If you love to make handmade jewelry, consider learning how to bead a stretchy watch band. In no time at all, you'll be well on your way to creating a fashionable and one-of-a-kind timepiece. In fact, you may just decide to create a different watch for every outfit in your closet!
The Advantages of Stretchy Watch Bands
Handmade beaded watches have become increasingly popular in recent years. The stretchy watch band offers several advantages, including:
- The supplies to make stretchy watch bands are fairly inexpensive, making this a great project for the frugal crafter.
- Learning how to bead a stretchy watch band requires no knowledge of advanced jewelry making techniques. In fact, tweens and teens can easily make their own creative watches with minimal adult supervision.
- A beaded stretchy watch makes a great gift for someone who has mobility issues that may affect her ability to manipulate the clasp mechanism on a traditional watch band.
Gathering Your Supplies
Essentially, making a beaded watch isn't much different than making a beaded bracelet. If you can mix and match different sizes and colors of beads to design a pretty bracelet, you'll have no trouble making your own unique watch.Finding a suitable watch face is often the most challenging part of learning how to bead a stretchy watch band. Hobby Lobby and Joann Crafts and other stores that sell beading supplies often have a small assortment of watch faces for beading. If you have a particular watch style in mind, however, you may find it necessary to shop for supplies online. LoveToKnow Crafts suggests checking out the watch face options on the following Web sites:
- Fire Mountain Gems has both gold and silver watch faces in contemporary as well as traditional design choices.
- The Virtual Touch is a fabulous resource for crafters in search of truly unique watch faces, including holiday designs.
- IBead is a good choice for crafters who plan to make watches to sell or give as gifts, since they offer a bulk discount for purchasing five or more of the same design.
Learn How to Bead a Stretchy Watch Band
After gathering all of the necessary materials, you can bead a stretchy watch band in under an hour.
Supplies:
- Beads
- Watch face
- Stretch beading cord
- Scissors
- Bead board
- Clear nail polish
Instructions:
- Use your bead board to design a pattern for your watch. Generally, mixing two or three different kinds of beads will result in the most pleasing look. Try smaller metal beads for a neutral look or work with an assortment of bright colored beads if you want a funky watch that's guaranteed to attract attention.
- Cut a piece of stretch beading cord approximately 10 inches long.
- Tie one end of the cord onto your watch face. Secure the knot with a small dab of clear nail polish.
- Thread the beads onto the cord.
- Finish your watch by making a knot on the other end of your watch face. Typically, a beaded watch is between seven and eight inches long. Secure the knot with a dab of clear nail polish.
- Use your scissors to trim any loose threads.
Exploring Other Types of Watch Designs
Although learning how to bead a stretchy watch band is a fairly simple process, you may wish to branch out to create other types of watches as well. For example, a wire and bead watch is a beautiful and elegant fashion accessory.
For more great beaded watch projects, LoveToKnow Crafts recommends visiting the following helpful links:
- Purple and Yellow Beaded Watch
- Triple Strand Beaded Watch
- Beading Times Watch Instructions
- Simple Beaded Watch
Many of the reference books devoted to helping beginning beaders learn more about the craft also contain instructions for designing your own watch.
