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Lilac button pendant...fresh for summer!


I bought this beautiful mother-of-pearl button the last time I was out in Portland OR, visiting my daughter. You can probably find something similar to it online.  I would recommend a Czech glass button as an alternative.

Because the button is so beautiful, I wanted to keep the bead embroidery around it fairly simple so that it wouldn't compete.  For that reason also, I chose seed bead colors that matched the button colors.  The shank is fairly shallow, so I didn't have to worry about cutting it off.



1. Using white interfacing as the foundation material, I stitched on the button and surrounded it with two rows of back stitch in size 11/0 seed beads. I was able to get the outer row to be a multiple of four, which gives me the greatest number of options for finishing it off with a decorative stitch.  Using the inner row as a base, I added two rounds of peyote stitch to create a bezel.  The first row is also size 11/0 seed beads, and the final row is size 15/0 to help cinch it in and cover the edge of the button.




2. Using the outer row as a base, I added one row of Russian spiral stitch, still in the same colors.  Instructions for bead embroidered Russian spiral can be found in Bored By Back Stitch, chapter one.




3. I added a resin opal cabochon below the button, surrounded it with a peyote stitch bezel, and cut out the entire pendant, leaving a 1/8 inch margin for edging.  I used ultra-suede as a backing fabric, and did edging brick stitch around the entire outer edge, using size 15/0 seed beads.  I then added a two-bead stack to each edging stitch.  (See note below for more in-depth instructions.)




4. Add a square stitch bail to the back of the pendant.



5. Finished!


Note:
Step-by-step instructions for putting together a bead embroidered piece, including back stitch, edging brick stitch, and stack stitch can be found in the free first chapter of Every Bead Has a Story.  Chapter two has instructions for stitching a peyote stitch bezel, and Chapter three teaches the square stitch bail.

This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique

Copyright 2015 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.


Comments

Robbie said…
Very pretty and so delicate!!!!
Lovely - and to think you started with a button!