Our full-page ad in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Beadwork included a bracelet made with Miyuki’s new long magatama beads. Since the ad came out, we’ve gotten quite a few questions from people who want to make something similar, so this post is our attempt to help out.

The first, and most important thing to know, is that after the bracelet was photographed for the ad, it evolved into a necklace—

It’s strung on C-Lon® Micro Cord. When stringing the long magatamas, you need to always insert the thread in the same direction if you want the beads to hang as they do in this necklace. There is some decorative base-metal chain attached by the pendant.

Here’s a close-up of the spiral stitch. In addition to the long magatamas, we used Miyuki beads sizes 11/0 and 8/0. (The items are LMA-2008, 11-2015 and 8-217).

And here’s a detail shot of the clasp and cones. The cones are sterling silver and we dipped them in silver black to darken them.

That’s the quick overview. Please email if you have additional questions.