TUTORIAL: How to make a personalised bracelet.

With an unusual name like Rianna, growing up I used to look for hours trying to find my name on the 'personalised' keyring/pen/badge/bracelet carousels. Of course these days having an unusual name is a lot less 'unusual' but finding said name on the branded items can still be quite tricky.

So why not use this quick and simple Tutorial to make yourself or you loved one a personal keepsake, no matter how unusual their name? Great for a birthday, communion, special occasion or makes a great flower girl gift.

What you'll need:

•  Alphabet beads - enough to spell out required name, check out craft shops and eBay. I've used silver coloured acrylic circles (6mm with 1mm holes).
• 2 x Spacers - Here I've used metal butterflies (1mm hole) but you can use anything you like: flowers, barrels, even skulls.
• Beads - this is entirely your preference, you can use any colour, or even a mixture of colours and sizes (here I've used white acrylic 6mm pearls)
• 4 x Seed beads - These aren't strictly necessary but here where I used the butterflies I would have had exposed elastic, and they add a nice break between the spacer and letters.
• 0.6mm clear elastic - You can pick some up at your local craft shop.
• Scissors - Nothing special just for cutting elastic.
• A ruler - To measure the bracelet
• A tape measure - To measure the wrist

Start by measuring (or estimating) the wrist of whoever the bracelet is intended for, I normally aim to make the length of the bracelet (when laid flat before knotting) 1-2 cm larger than the wrist.

Now lay your ruler flat (preferably in a tray or something with sides so the beads won't roll away) and begin to lay out the beads. Preferably you should always start with the bead with the biggest hole, as this will hopefully hide your end knot, in my case this was the main pearl beads. Next add your spacer and 2 seed beads either side (if using), followed by the letters that will make up the name. I know it seems odd starting at what is essentially the middle but this will mean you can add more or less beads at the end to alter the length without having to balance either side out. Keep adding beads until they line up to your wrist size plus a cm or 2.

When you are happy with your layout unravel a little of the elastic from the reel, but do not cut it just yet. Begin threading beads onto your elastic, one by one, starting at the first bead you laid out. Pay careful attention to the direction/orientation of the alphabet beads, as its very easy to get one back to front and have to start again.

Once all the beads are in place, this is your chance to test the length by wrapping it around the intended wrist and checking the fit. Add more or less beads accordingly.

Feed the bead string towards the end of the elastic (leave about 2 inches), and now you're ready for the first knot. I use a basic 'overhand knot' (well I think that's what its called) basically crossing the two ends over one another and then double knotting, but if you know a lot about knots go ahead and use whatever you think suitable. After this first knot you're probably safe to cut the elastic from the reel without everything unravelling. Now take the two ends and make another knot over the top, feeding the elastic through again to make a more secure knot.

At this point some people like to do third and even fourth knots and then superglue for even more, however unless your beads have 3-4mm holes a knot this big is going to  be clearly visible and superglue can end up sticking to the beads and spoiling all your hard work.

Give the two ends a good tug and now use the scissors to cut the ends as close to the knot as possible. Now gently pull on the bracelet elastic and slide the knot into the hole of the first bead where hopefully it will remain hidden from view.

And that's it, its really that simple :) Stand back and admire your new bracelet or get it gift wrapped.