How I Craft My Versatile Bead Design

Lovely Sunday to everyone. Today, being Sunday, I decided to try something creative yet simple DIY. Oh, before I forget, this multipurpose bead is special to me. Beads are very important when we talk about African culture. We can create different things using beads.

Without wasting much time, I will be doing a detailed post on how I made this multipurpose bead, and I hope you try it.

A few items needed for this bead

The two important items needed for this bead are the elastic, which is the base of the bead — without it, it's impossible to begin — and the beads. I used different colors of beads so that I would get a beautiful result in the end.

Step-by-Step Process

So, making this bead is easy. If you are using a roll of elastic, then you will need scissors to cut out the length you need, but if the cutting is already done like the one I used, then scissors are only needed at the end to cut out the excess.

The process

The fun part is adding the beads to the elastic. This is where creativity is needed. You can use different beads to add color and beauty to the final result. For me, I added four regular beads before adding another type just to give me those different colors. You can choose to mix and play with colors and different sizes of beads.

Continued

I continued the process until the last bead. I made countless changes until I finally felt satisfied with my design. Then it was time to tie the end. The knot must be strong for longevity. I knotted mine more than five times before I got a strong knot.

After filling in the elastic with the beads, trying to knot the two ends.

What I love about this bead is its versatility. Apart from using it as a headband or bracelet, it can serve as a waist bead, but I'm not a fan of that as I attach certain meanings to some things. Also, it's beautiful, not selective, and adds color to my style. I hope you try making one; the process was fun for me and allowed me to see how creative I can be.