Charm Bracelet

A few days ago I received a call from a bridesmaid wanting to book a jewelry making bachelorette party. She told me that the bride wanted the current top bracelet trend because the bride was very stylish. I told her I would get back to her and went to do my research. From what I’ve seen, the top bracelet trend for fall 2009 is a charm bracelet. From charms, to glass beads, to pearls and crystals, this trend can be adapted for any occasion. The next day I happened to be at an art/jewelry show. Sure enough, there were charm bracelets everywhere. I felt so inspired that I went home and made one. I met with the bridesmaid to show her my sample and she was thrilled and said that was the perfect project for the bachelorette party. If you would like to make one too, this is how to do it.

To make a charm bracelet you need the following:


A length of sterling chain about the side of your wrist minus the size of your clasp

6 mm split rings (anywhere from 5-9, one for every bead/charm)

5-9 charms or beads

1 sterling silver toggle clasp

Bent nosed tweezers

Needle nosed pliers


Using the pliers, open one end of the chain, thread one end of the clasp and close the chain loop. Do the same for the other side.

Fold your bracelet in half so that you see where the centre point is. Lay your bracelet down and put your centre charm or bead below the centre link. Then design the rest of your bracelet, make sure you space the charms evenly. If the spacing is not even and you are left with an extra chain loop, arrange the charms so that the extra loop is next to the clasp, not between the charms.

Using the tweezers, gently open the ring and slide the chain through (the video shows how to do this). Continue doing this until all of the split rings have been attached.

Then attach the charms to the split rings. Open up the split ring the same way you did earlier, slide the charm on, and close. Continue doing so until they have all been done. If you are using beads, thread the bead onto a headpin with the head at the bottom, using the pliers create a bend on the other end of the wire, thread on the split ring and then wrap the wire around the base of the bead.

I hope you enjoy your new bracelet as much as I am enjoying mine.