Micro Macrame Bracelet With Polymer Clay Focal Bead

Video #733: In today’s video I review a book about Micro Macrame Jewelry, by completing one of the projects in it.

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IN THIS POST: — micro macrame — jenny townley — book review — cabezel — focal bead — mothers day — perler cane — polymer clay bracelet — (Topics marked with an asterick* are discussed in the Comments Section below).

Today’s Book about Micro Macrame Jewelry, was written by Jenny Townley.

Since I just did another book review last week, I had not planned on adding another one so soon. But… I ended up making a macrame bracelet out of the book, that I am giving to my Mom for Mother’s Day, so I kind of had to do this review now, before I give the piece away.

The book that I talked about last week was, Bead It, Iron It, Love It! … and I ended up using one of the Perler bead patterns in the book, as the design for making a polymer clay cane. Since there were a few viewers who were concerned that my cane might not reduce very well, I wanted to quickly show everyone that the pattern does in fact reduce beautifully, right down to a very tiny size with no distortion at all.

Now, moving on to this week’s Micro Macrame Book… I felt the best way to do a review is by actually tackling one of the projects.

I made a bracelet from the book, but had to tweak the design a bit, in order to be to be able to use my own polymer clay focal bead.

Flipping through the book, it is set up pretty much like any typical craft book, with the basic information on tools and techniques at the beginning, and projects sections to follow. I will say that the book design is nice, with beautiful photography and nice project designs.

On the book cover, it says, “Every technique explained, for beginners and up” … however, I would say that it is really more suited for intermediate Micro Macrame and Jewelry makers, due to the fact that some important pieces of information were missing.

In many craft books, it’s common to see missing steps, primarily because of publishing restrictions. Often there is not enough room for all the photos and detailed steps that are necessary to give good instructions… so they are edited out.

For example, the Beaded Bracelet with Focal Center design that I chose to do, did not show the back of the focal bead, and how it was added to the bracelet. Nor did it show how to finish the knotted ends and add the ribbon clamp. Now because I am not a beginner, and because I have a wide range of jewelry making skills, I was able to figure it out. But for someone new to the craft, I am not sure if they would be able to complete the project and achieve professional looking results.

As you will see in the video I decided to tweak the pattern a bit to better suit the polymer clay focal bead I chose to use. I also explain how to finish the cord ends and add the ribbon closure.

These ‘holes’ in information with many books, are the very reason why I think good video tutorials can be a more effective way of learning. With properly filmed videos, you can capture all the steps and hand movements that it takes to make a successful project.

All that being said… I do like and will recommend the book for Intermediate jewelry makers… and will end up making more projects from it. The designs are quite lovely.

I hope this review was helpful for you… and that my Mom likes the bracelet.

Video Transcript - English

00:00:03 –> 00:00:08 Hi guys! This is Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor in today’s Studio Tip, I’m going

00:00:08 –> 00:00:16 to review the book Micro Macrame: 25 Super Fine Jewelry Projects by the author Jenny

00:00:16 –> 00:00:21 Townley. Now, I’m– I wasn’t going to do a book– another book review because I just

00:00:21 –> 00:00:26 did one last week but I ended up making a project from this book that I want to give

00:00:26 –> 00:00:30 to my mom for mother’s day and the timing just works out that way if I want to show

00:00:30 –> 00:00:38 you this project. So the book that I did last week was called Bead it, Iron it, Love it

00:00:38 –> 00:00:46 and I did a polymer clay cane from it and I just wanted to quickly mention, there were

00:00:46 –> 00:00:52 a few people that had– now the cane ended up to be about this big around. Some people

00:00:52 –> 00:00:59 were worried about it not reducing very well and I just wanted to show you that I did reduce

00:00:59 –> 00:01:05 it and it reduces right down to a super tiny size and it still looks super cute. So I just

00:01:05 –> 00:01:08 want to mention that to you. Now if you haven’t seen that video go check it out it’s– it’s

