Top tips on how I approached making my beaded phone strap

Thank you for your interest after I mentioned my beaded phone strap in last weeks newsletter. I’ve tried all sorts of handles attached to my phone before and not got on with any. However the way I’ve been cradling my phone in my hand was becoming uncomfortable so I decided to make my own. I wanted a simple (but attractive) strap that wasn’t going to get in the way by being too bulky and importantly still fit in my pocket. I’d been thinking about it for a while and figured I could definitely make one. So here are my Top Tips on how I approached making my beaded phone strap. You may find this useful for creating your own strap, or it’ll spark an idea for something different, do let us know how you get on. 

Deciding on a beading stitch

I had mulled the idea over for a little while and settled on a beadloom strap. I had also considered making a Peyote Stitch strap. But a settled on one created on a loom mainly because I knew I’d need it to be strong, it’d also be flat and therefore comfortable to use. I also wanted a secure and neat way of finishing the beadwork which I could do with a slide connector, and these work really well with beadwork created on a loom.

Getting the Sizing right

I used a tape measure diagonally around my hand to ensure the beaded part would be long enough (this ended up being 18cm for me – I have very narrow hands). I had already decided there’d be enough room for adjustment with the small cord phone strap I’d be connecting the beadwork to.

Making it strong and durable

To create a strong strap I used Wildfire 0.15mm white as my warp (long threads) as this has no stretch. Then I used black Sono thread as my weft thread. I used my favourite size 12 beading needle too. I also ensured that when I tied the ends of my thread, I grouped in my thread in small group, tied over hand knots and made sure I was getting the knots really close to the end of the beadwork and super tight. For extra securing I used a little dab of glue on each knot and left it to dry before trimming off the excess thread.

Using the Beadalon slide clasp connectors at the ends of the bead work is such a professional and secure way to finish off the ends. I took off the clasp and used that on the end of the small phone strap cord to make my beaded strap removeable. I then used a 6mm jump ring to attach the two ends of the beaded strap together and then attached the trigger clasp to the end of the cord phone strap with an 8mm jump ring to ensure it’d be strong.

I’ve been using it for a little while now and getting on with it really well. I also made the strap detachable so that when I have my phone set up in a tripod for filming or photography it wouldn’t get in the way.  

Useful resources

If you’re interested in making a beaded phone strap, I made my design nine size 11 seed beads wide which fitted in the 13mm Beadalon slide connector. We have a great video showing you how to get started using a Jewel loom (which is also the loom I used to create mine).

I also filmed a handy short video showing how to attach the slide connectors to the end of a bracelet which is also useful for this project.
Important TIP: When using a slide clasp connector you have to add a sacrificial row of beads, at the beginning and end of your design which will be hidden inside the slide connectors, this will stop you from losing the ends of your beadwork design.

The colours I choose in my strap were all Preciosa Czech Glass size 11 seed beads in Teal Permalux, Opaque Black and Opaque White.