How to Make a Beaded Watch

Why settle for a plain, boring watch when you can have a beautiful, unique beaded one that you made yourself? Making a beaded watch is actually a lot easier than you might think. Not only that, but it's fairly inexpensive to do since it doesn't require a lot of materials or fancy tools. All you need are some basic beading supplies, some pretty beads and about 20 to 30 minutes of time to put it all together. Here are some instructions to get you started.

Supplies

-- Watch face
-- Clasp or toggle
-- Beads of your choice
-- Sturdy beading wire
-- Crimp beads
-- Crimping pliers
-- Wire cutters
-- A bead board

First things first, you need to decide how long you want your watch band to be. You can go with a standard bracelet measurement such as 7, 7 1/2 or 8 inches, or you can actually measure your wrist to make it custom sized so that it will fit you perfectly.

Once you've got your measurements, the easiest way to make sure that comes out to the right length is to use a bead board. If you don't have a bead board you will need to account for the length of the watch face itself in your measurements. If you do have a bead board lay the watch face at the zero mark. Begin laying bead in the channel going out from either side of the watch face. Continue adding beads until you have reached the desired length. Don't forget to include a crimp bead on each side next to the watch face and on each end of the watch band next to the toggle or clasp. Also, don't forget to account for the length of the toggle or clasp in the length of your watch band.

When you have your beads laid out to the proper length you're ready to cut your wire. Cut a piece of wire that is several inches longer than you need for one side of the watch band. The extra length will make the wire easier to work with and will ensure that you have enough wire to finish the piece off. Nothing is worse than getting most of the way through a beading project only to find out that you cut your wire too short to finish it correctly!

Start by stringing the wire through the hole on one side of the watch face and then down through a crimp bead to form a loop. Pull the loop tight so that the crimp bead is right next to the watch face. Use your crimping pliers to close the crimp bead and secure the wire in place.

Now start stringing your beads onto the wire. Use the first couple of beads to hide the tail of the wire that is poking out from the crimp bead. Trim off any excess wire from the tail if necessary.

When reach the end of the watch band and are ready to attach your toggle, slide the wire up through a crimp bead, up through the toggle, back down through the same crimp bead and back down through the last 2 to 3 beads on the watch band. Pull the wire tight and crimp it closed to secure it. Trim off any excess wire.

Repeat this entire process on the other side of the watch band. Once you've strung the other side your new beaded watch is complete and you can wear it with pride.