00:01:08 –> 00:01:15 a cute one. Alright so this book is also from the same publisher, Barrons Publishing, they

00:01:15 –> 00:01:22 sent me a few books to review and I thought the best way to review a book was to do something

00:01:22 –> 00:01:29 in the book, do one of the projects, and so I did that. And I ended up making this bracelet

00:01:29 –> 00:01:35 which I’ll talk about in a second but I’m now I’ll just show you– flip through the

00:01:35 –> 00:01:42 book a little bit so you get an idea of what it’s like. It’s the– it’s nicely made, the

00:01:42 –> 00:01:48 photography is really beautiful in it and it’s pretty it’s set up pretty much like a

00:01:48 –> 00:01:54 typical craft book where you’ve got the table of contents in the beginning here they’ve

00:01:54 –> 00:02:00 got about the book– the author, about the book, a little bit of information. And then

00:02:00 –> 00:02:07 the first section is about the knots the tools and the techniques. Now, this book, I forgot

00:02:07 –> 00:02:14 to mention, it says every technique explained for beginners and up and so they’ve got some

00:02:14 –> 00:02:19 beginner or they’ve got all these different things in here so this is the knot directory,

00:02:19 –> 00:02:25 it’s got your basic knots which is really handy to have on hand because sometimes you

00:02:25 –> 00:02:30 don’t remember the name of the knots or exactly how the knots work but they’ve got the basic

00:02:30 –> 00:02:38 knots like Larks Head Knot, Overhand Knot, Square Knot, Spiral Knot and the pictures

00:02:38 –> 00:02:46 are good you can’t you can see how it’s done they’ve got a Full Loop Knot, I haven’t done

00:02:46 –> 00:02:52 that one before, Double Half Hitch Knot, the one I ended up using for this bracelet, left

00:02:52 –> 00:02:57 and right, you do it differently for each and then that’s about it for the knots and

00:02:57 –> 00:03:03 then they go into the basic tools. One of the tools that they suggest is using one of

00:03:03 –> 00:03:09 these macrame boards, I actually happen to have one, I’ll show you what it looks like.

00:03:09 –> 00:03:14 I actually picked mine up on a while ago when I was at Shipwreck Beads. We did a video on

00:03:14 –> 00:03:19 Shipwreck Beads a while to go and that’s where I got this Macrame Board you can do you don’t

00:03:19 –> 00:03:24 have to have a board like this to do it you can just do it on a clipboard but the nice

00:03:24 –> 00:03:30 thing about these boards, first of all, they’re not that expensive and they are a foam that

00:03:30 –> 00:03:36 you can– it has these little slots and things in it and your cords kind of go– I’ll just

00:03:36 –> 00:03:40 quickly show you at the top, you can pull the cord into the top here and then you can

00:03:40 –> 00:03:45 knot away and then you can use a pin to pin your design and that kind of thing. It’s really

00:03:45 –> 00:03:52 nice, I’ve Macrame’d by tying on to a doorknob before and this is really nice it’s easy to

00:03:52 –> 00:04:00 work with. So that’s they mentioned that in the book. And then it goes into like choosing

00:04:00 –> 00:04:07 chords buying beads you know the typical stuff you’d find in a craft book. They have a few

00:04:07 –> 00:04:16 pictures of different things then they go into the projects. Now this book has it set

00:04:16 –> 00:04:23 up where they have beginner projects are all in one section and they’re here, like that,

00:04:23 –> 00:04:30 you can see a pretty simple designs. It’s basic stuff, I do like the designs that they

00:04:30 –> 00:04:38 have, they’re really modern and and nice-looking projects. And then they have an intermediate

00:04:38 –> 00:04:46 section I would consider myself an intermediate in the micro macrame level. I’ve done a fair

00:04:46 –> 00:04:51 amount of just sort of knotting as a kid and then a little bit as an adult but not too

00:04:51 –> 00:04:57 much so I’m– I would be an intermediate level so here are the intermediate level projects

00:04:57 –> 00:05:05 in here and there there nicely laid out. This is the one I actually ended up doing which

