Playing with Wire: Mastering the African Helix Stitch

There's a bracelet that we display on the demo table a shows that gets fondled A LOT. It's a purple cuff that Sara made a long time ago, using the African Helix Stitch to weave together seed beads and bugle beads. Because the bracelet is so popular at shows, we decided to put instructions up on the website. See Sara's bracelet and the free instructions here.

It was my task to write up the instructions, which is something I do a lot of. If the project is made by stringing or wireworking, I can often write up the instructions with my eyes closed, but for seed bead work, it's a little trickier. So, in order to make sure the instructions for Sara's bracelet were correct, I was able to make a bangle of my very own. I used only beads that I had on hand and came up with this combination of teal and brown which works perfectly with a lot of my wardrobe.

This was my first time using Soft Touch wire for a bead weaving project instead of thread and I loved it! Because the bracelet was made with wire, it holds it shape exceptionally well. I also feel more comfortable sliding the bracelet over my hand because I know the wire won't break as thread could. There will be many seed bead projects that I'll make where I won't be able to use Soft Touch, but now, there are definitely many projects where I will. Excellent.