Retired - Caterpillar Bracelet

Note: Components and tools listed within this INSTRUCTIONS box and the printer-friendly PDF, if available, may have been discontinued since this project was published. Refer to the PURCHASE COMPONENTS and TOOLS AND OTHER SUPPLIES sections for current availability.

1. If you are not yet familiar with Right Angle Weave or Ladder Stitch, please watch our videos on these stitches before proceeding. Single thread a size 12 needle with about three yards of Fireline. Thread on a stopper bead, leaving a ten inch tail.
2. Ladder stitch six rows of two side by side 4mm Czech fire polish beads.
3. At the end of the sixth Ladder Stitched row, begin a row of Right Angle Weave that is fifteen units long.
4. Turn your beadwork around and begin stitching an adjoining second row of Right Angle Weave which is also fifteen units long.
5. If you have enough thread left, weave it back through the body of the bracelet until your thread exits at the end that does not have the Ladder Stitched rows. If you do not have enough thread when you have completed your second row of Right Angle Weave, tie an overhand knot between two beads and weave in the remainder of your thread. Thread your needle once more, tie it off between two beads, and weave your thread through your beadwork until it exits at the non-Ladder Stitched end of your bracelet.
6. Repeat the second step on this end of the bracelet.
7. Bring your thread out from between the two beads of the last row of Ladder Stitch. Add five 8/0 Czech seed beads, a 4mm Czech fire polish bead, and fourteen more 8/0 seed beads. Pass your needle back through the 4mm fire polish bead and the row of five 8/0 seed beads. This is the loop end of your clasp.
8. Follow the thread path back through the Ladder Stitched section once more, this time adding an 8/0 seed bead between each row as a decorative edge.
9. When you reach the body of the bracelet, (the Right Angle Weave section) weave back through the beadwork, adding three 8/0 seed beads between each Right Angle Weave unit on either side of the two adjoining rows. This is called Picot stitch.
10. Upon reaching the end of the Right Angle Weave section of the bracelet, repeat step eight on the other Ladder Stitched section.
11. Bring your thread out from between the two beads of the last row of Ladder Stitch at this end of the bracelet. Add a single 8/0 seed bead.
12. Thread on about three-quarters of an inch of 15/0 charlottes, an 8/0 seed bead, a 4mm fire polish, and a 6mm fire polish. Thread on an additional 15/0 charlotte as a turnaround bead, and pass back through the 6mm fire polish, the 4mm fire polish, the 8/0 seed bead, and the three-quarters of an inch of 15/0 charlottes.
13. Weave your thread back through the last 8/0 seed bead and through the last two rows of Ladder Stitch before coming back out through the same 8/0 seed bead.
14. Repeat step twelve to create another dangle for the other half of your clasp.
15. Weave your thread back through the Ladder Stitched rows. When you reach the Right Angle Weave section of the bracelet, bring your thread through the first bead of the row that the two rows of units share (the row which runs down the center of the bracelet).
16. Thread on a 6mm fire polish bead and a 15/0 charlotte as a turnaround bead. Pass back through the 6mm bead and into the next 4mm fire polish bead in the center of the Right Angle Weave.
17. Repeat the previous step all the way down the entire length of the Right Angle Weave section of the bracelet.
18. When you reach the end of this section, tie a double overhand knot between two beads and weave in the the remainder of your thread.

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