Chinese Inspired Bracelet for the New Year

The Chinese New Year begins on February 19 th and to celebrate, I decided to design some new bead templates. As I have extended family members who are British Chinese, I wanted to make my daughter-in-law something pretty and this is what I came up with. The template was designed using the traditional Chinese colours of red and gold.

Red represents good fortune and joy while gold (yellow), represents beauty, neutrality and good luck. The celebrations that take place over the Chinese New Year make ample use of these traditional colours. The elders give 'lucky money' to the children in bright red envelopes.

I have incorporated chinese money symbols in my template design by placing three symbols on each bead strip. Three is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. I also added three 'lucky money' coin charms to the finished bracelet.

Using the metal ruler, craft knife and cutting mat, carefully cut 14 - 18 strips from your bead templates.

Take the bead roller and insert the plain end of your bead strip into the slit. Begin rolling evenly and reasonably tightly I have used a homemade bamboo roller here. It has two halves which open up to slide the paper strips in. I then place the holding bead back onto the end to hold the paper strip tight while I am rolling.

When you have a half inch of paper strip left, apply a drop or two of white glue and spread thinly with your finger. Then finish winding, pressing the glued end firmly down. Remove the holding bead and carefully slide your bead off the roller. If the centre pulls out a little, you can easily push it back into place. I have recently begun to use a roller I bought online and the beads are very easy to remove. However, I do prefer rolling with my good old homemade one!

As your beads come off the roller, put each one on a toothpick and stand up in styrofoam packing to await glazing.

Next, take your red Sharpie marker and carefully color both ends of the beads.

Now give your beads at least two coats of diamond glaze. I gave mine three to make them very durable and splash proof.

Now we are ready to make the bracelet. Lay your first bead on the table as in the picture, take your 5 feet of elastic and holding an end in each hand, thread end 1 into hole A and end 2 into hole B. Then pull both ends through until the big loop fits snug against the bead.

Now add one gold bead on each strand of the elastic and repeat the previous step with the next bead. Keep on doing this until all your beads are strung. Keep a watch on the size to see how many beads you need to fit your wrist. Even though this bracelet is stretchy, it can still be too loose or too tight if you don't keep an eye on how many beads you are using. I used 18 for mine. My templates were printed onto 120 gsm weight paper.

Take the three Chinese coin charms and put them on one of the gold split rings. Then add another split ring to the first one and thread one of the elastic strands through it.

Using the diagram above, take the elastic strand that is coming out of the top of the last bead (A) and push it through the top hole in the first bead your threaded. Pull it out the bottom of the first bead. (See arrows). Pull the bracelet into shape and tie off the ends very securely with a double knot pulled very tight against itself. Then cut the strands of elastic close to the knot.

And there you have your Chinese inspired 'lucky money' charm bracelet. You can give these away at Chinese New Year or, for a birthday or wedding. In fact any happy celebration!