Customer Reviews

Bead Loom Bracelets

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book for children and adults! The directions are clear with good illustrantions and photos to show the exact steps for creating different types of bracelets. The loom that comes in the kit is a good quality loom, the kit comes with everything needed to get started. Beading on a loom is so addictive you will want to buy beads in every color imaginable so you can create bracelets with your own designs. I say this is another great book by Klutz. I have many different books and kits by this company and they make crafts easy and fun to do. I will be ordering more products from Klutz!

UPDATE: Oct. 4, 2010

The cheap beads and the fraying cord made it very difficult to finish the bracelet. A needle threader and a pair of pliers to be used to pull the needle through the beads would be helpfu.

UPDATE: Oct. 3, 2010

I had fewer problems with beads of other colors. Still, they should check the quality of all the beads before shipping them.

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I opened this kit a couple of hours ago. The book is clear and the loom is cute. The problem is the beads. Easily 1/4 to 1/3 are unusable; I can't get the needle through them. I've used seed beeds before and yes, some beads are always too small, but the proportion of bad beads here is ridiculous. It's hard to move quickly because I have to check each bead as it slides onto the needle. It took me a while to realize that the beads, not I, were the problem. It would have been helpful if the book had mentioned that. The next issue is the floss. It shreds. A lot. Try threading a shredded piece of floss through a tiny needle eye and then through a row of threaded beads. It's very difficult. I've had to undo some rows and I feel like Penelope at her loom.

I'm looking forward to learning this craft, but I can't wait to try it with better supplies.

This is a great craft. I would recommend it for tweens and above. My daughter is a very detailed 13 yr old. She likes this craft because it is something she cannot do on her own. She loved to braid bracelets and make jewelry already and this craft allows her to make bracelets different and more complicated than that.

In an effort of full disclosure - There hasn't been a Klutz book yet that I haven't liked..... And we have acquired AT LEAST 20 in the last 10 years or so....

As usual- per the Klutz standard- the instructions in the book were easy to follow- accompanied by the great close up photos. Several ideas/suggestions got us up and running in No time.
We own a standard wooden loom- from a previous craft kit- it was the book I really wanted- so the extra loom was just a bonus- and I wasn't expecting much after reading previous reviews. Having said that- I have come to prefer the loom that was included with the Klutz book. (as does another avid crafter friend- who is planning to buy the book-just for the loom!)
SO- though not really necessary- the loom folds up for easy storage-(greast idea)
I LOVE that the far side of the loom is raised an inch or two than the side closest to you (of course you can also turn it around) providing enough of an angle to make your work visible to you without having to 'hover' over the top of it. It also allows for an easier pass of your needle beneath your work(unlike the wood loom we have which is Quite a bit narrower underneath).
The most convenient though- I think is the plastic nob on the roller- which has a slice down the middle- which allows you to easily wedge your extra tail ends into- as well as pull them out- making loading and removing your work quick and simple.

Great purchase- I usually wait for the Klutz books to go on sale at the local craft store- but this price was better than the sale or purchase with a coupon!!

A 6 yr old girl loves it. It functions well and the book gives her many ideas. Recommended for children. It is easy to work with and light-weight.

We are Klutz book fans in our family, and this is a good kit that makes a great gift for ages 10 and up. That is my age recommendation based on the idea that a tween could do this all on her own without adult help. My daughter loved it and has already made a very nice bracelet in the first two days. It required patience and attention and she got it done. The bead bracelets are significantly fancier and prettier than your typical friendship bracelet made out of colored thread, and the way the bead bracelets are made offers some new avenues for design creativity.

I am rating this kit 4 stars instead of 5 because the loom itself is a cheap plastic contraption. It works, and for Amazon's discounted price it's hard to complain, but it would have been nice if the loom's joints were better made and if the loom could stand on its own, unsupported. Also, when we first took it out of the box, one of the two sides of hinges was really stiff and I thought we were going to break it just getting it set up. Fortunately we didn't break it. Just know it's a pretty cheap loom BUT it does work, and I recommend "Bead Loom Bracelets" as a nice, self-contained kit that makes a welcome gift for the hard-to-please tween audience.

As a child, I enjoyed beading on a loom. So I was excited to see it offered by Klutz in this compact form. My grandaughter, age 13, loved making bracelets for her friends and family. The difficult part of the process is making sure the needle and thred stay above the warp threads on the pass through step. Threading the loom can also be hard. I thought the way the loom folded up was clever and made it easy to store.