Not working. . . .

I've been trying to make a free-form peyote bracelet. . . . shown here are three attempts. There is also another bracelet on the bottom that I made earlier. The beading on that bracelet came out okay but it is a little too large. And, as you can see the other bracelets are coming out about the same length. My first attempt is the multicolor that I decided was just too busy. Then, the second attempt, I stopped because I was afraid it was too long. The top attempt was beginning to take shape. I had measured it at the start -8". As I went along, I measured again, and as you can see, it's about as long as the others. It's just not working. Think I'll go back to knitting for awhile.