Tips and Tricks for Sizing Stretch Bracelets

Inspired by the "Swifties" Trend of making bracelets with special quotes and song titles, I made some stretch bracelets for various members of my family for a concert that we all attended in July. One of my biggest challenges as a designer is determining the correct size for jewelry that I am making. Since I was making bracelets for guys, gals, and kids, I had a lot of different sizes to take into consideration. As I was putting everything together, I found that several Beadalon mandrels were perfect to help me size the bracelets!

First, I asked everyone to send me their wrist sizes, measuring around the spot they want a bracelet to lay, and added a quarter inch. Then, I used a Beading Board to lay out my design, and an Elastic Cord Needle to pre-string.

I love using what I have in my workshop and beading stash in projects, so I grabbed all of the Beadalon Mandrels that I have accumulated, and measured their circumferences. I discovered many of the Beadalon mandrels are perfect for sizing bracelets. For example, the Oval Artistic Wire Sizing Drum measures 7 1/2" around - the perfect size for my wrist!

The Stepped Bangle Bracelet Mandrel is another tool that makes a great sizing mandrel. The sizes are 6.25", 7", 7.85" 8.6" - perfect for small, medium, large and extra large bracelets. 

We developed these Nylon Sizing Drums to size Adjustable Wire Bracelets a few years back. The small one measures 5 1/4" around (perfect for my nephew), and the larger one measures 6 3/8" (perfect for my sister-in-law). 

For those of us with larger wrists the purple 3D Bracelet Jig measures 8 3/4". 

It's important to use mandrels to size bracelets rather than a bracelet board or a ruler, because the size of the beads will affect the inner circumference. Larger beads will make a smaller bracelet once tied together into a circle.

For more on Stretch Cord including Elonga and Elasticity, check out this past blog post that goes over all things stretchy. 

As always, check out the original Facebook Live for more tips and tricks to making and sizing stretch bracelets. The intro is announcement heavy, so feel free to fast forward to about 15 minutes in through the chit chat. To make sure you never miss an important announcement, be sure to join the Jewelry Making with Beadalon Facebook Group and set your reminders for the weekly Beadalon Facebook Live at 2pm ET on Thursdays.

Until then - happy beading!
Meredith