How to Make Bracelets out of Recyclables

Recyclable fabric for making beads.

Recycle old fabric and clothing to make beads for jewelry designs or to embellish home décor accessories. Old jeans, cotton towels, silk shirts or linen pants can be recycled into decorative beads with a few twists and turns. Still hanging onto a ratty, old T-shirt from a favorite concert of a past decade? Transform it into a bracelet that you can wear anywhere, without being embarrassed. It's simple to make beads for bracelets and other uses out of fabric recyclables.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Scissors
• White craft glue
• Water
• Bowl
• 2-inch nails
• Thick thread
• Polyurethane wood sealer
• Clothes pins
• Clothes hanger
• Beading wire
• Crimp beads
• Clasp
• Crimping pliers

Instructions

1. Cut the recyclable fabric into small triangles with a 1-inch-wide base and two even sides measuring 3 inches long. The base of the triangle determines the overall length of the finished bead, so cut yours longer or shorter depending on your design preference. The length of the two sides of the triangle determines the thickness of the beads; alter the measurement as you like.

2. Mix a 50-50 blend of white craft glue and water into a bowl. Dip the fabric triangles into the mixture one at a time. Squeeze the liquid from the fabric. You can make soft beads with dry fabric, but these will be difficult.

3. Place the wet triangle on a flat surface. Place a 2-inch nail on top of the 1-inch-wide base of the triangle. Roll the fabric around the nail to the tip of the triangle. Press the tip firmly against the center of the fabric. Add a drop of craft glue to hold it in place.

4. Leave the beads on the nail for about 10 minutes to allow the glue to stiffen. Remove them from the nails before they dry. Let the beads dry completely.

5. String the dried beads onto thick thread so that they are not touching. Dip each bead into polyurethane wood sealer for a glossy shine, added protection and to further stiffen the recycled fabric. Clip the ends of the thread over a clothes hanger with clothes pins. Make sure that the beads are not touching. Let the beads dry completely.

6. Cut a length of beading wire 1-inch longer than the desired length of the bracelet. Thread a crimp bead and one section of the bracelet clasp over one end of the wire. Fold the wire around the clasp loop and back through the crimp bead. Crimp the bead closed with crimping pliers.

7. Thread the recycled fabric beads over the open end of the wire. Finish with another crimp bead and the remaining clasp section. Fold and crimp the wire as you did in the previous step.

Tips & Warnings

• Add more recyclables to the bracelet design by gluing vintage buttons to the beads over the tips of the fabric wraps. Add the vintage buttons after you make the bracelet

References

• Threads Magazine: Knotted Fabric Buttons and Beads

Resources

• Jewelry Making: How to Use Crimping Pliers