Make your own or buy ready-made

3 min read · Beach Bead Co

Making a bead bracelet is a lovely afternoon. Buying one is a lovely minute. Both have their place.

Here is how they compare.

Making your own

You need beads, stretch cord, scissors and patience. Seed beads are tiny, so threading takes time.

You also get to choose every color. It is a calm, creative project for a rainy day.

Buying ready-made

A ready-made bracelet is strung and sized for you. The Glass Bead Stretch Bracelet, Coral Reef and the Ocean Blues arrive ready to wear.

It saves time and means no knots to tie.

Which should you pick?

Make your own if you love crafts. Buy ready-made if you want it now, or as a gift.

Many people do both: buy a favorite, then make a few to wear with it.

What you get when you buy

Our glass bead bracelets are strung on stretch cord and come in small (6 in), medium (6.5 in) and large (7 in). The glass bead bracelets are $29, the stack set is from $14, the gold-tone ball bead bracelet is $21 and the faux pearl bracelet starts at $6.

If you do make your own, a ready-made piece is a handy guide. Measure a bracelet you like, note the bead size, which is about 2 mm for our glass seed beads, and copy it at home.

Either way, the care is the same: keep it dry, take it off for swimming and showers, and store it flat. You can browse the full bead bracelets collection to see colors and sizes.