00:05:05 –> 00:05:11 we’ll talk about again in one second. So then we go through there’s lots of earrings necklaces

00:05:11 –> 00:05:19 that kind of thing then they go into more advanced projects further in. Are we there

00:05:19 –> 00:05:26 yet? Yeah we are, so lots of knots with beads and you know different patterns and things

00:05:26 –> 00:05:35 like that so it’s fairly nicely laid out and there’s some good pictures in it. Now when

00:05:35 –> 00:05:43 I went to go do the project, this is the one that I chose I ended up having to change the

00:05:43 –> 00:05:52 design a bit partly because of the focal bead that I chose. But as I started getting into

00:05:52 –> 00:05:58 this project I realized that there was a little bit of missing information and this is a real

00:05:58 –> 00:06:06 typical thing that you’re going to find in almost all craft books these days is that

00:06:06 –> 00:06:12 when you actually go to do the project, they can’t show you enough photographs and so they

00:06:12 –> 00:06:18 just leave some stuff out and– and it it makes it hard. Now for me, being intermediate

00:06:18 –> 00:06:24 I can and also having a fair amount of jewelry skills I could read between the lines and

00:06:24 –> 00:06:30 I could just figure it out so worked out to be a– a good book for me but I don’t think,

00:06:30 –> 00:06:35 because for– its really that suited for a total beginner just because of a couple of

00:06:35 –> 00:06:47 things. For example, this whole bracelet here, they they don’t actually show you how this

00:06:47 –> 00:06:52 focal bead is attached. In the instructions they show you the beginning part of the pattern

00:06:52 –> 00:06:57 and then they say to go to three and a half inches and then add your focal and then continue

00:06:57 –> 00:07:02 pattern for three and a half more inches but the problem is a couple of things: first of

00:07:02 –> 00:07:09 all, this focal bead which you you learn if you read well enough is actually a button

00:07:09 –> 00:07:14 and it has a shank on the back and the eight cords end up having to go through the shank

00:07:14 –> 00:07:19 through the back. Now, I can picture that because I’ve done a lot of this kind of thing

00:07:19 –> 00:07:23 but a beginner may not have any idea what they’re talking about so showing the back

00:07:23 –> 00:07:30 of that button would have been really nice to see. Also to trying to get those knots

00:07:30 –> 00:07:36 up in the next section, would have been kind of tricky you would have to keep pulling the

00:07:36 –> 00:07:44 the focal out of the way to try to get those knots in nicely at the back. Also, they don’t

00:07:44 –> 00:07:48 tell you how to finish it. There– they just well they tell you but they don’t show you.

00:07:48 –> 00:07:54 So it says here at the end: To finish, place the end of the cord in a ribbon clamp and

00:07:54 –> 00:08:02 then attach a jump ring and a lobster clasp. They show kind of– in the book lots of places

00:08:02 –> 00:08:07 where they use these ribbon clamps but they don’t show you anywhere in the book how to

00:08:07 –> 00:08:16 actually use those or how to finish off the cords so that was another issue but I will

00:08:16 –> 00:08:23 just explain to you what I did and how I went about it and and all that. So I changed the

00:08:23 –> 00:08:30 design a little bit. On their pattern, they had– they had the design go like this here,

00:08:30 –> 00:08:36 I’ll unhook this. They started off with the design they went for three and a half inches,

00:08:36 –> 00:08:43 had their focal button there and then continued on, then they added the ribbon clasp at the

00:08:43 –> 00:08:49 end here and then had a like a hook– with the lobster hook that you would hook onto

00:08:49 –> 00:08:55 this and here. Which is a decent design I could do that but when I dug around looking

00:08:55 –> 00:09:04 for a focal bead to use, I found this Cabochon I had made quite a– quite some time ago by

00:09:04 –> 00:09:11 using the CaBezel Mold, I have a video on that as well, if you want to check that out.

