5:48 p.m. - 2004-08-18
Herkimer Princess Bracelet
I finished the bracelet last night:
One thing that struck me while I was making this was how the ends on the inside felt a bit rough. I'll probably end up filing them a bit. I wonder if the necklace is the same? Wouldn't surprise me - my technique has come a long way since 1997, although I was just as anally retentive about finishing then as I am now. The difference now is that I actually have the tools to be able to do the finishing properly *grin*. In my notes, I see that the original necklace is listed as having taken 5 hours to fabricate. Back in '97 I had to hand saw all of the jump rings. ACK!! Guess how much I Love My Jump Ringer? It's one of the best Christmas presents my DH has ever given me :-). This bracelet still took 3 hours, after taking into account time wasted watching the Olympics.
One thing I did this time which is different from my wide bracelets of the past is that I tried to make an integrated clasp; by that I mean it looks like it belongs there, not just a ring or lobster clasp.
Robbie Ward's Secret Santa bracelet helped me to figure out how to do this clasp. Her's doesn't look anything like the one on my bracelet, but it was a good jumping off point.
The bracelet went through test day today. It survived a trip to the splash pad and numerous tugs from my son :-). So, it can now go into the tumbler for finishing.
