Two of my favourite things right now are mismatched beads and repurposed fabric, and they come together in a fabulous way in these easy “boho” style fabric beads.
To make these funky beads, you will need:
- A paper straw or similar for the base
- A strip of colourful fabric (just about anything works but linen and cotton prints are perfect)
- Approx 15 cm of 20 gauge wire (thicker)
- Approx 15 cm of 24 or 26 gauge wire (thinner)
- Glue (optional – I use a simple glue stick, but you could use hot glue or any kind)
- larger beads to your preference (for the bead itself)
- smaller beads (to wrap around the fabric part)
- charms to your preference (for the bottom – could also make a tassel or add more beads)
- Assorted tools: wire-wrapping tools definitely help, scissors to trim things
Just about everything in this tutorial is optional, so feel free to change things up to make it your own. This is just how I sorted it out as I was trying different shapes and sizes. Do whatever works for you with whatever you have on hand! At the end of this post, you can see a short video of how I pull all the pieces together.
For the fabric, you really can use anything. For the ones in this example, I tore 1.5 cm strips of leftover quilter’s fat quarters to a length of about 20 cm.
Cut a length of paper straw to about 3 – 4 cm. I like to cut it lengthwise and roll it a little tighter, then use a bit of masking or painters’ tape to hold it together. Not necessary, but I find it wobbles less when the straw is a bit more narrow in diameter.
Using a bit of glue, attach one end of your fabric strip to the paper straw and roll it up. I start in the middle and roll to one side and then the other, bulking it up a bit in the centre instead of wrapping to an even depth all the way across. Dab another bit of glue to hold the loose end in place.
Using the larger (20 gauge) piece of wire, make a small loop at one end. You can use wire wrapping tools, or just wrap one end around a pencil or knitting needle.
Slide the beads on in the order you want them, and use the same tool to make a small loop at the other end to keep everything secure.
Now cut a length of the thinner wire. 24 or 26 gauge works well, especially if you are using fine seed beads. Be careful though, because the more fine (higher gauge number) the wire, the easier it is to break.
Secure one end of the 24 gauge wire by wrapping it between the fabric bead and one of the glass beads and twist a few times. Use a tool to tuck in any sharp ends. Add smaller beads to the wire in any pattern that pleases you. I used a mix of tiny glass seed beads and some slightly larger ones. I try to not think about patterns as I’m stringing the beads, just embrace a mostly random order.
For the next step, make sure the loose end of the wire is wrapped around your fingers or grasped in a way that the beads won’t escape while you’re paying attention to the other end of the wire. Trust me on this one!
Begin to wrap the 24 gauge wire around the fabric section of the bead, using your fingers to push the beads into place at irregular intervals. Wrapping fairly tightly so the beads stay where you put them is helpful here, but don’t wrap so tightly that the beads disappear into the fabric. You can zig and zag or just coil straight up the fabric bead, but try to end up at the top of the fabric section with a centimeter or so of wire left that you can secure in between the fabric bead and the next glass bead. Check out the video below to see what I mean.
The 24 gauge wire is soft, so you can use needle-nosed pliers or even your fingers to shove and twist the beads and wire into place if you don’t like where they ended up.
The 20 gauge base wire might be a little wonky or twisted, so take a minute to straighten it out. If you like, add a charm or tassel or more beads to dangle from the bottom. Yay, you made a boho fabric bead. I like to call them magic charm beads!
Here’s a YouTube short I made, showing some of the steps.
I really love making these! At first I wasn’t sure what to do with them, but my friends had all sorts of neat suggestions on what to do with these boho fabric beads:
- mismatched dangling earrings
- attach to a piece of yarn or cord for a bookmark
- attach to a key chain
- attach to a safety pin (in pairs or threes!) for a neat brooch or pin
- add fasteners and a cord to two to make a chain for your eyeglasses
- turn into a wristlet for your clutch purse or wallet
- decorate the rear view mirror in your car
- mix with bells and other charms to make some witches’ bells (I love this one so much I am going to revisit it with a later craft – stay tuned!)
What would you do with them?