DIY Bracelet with Beading Wire and Crimp Beads

Dear reader, welcome to this DIY bracelet tutorial by Smyks.com!

In this blog post, we guide you step by step through making your own beaded bracelet using beading wire (often called tiger‑tail), crimp beads, jade beads and a clasp. The method is straightforward, whether you’re completely new to jewellery‑making or already enjoy creating your own pieces. With just a handful of materials, you can design a bracelet that suits your style perfectly.

For this project, we’re using the popular imitation candy jade beads, available in a wide range of beautiful colours. They’re made from coloured stones and composite materials rather than real jade, but they’re still wonderfully vibrant and durable.

The technique shown here can be used with almost any type of bead to create both bracelets and necklaces. This means you can easily design a beautiful jewellery set consisting of a necklace and a matching bracelet. All clasps and findings are also available in silver versions, if that’s what you prefer.

Planning to give your jewellery as a gift 🎁?  You can explore our selection of elegant jewellery gift boxes here.

For other inspiring guides on making necklaces and bracelets, please click here:
DIY: Necklaces with Semi-Precious Stones
DIY: Bracelets with Semi-Precious Stones
DIY: Necklace made with silk beading wire

You will need the following tools and components to make this bracelet:

Chain-nose pliers, which are good for gripping and clamping
Side-cutter pliers or scissors for cutting the wire
Crimp bead pliers (the green ones) are nice to have, but can be replaced by chain-nose pliers
A bead tray is always handy to have – it helps you keep everything organised ;-)

Approx. 25cm golden beading wire, gauge 0.38mm
2 crimp covers, 4mm
2-4 crimp beads with 0.8mm hole, gold-plated silver
2 wire guards, gold-plated brass or wire guards, gold-plated silver
2 open jumprings, 5x0.8mm, gold-plated silver
1 chain extender (if you want the bracelet to be adjustable)
10 candy jade beads, dark pink,10mm
11 candy jade beads, light rose, 6mm

1: Take a 25 cm long piece of beading thread and string a crimp bead onto it, as shown in the picture.

2: Then you slide the wire guard on the wire.
 

3: Thread the wire through one of the holes in the wire guard, run it round the bend and back through the other hole.

4: Slide the crimp bead right up to the wire guard and press it firmly together.

5: Now take the crimp cover and slide it over the crimp bead. Gently squeeze the crimp cover so that the crimp bead is completely covered.

6: Now open a jumpring. Guide it through the ‘U’ of the wire guard and then through the outermost link of the chain extender. Close the jumpring again and make sure it is completely closed.

7: Now you can thread on the beads of your choice. Keep checking as you go to make sure the length of the bracelet fits your wrist well.

8: At the other end of the bracelet, finish off the wire in exactly the same way as in steps 1–5.

9:

10:

11: Pass the wire back through 2–3 beads before cutting off the excess end. This makes the beaded bracelet more stable and ensures a neat finish.

12: Attach the lobster claw clasp using a jumpring, as shown in step 6.

13: The clasp can now be hooked onto the chain extender, allowing the length to be adjusted according to your needs.