00:09:11 –> 00:09:17 But it was the colors and the shape of it that I thought suited the knotting I had done

00:09:17 –> 00:09:21 so far so I got into the three and a half inches and start digging around for a focal

00:09:21 –> 00:09:28 bead. The color just seemed to me to be go perfectly with for this bracelet so then I

00:09:28 –> 00:09:33 had to try to figure out how in the heck I was going to add it. Now, I was thinking I

00:09:33 –> 00:09:38 might add a screw eye at the back and use that kind of like a shank and then slide it

00:09:38 –> 00:09:46 on but I kept looking at the design and I felt like, if I could hide all the findings

00:09:46 –> 00:09:54 behind the focal bead it would end up being a nicer looking bracelet in the end. So then,

00:09:54 –> 00:10:00 I had to try to figure out how I was going to do all of that. What ended up–What I ended

00:10:00 –> 00:10:08 up figuring out was I used a this is like a hook and I clasp that you would use in sewing.

00:10:08 –> 00:10:13 I just happen to have one in a bunch of old sewing stuff and it had three holes in it

00:10:13 –> 00:10:20 so I bent this one hole up just a little bit away from the surface, added a loop and added

00:10:20 –> 00:10:27 it to my ribbon clamp. I’ll talk about how I added ribbon clamp in a sec but then I had

00:10:27 –> 00:10:32 to figure out how to attach this piece to here and originally, I thought well maybe

00:10:32 –> 00:10:37 some little tiny screws but all the screws I found that were the right length were had

00:10:37 –> 00:10:45 too big heads on them, and they were a problem so I ended up going with some larger kind

00:10:45 –> 00:10:56 of head finishing nails which I cut shorter and then I use some hypo cement glue behind

00:10:56 –> 00:11:04 this hook here, also drilled a couple of little holes in those two holes here. So I used my

00:11:04 –> 00:11:09 little hand drill, drilled some little pilot holes then to the finishing nails put some

00:11:09 –> 00:11:15 glue on them as well and nailed them in. So it’s very solid, it’s been glued and nailed

00:11:15 –> 00:11:22 to this piece and it is functioning really well. I was quite pleased with–with how that

00:11:22 –> 00:11:26 ended up working out. And it was just a matter of fiddling around trying to figure that out

00:11:26 –> 00:11:31 so that’s what I ended up doing. Now, for ribbon clamps, if you have no idea how to

00:11:31 –> 00:11:38 do it add that to a piece like this. And if you read the book you would have no idea this

00:11:38 –> 00:11:45 is how– what they are. OK so you get these clamp closures or ribbon clamps I got a little

00:11:45 –> 00:11:51 pack of several different sizes at Michael’s. Now these are the premium metal ones so they

00:11:51 –> 00:11:58 have they use real brass so there are a little higher quality and they’re going to be stronger

00:11:58 –> 00:12:02 but here’s what they look like out of the package and they kind of have like these little

00:12:02 –> 00:12:08 tiny teeth on there I don’t know if Doug is gonna be able to pick up on that but those

00:12:08 –> 00:12:13 clamp down on your work. So let’s just push this out of the way and pretend that that

00:12:13 –> 00:12:19 hook isn’t there you would take the little threads that are on your end here and you

00:12:19 –> 00:12:24 make sure the knots are all tied tight and you trim them fairly short. Then you have

00:12:24 –> 00:12:31 to melt them because this is the kind of cording that melts if you use a lighter. So I melted

00:12:31 –> 00:12:36 the ends down with the lighter and got them all so that they wouldn’t fray or come unraveled

00:12:36 –> 00:12:42 or anything then I put my clamp over the pieces, all the little ribbon ends, made sure they

00:12:42 –> 00:12:49 were all tucked in, and then I used a pair of flat nose or chain nose pliers to just

00:12:49 –> 00:12:55 crush it down and pinch that whole piece of all the cording inside that clamp then you

00:12:55 –> 00:13:03 can just add a jump ring there and then you’re good to go. But some chords don’t melt, you–

