DIY Beaded Watch Straps

_{Do not be fooled by the needle. That one is way too thicc for the job at hand!}

The original watch straps have long since disintegrated and I have had struggles finding any reasonable replacements for them. I did eventually get two sets of silicone straps which wouldn't have been my choice if there had been alternatives readily available, but out of sheer desperation, I got at least those.

_{The old busted-up trash.}

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of the silicone straps, as they do not let the skin breathe, cause rashes and stink like hell despite regular washing.

Having that at the back of my mind, a few days back I was going through some of my stuff and, quite by accident, I came across the old straps that I had not thrown out yet (for who knows what the hell kind of reasons, don't ask me), so I realized, I can salvage the necessary components to make a new set of straps myself, and thus, quite impulsively the journey of beading a set of watch straps began.

_{Salvaging the important bits.}

When things align nicely and I'm pumped up and inspired about a project like that, it is known, that I'm going to disappear in it and will not be seen or heard of, unless I run into a significant obstacle.

I did also give a head up to my folks about that, just to remind of the hyperfocus dynamics. They were understanding and I even got a chuckle out of them.

_{Picking out the colours.}

I'm not going to lie and say that the project was quick and easy for me without any hiccups. I mean I have never done anything like this before and I don't have fancy, professional beading looms or anything like that, so I had to make do with taping each individual thread on a cardboard box.

_{Finding the proper needle for the job and figuring out the pattern.}

The first hiccup though was that I did not have the proper needle for the job. Your regular needle will not cut it, but luckily we did manage to find a needle specifically for beading at home. No one knows how or why we had them in the first place, as no one has done any beading before, but, as I said, I guess I was just lucky and I could continue on with my project without any unnecessary delay.

And then the fun can begin! And by "fun" I mean obvious frustration! In case you're an absolute noob like me and have never in your life done any beading before, like ever, I can tell you this much, starting the first row feels like mission impossible. It took me several attempts for beads not to go flying all over the place and to finally properly secure the first row.

Some silent 'F-bombs' may or may not have been dropped during the production of these watch straps.

But at the end of the day (or, rather, two) it was all well worth it!

_{Behold the end result!}

I am not entirely sure how long can watch straps like these hold. My guess would be, probably not too long, even if I chose the strongest thread I could possibly find at the house, but, hey, at least I know how to make new ones if I need to, and despite the learning curve, it was a fun project for me for I do love to tinker with crafts like this.

So yeah, that's Josie's latest hyper-focused project - completed and documented.

Hope you've also had something exciting to dive into and get lost in, but if not at least let me wish you a fun and fulfilling weekend! ^^

Hugs&Coffee,
~Josie~