This project took me forever to get started. The fact that I don’t draw threw a little hitch in my plans. I have so many designs in my head that I can never get out. One of these days I really gotta learn how to pick up a pencil.
I went out and picked up supplies right away. Shopping for craft stuff is never something I put off. I found an old leather skirt and a big hunk of linen at a thrift store, I went to a cool bead store for some nifty beads, and then I dropped by Michael’s to pick up some pearle cotton.
The next step took me a couple weeks. I didn’t want to just copy the design of the Anthropologie bracelet. This isn’t called “I Can Knock This Off,” after all, so I had to make my own. And again, I don’t draw. So I pretty much avoided it for a while. Then I started to feel guilty that I’d bought supplies for the project and I had this Friday deadline hanging over my head, so I finally just did it while we watched television the other night. Once I got started it was actually pretty easy. I measured how long the bracelet had to be and then how wide I wanted it to be. It’s a little over 7″ long, and at it’s widest point it measures a whopping 3 1/2″. I tend to like cuff bracelets because I have gorilla arms. The rest was just drawing circles and trying to use up all the space. There are some awkward spots left, but I figured I can always fill those in with some more embroidery.
Then I used some tracing paper to put my pattern onto the linen, and started the stitching. I plan on adding the beads first so that the embroidery can cover up any raw space and will also surround the beads like a cabouchon.
I’m feeling really good about my direction, so hopefully by next Friday I will have succeeded in finishing it.