00:13:03 –> 00:13:07 you have to kind of test that ahead of time you may need to glue them or tape them or

00:13:07 –> 00:13:12 do something like that to get them so that they all sit in there nice and tight. And

00:13:12 –> 00:13:16 you want to give it a good tug to make sure that it’s on there. Now, as far as the cording

00:13:16 –> 00:13:21 that I used I also got that a Shipwreck Beads because I was there and they have all that

00:13:21 –> 00:13:29 kind of stuff, I used a Asian knotting cord it comes in all kinds of different sizes and

00:13:29 –> 00:13:36 this happens to be one millimeter in length and this is done by a company called Dazzle

00:13:36 –> 00:13:42 It, these are called Lovely Knots. It’s beautiful for that kind of thing. These, I followed

00:13:42 –> 00:13:46 the instructions in the book and this is the extra that I had leftover, it was a little

00:13:46 –> 00:13:52 bit overkill in my opinion, but you’re better off having a little bit extra than coming

00:13:52 –> 00:13:59 up too short when it comes with knotting. So, overall, this is a good book if you are

00:13:59 –> 00:14:06 an intermediate in my opinion but you have to know a little bit so that you can fill

00:14:06 –> 00:14:11 in those little blanks that are there and that’s partly why I love video tutorials so

00:14:11 –> 00:14:15 much is that they– they are able– they don’t have those blanks in there as long as you’re

00:14:15 –> 00:14:22 not skipping over or doing you know voice overs or something but if you do the technique

00:14:22 –> 00:14:26 in every step, then you’re not gonna miss anything like what happens in a book but I

00:14:26 –> 00:14:31 overall– I think the designs are really great it’s a good reference book, I’ll probably

00:14:31 –> 00:14:36 do a few more projects from here and I did very much enjoyed making this bracelet and

00:14:36 –> 00:14:42 I hope my mom loves it for Mother’s Day. So, I hope that was helpful for you and if it

00:14:42 –> 00:14:48 was do let us know if you liked this video and if you’ve got a book you’d like me to

00:14:48 –> 00:14:54 review, a product you like me to test, a technique you don’t know anything about that you’d like

00:14:54 –> 00:14:58 to learn more about, make sure to leave those suggestions in the comments section below

00:14:58 –> 00:15:03 and don’t forget we have tons and tons of videos on all kinds of topics that you can

00:15:03 –> 00:15:09 learn more about polymer clay from. Alright, so we’ll see you next time and bye for now!

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  • I thought your review was excellent Cindy.

    I think instructors who do things regularly often just blaze through what they are showing because they’ve done it so many times and they forget there are those of us who haven’t and need that extra step. So easy to forget and leave out. How often have you said ‘Oh! you should do this’ to anyone – because our mind just moves on. I can see that happening so easily when putting together a book – all those perfect pics etc. etc…something that isn’t required when doing a video – just focus and shoot…

    I thought your solution to adding the focal was great. I have a question though. How does it feel on the wrist – that hook under the focal – and how easy is it to actually put on your wrist with the hook being hidden under the focal.

    Secondly – with the great weather I think a lot of us are spending time in the yard and not in front of the computer. I just got to this with my morning coffee and noted that you were wondering why the lack of comments.

    And lastly – You wondered if we would do micro macrame. I like the look of it but just don’t have the patience for it – that and the tiny wire wrapping people are doing. I obviously need to do some yoga and zen out. :0)

    • You make a good point about the back of the bracelet having possible issues with wearability, however, I wore the bracelet myself for two days and found it very comfortable to wear.

      I think it was because of two reasons… one the hook was designed to sit up against fabric and usually in an area that would have some pressure against it, such as at the waist. If it were to jut out or be abrasive in any way, it would eventually cause damage to the clothing. It being a rather old method of fastening, I am guessing they have tweaked the design to sit nicely, over the years…

      The other reason is that the macrame design is fairly thick and therefore the focal bead sits up higher on the knotted area and away from the skin.

