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Solar System Bracelet Tutorial
Tutorial by Adrianne Surian
| This bracelet tutorial is perfect for anyone who is into science, space, or general geek-related accessories. You're sure to have leftover supplies, and this project is fairly simple, so it can become a fun group learning activity for kids and adults alike. |
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| This project is great to customize - choose your favorite gemstones to represent each planet. Adrianne provided her suggestions below. |
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Suggested Tools & Materials:
You will need 1 round bead of your choice for each planet. (You can also add the dwarf planet Pluto!).
Please note: some items pictured may not be available from Happy Mango Beads. Please see the above links for suggestions. |
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| While the beads are of course not exactly to scale (Jupiter alone would never fit on your wrist), the difference in sizes of the beads still helps to illustrate that some planets are much larger or smaller in relation to each other. |
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| To make Saturn's rings, Adrianne glued a jump ring around the bead. Just stretch the ring around the bead as best you can, double check to make sure it isn't covering the bead hole, and add a drop of glue onto the ring. It will settle in along the groove and sure that Saturn's rings stay where they belong! Allow it to dry before stringing your beads onto your bracelet - this should only take a few minutes. If you're making this bracelet with your kids or a group, you can take this time to talk about the names of the planets or anything you know about space, or take a few minutes to do some research with a book or the internet. |
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| Cut a 12-inch length of stretch cord, and string the planets on in order. Adrianne used metal spacer beads to separate them. Of course, the space between each planet isn't to scale, scientifically! Just as a reminder, the order of the planets is: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (if you choose to include it). |
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| Fill the rest of your bracelet with black beads and spacer beads. Adrianne used Black Onyx, but Snowflake Obsidian would be a fun choice, to represent all the stars in the universe! For an adult-sized wrist, Adrianne made a 7 3/4" size bracelet. School aged kids' wrists can be as small as 5 inches (or smaller, depending of course on their age and size), so the best for kids' sizing is to measure their wrists when you begin the project. |
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| Adrianne added a spacer bead for every few black beads, and swapped one of the spacer beads for a small bail so she could attach a star-shaped charm. If you choose to add a charm (a star, heart, moon, initial, or any charm that adds some personal flair are all great choices!), you can use a pair of chain nose pliers to attach it to the bail with a small jump ring. You can finish off the bracelet with a square knot - a basic double knot. Tying your knot next to a spacer bead is great because the bead can help to hide the knot. Add a small dot of glue to help keep the knot secure, and trim any excess cord. |
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| Happy beading! |