring size, small bracelet, large bracelet, and necklace. I have also seen oval shaped memory wire in bracelet size.

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  9. I was just wondering what size of bracelet it makes? I am making one for a friend who loves these bracelets, but they never seem to fit her right because she has a bigger wrist. What do you suggest?

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    1. Memory wire comes in several different bracelet sizes. I always chose the larger size since my wrist is on the larger side and when braided, the wire shrinks a little bit

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  10. Hey Alyssa, thanks for the tutorial :) What kind of eye pin did you use? What metal is it made of and how thick is it?

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    1. I just used normal eye pins. They are plated with sterling silver, and I assume made of a base of a mixture of metals. I would say the eye pins are about the same as20 gauge wire

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  11. This is beautiful, will go with any kind of clothing, casual or dressy! Great design, looks very do-able!

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  12. Cool tutorial! I can see tons of color variations happening!

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    1. Well, as you can see, I had to make more than one color!

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  13. Great tutorial- just a quick question about the amount of beads. Does it take a hank per bracelet? I live a ways from the store so trying to figure out how many beads I'd need for a couple of them. Thanks! Christie

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    1. I used about half of a hank for each bracelet, but it is always better to buy more than you think.

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    2. My question is about how many grams of beads? Any idea how many grams in a half hank.

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    3. A hank seems to be about 40 grams, so maybe about 20 grams would work.

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  14. Thank you very much, very helpful. Looking forward to following your blog.

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  15. One more question- I am having a dickens of a time keeping the eye pins from bending. Has that happened to you? Any suggestions? Christie

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    1. I found keeping the braiding loose helped the eyepins to not bend, but using a stronger wire for the eyepins would help as well.

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  16. Alyssa - great design! Please help me though - what 40-gram "hank" did you find on Joann.com? I only found a 90-gram hank - no description of sizes, though, and it didn't look like there were any bugle beads included, so I don't think it's the same as the one you mentioned. Can you give us the link?

    Thanks so much!

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    1. I looked a few days ago to see if I could figure out the size of the hank, but they don't seem to sell the exact one anymore. I'm pretty sure it was a Blue Moon product, so maybe they could be found elsewhere.

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  17. Thanks so much - I'll look for it!

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  18. You can get memory wire, beads, findings of all kinds for a fraction of regular prices through EBAY.... This was a very good tutorial with a beautiful result!

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  19. Thank you for sharing this, Alyssa. I've made one in a test as I was looking for a simple bracelet idea to teach 100 women at a Christian Retreat. Your bracelet won! I'm calling it "A Braided Trinity Cuff". We are using three different colors in a 9 strand. Thanks again!

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  21. Hello Alyssa,
    These bracelets are so beautiful and I made one and would love to make more. The problem is I can’t finish it the same as I did with the eye pin because the different lengths. Should I make the ends even or how do I finish it???? Please Help!!
    Thank you!

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    1. I was able to finish these bracelets off with eyepins, and I have found that braiding loosely helps keep the ends more even. If you think it would help, you could try trimming the longer wires if they are sticking out.

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  22. I can’t make this my loops I made on the end of the wire don’t look like a perfect loop 😞 any advice on how to make it I even hurt my thumb on the end of the wire it was so stiff and hard to wrap around the round nose pliers. I used memory wire.

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