      As far as easy to use, I found it quite easy to hook on. The loop is large enough and the hook small enough that you could just hold the large focal and grab the hoop with the hook. My Mom had no problem hooking it on and said it was comfortable to wear. (She loved it btw.) So overall, it was a successful bracelet design! :)

  • Wilma Hughes says:

    Yes Cindy and Doug, I just got it in my inbox this morning also. Great review. The bracelet is gorgeous and I’m sure your mom loved it.
    When are the new paid tutorials going to start again?

    • Hi Wilma… in case you didn’t realize it… your fix of new paid tutorials hasn’t really stopped at all.

      During the extended period that it is taking us to get the new web site renovations done (to get them done right)… we are continuing to upload 3 (new-for-you) back issue Volumes to your library account, with each quarterly payment that you make.

      When we have updates to announce about the new site, we will definitely post that info in the Email Newsletter, as well as here at the blog web site.

      Thanks for being a valued member of our PcT community.

  • Susan Baldwin says:

    The clasp – using the sew on for attachment – is wonderful. Love your review of the book also, so many books leave important stuff out, that can make me crazy when I get halfway through. Magazines can do that also. Keep up the good work, LOVE your videos, wish you had a “like” on this page, or have I missed it?

    • Thanks Susan! By the way, you actually can ‘like’ one of our posts, by sharing it. You should see some floating icons on the left side of the page that you can click on to share it to your other social media sites. Thanks again, I am so pleased that you are enjoying what you are learning here!

  • Marie Lilley says:

    Hi Cindy and Doug,

    I thought I’d just let you know that the email/link to the Micro Macrame from yourselves has only just landed in my email inbox. Wonder if it’s same for everyone, maybe that’s why there’s been no comments yet.

    • Hi Marie… yes same for everyone. Right now, we are publishing new videos each Monday… and then we email the the links to the Monday video on Friday (today).

  • Marie Lilley says:

    HI Cindy and Doug,
    I only spotted the video this morning and do check every couple of days but hey got it in the end. Yes, I do think there should be more reviews and if possible some reviews on ebooks.
    Yes, Micro Macrame is interesting and would like to think I could incorporate it in with Polymer so if Cindy wouldn’t mind sharing her knowledge with us all via some tutorials that would be fantastic.
    Have a good week and hope things soon get better in your country following the terrible fires. Do you live any where near the affected state?
    Thanks Marie

    • Thanks Marie for your feedback. Just so you know we are very far away from the forest fires happening up north, but it is very sad to see what has happened there for those living in Fort McMurray. :( I can’t imagine what that would be like to have to grab what you can and run… not to be sure if you would have anything to return back to. Life has enough challenges as it is. Fortunately, no one was killed and many homes were saved. But it will take some time to rebuild and recover from such devastation. My heart goes out to any family that has been impacted by a natural disaster such as this.

  • Hi Marie,

    Thanks for the comment and the kudos :-)

    This post was sitting here for longer than normal without any comments, so we were beginning to think you guys weren’t really liking the topic or the presentation very much.

    Hopefully others will chime in as well.

    Are “Cindy Style” book reviews something that we should do more of in the future?

    Is Micro Macrame of interest… or not?

    Let us know…

    • Chrissie F says:

      To answer your questions, Doug…

      Micro macrame? Not particularly interested myself (too fiddly for me) but there may be lots of others who are and I can live with it if you do more :-)

      “Cindy style” book reviews? You betcha! I’d rather hear honest opinions, both good and possibly not so good, before buying a book.

  • Marie Lilley says:

    HI Cindy,
    It’s really great to get an honest opinion on products like books pointing out little things that are missing.
    The good and not so good. I have to admit though that I prefer ebooks or online tutorials like yours so that I can work along with it, pausing the tutorial while I catch up. Great it’s like having a one to one lesson.
    Many thanks
    Marie

    ps Doug, The camera quality is so so good now, especially when it zooms in, previously it used to send my eyes blurry and had to shut until I thought the zooming had stopped.

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