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Beaded Macrame Jewelry

Book Review

By , About.com Guide

Beaded Macrame Jewelry
Of course, you already know of my long-time love of macrame jewelry making. So, I'm a soft target for book like this one written by Sherri Haab, Beaded Macrame Jewelry: Stylish Designs, Exciting New Materials, published by Watson-Guptill Publications ($12.95). I never met a macrame book I didn't like, but I was curious about how she was going to manage to do something different with this ancient technique.

Sherri asks us to "rethink macrame," and one method for her own rethinking is the materials used for cords. You'll find no hippy hemp here. Instead, she opts for leather, silk, nylon, and other find threads. These are mixed with wonderful beads like pearls, lampwork, and crystals.

After going over the supplies needed, Sherri includes illustrated instructions for 14 knots used in the 14 projects, many of which include variations on the basic project design. Most are jewelry, but there is also a pretty cool looking purse, an ipod case, a belt, and a watchband project (which I guess is also considered jewelry). For the price, I thought this book, just shy of 100 pages long and full of great macrame how-to's and designs, is a great deal for jewelry makers who want to add some fiber techniques to their list of jewelry skills.

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