Making your own clay bead bracelets is the perfect summer project
Bracelet making has always been a popular jewellery craft, but one style of bracelet is currently having a bit of a cult moment.
Stackable clay bead bracelets are seeing a resurgence in popularity thanks to them becoming the unofficial must-have accessory for Taylor Swift's Eras tour. Concertgoers are busy making cute bead friendship bracelets to take to the show and swap with others.
One of the top styles of beads for making these bracelets is small disc-shaped beads, also sometimes referred to as Heishi beads. Traditionally, heishi beads were made from shell or stone, but modern versions are made from vinyl, resin, or, most popularly, polymer clay, which gives us a much wider range of colours and designs.
Creating your own clay bead bracelet designs is a fun activity for crafters of all ages, and better yet, the supplies you need to get started are super affordable!
There are craft kits that are ideal for kids to spend hours mixing and matching beads to create colourful friendship bracelets personalised with their friend's names, and for adult crafters, you can buy strands of beads in complementary colour palettes if you want to create something a bit more stylish that can be worn as everyday jewellery.
We've rounded up some of our favourite clay bead bracelet ideas to inspire you.
Happy crafting!
Clay bead bracelet ideas to try
Totally tonal
Want to create chic and classic bracelets? Keep your bead choices to a narrow colour palette of similar tones to create a cohesive set.
Nice and neutral
For a neutral look that can be worn with any outfit, use more muted and neutral colours, but add interest by adding different textures and shapes. Round stone or metallic bead bracelets stack really nicely with neutral bracelets to give a classy layered look.
Say it with beads
What better way to make custom jewellery unique to you and your friends than by personalising it with letter beads?
Solid colour stack
Sometimes keeping a design simple is the best way to make a statement. Try making solid colour clay bead bracelets, or solid colour with a few single metallic beads thrown into the mix, that are prefect for stacking.
Pretty preppy
Want a fun set of matching bracelets that gives off the perfect preppy look? The secret is in the colour palette!
Use white as your main base colour, and then pick a few different shades of accent colours along with either silver or gold metallic beads and spacers. Play around with different repeating and random patterns to make a stack of perfectly co-ordinating but unique bracelets.
Clay bead bracelet supplies
When it comes to making your own clay bead bracelets, you don't need much to get started! The main thing you need is a good-quality elastic beading string and your selection of beads. If you find it a bit fiddly to thread the beads on your string, you can even get bead spinners that make it a lot easier.
Top tips for clay bead bracelet making
Stringing your beads - If you're finding adding your beads to your elastic thread a bit tricky, you can put your thread through a wide-eye sewing needle (or even a darning needle if it'll fit through your beads!) and use that to help you pick up and string the beads.
Bead size - Heishi beads come in a variety of sizes, but the most popular size for making pretty stacking bracelets is 6mm beads. This size is large enough that it's easy to thread onto the elastic but not so big that it makes chunky bracelets.
Keeping your design on the thread - To keep your beads from falling off of the thread while you are working, use a bit of washi tape or masking tape to stick the end of the thread down to the surface you are working on.
Securing knots - If you're worried about the knots on your bracelets coming undone, you can add a tiny dab of glue to them. Make sure to let it fully dry before trying to put the bracelet on.
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