MY FIRST SOUTACHE JEWELRY

See my finished cuff? Well, it will be finished after I rip out the extra hematite seed beads.

 

I have wanted to try soutache jewelry so even though I bought Anneta Valois's book Soutache, I took a soutache jewelry cuff bracelet class with Amee Sweet McNamara at Bead and Button.  Class was a lot of fun.

 

 

This is what we were supposed to make.


After I got one of the motifs done, I decided that A) I like soutache jewelry but B) the cuff with only 3 motifs and all of that stitching in between didn't really thrill me.  Since we had already glued the ultrasuede to the cuff blank, I was kind of stuck.

I ended up scouting Bead Fest Philadelphia for more of the center pink glass pearls and finally found them at Bead Haven a few minutes before we left.  Then I made another motif, attached the 4 motifs with beads and glass pearls, and glued everything down so that the motifs marched up the center of the cuff like good soldiers.

 

I tried adding the seed bead stitching around the soutache but decided that it just looked too busy.  So after I rip it out, my "less is more" cuff will be done.  I am glad that I took the class, though, because there are some aspects of the stitching that are easier learned in a hands-on setting.  Now I am looking at the lovely pendant from Golem Studio that I bought at Bead and Button and wondering about more soutache.