Beading Arts

I took a short detour from bead embroidery for my most recent piece.  Recently I showed you a bead embroidered piece of salvage ( Davy Jones's Lock ) that I stitched as a souvenir from our trip to Bermuda.  Here is the other piece of salvage that I got in the Dockyard...a bolt from a ship.  I just love the colors of the patina on both this one and the lock from the last piece.  The bolt is enlarged to show the details of the stitching...it is only about 2 1/4 inch long.    This piece may look a little bit complicated, but it's really quite easy.  I stitched a center band of size 6/0 seed beads using right angle weave.  From there I added size 8/0 seed beads between each stitch at the bottom of the band and larger disks between each stitch at the top.  Those beads became the anchor points for diagonal stitches going in both directions to form an X through the central drop beads (light turquoise).  At the top, I stitched a simple pe...

If you like working with shaped beads, then you are probably already a fan of Virginia Jensen's work and her books!   Stitching with Two-Hole Shaped Beads  and  Contemporary Cube Bead Designs  are Kalmbach Media titles you might already be familiar with, and here is her latest:  Two-Hole Bead Stitching .  Just like the others, this book has the fabulous photos and illustrations that Kalmbach is known for.  And it is full of the fabulous and fun designs that Virginia is known for! Each chapter starts with a fairly simple piece and progresses through more intricate and challenging pieces.  I particularly liked some of the variations that could be made using the basic S-braid pattern.  The easy basic version is included in this book, along with lots of fabulous alternatives, using other shapes and mixtures.  I have to be honest that I've not been very interested in shaped beads.  I love my regular seed beads, and for the...

You know those super-clear instructions that you get from Bead & Button magazine (or from any Kalmbach publication, for that matter)?  Well, here is the handbook that you've been waiting for, that puts all the instructions for all of the stitches in one spot: Bead Stitching Handbook by the editors of B&B!  Here's a list of the stitch instructions that are included: Peyote, netting, ladder, brick, square, herringbone, right-angle weave, crossweave, fringe, bead embroidery, spirals & helixes, chenille, chevron, St Petersburg chain, loomwork, and bead crochet.  Wow!  All the fundamentals in one handy book. The book also includes the variations of each stitch, so for example, you'll get instructions for flat, circular, and tubular, plus how to increase and decrease.  AND it also covers special tasks the stitch is really useful for, like creating bezels with peyote stitch, stitching two-drop, diagonal, Dutch and Cellini spirals, etc.  Th...

Earlier this month, I showed you some beadwoven bails that I was working on to top off and embellish my bead embroidered pendants.  Well, I found another one that I like very much in Diane Fitzgerald's book  Shaped Beadwork .  On page 33, Diane shows a double-layered triangle with an opening in the middle.  Instead of stitching the whole thing together around the edges, I stitched only the top edge.  Since the two layers are joined in the middle around the opening, that forms a nice little tube along the top for your necklace strap to go through. I found through experimentation that the size of the entire triangle needs to be enlarged from Diane's instructions.  It's simple to do this, just adding as many more rounds as you like.  An alternative, which is what I did in the sample shown here, is to just peyote stitch increases along the top edge of one layer, and then zip it to the other side.  That keeps the entire bail smaller, but...

You know that most of the time, I like to just stitch a square stitch loop onto the back of my bead embroidered pendants, like the one shown below: If it's set down low enough, it doesn't show on the front, and if you want it to show, you can set it up higher or even weave it off of the edging brick stitch row on your piece.  Instructions for stitching these can be found in chapter 3 of my e-book Every Bead Has a Story .  But today, I want to look at some other forms of bails! While I was on vacation recently, I took along just enough beads to stitch up these triangular (and one cylindrical) bails.  Here are some sources for the instructions for these fancier bails: How to make beaded beads with brick stitch Shaped Beadwork  by Diane Fitzgerald (book review and link) Page 20 - triangle Page 25 - elongated triangle Update : Page 33 - an open-centered triangle Shaped Beadwork and Beyond  by Diane Fitzgerald (book review and link) Page 40 and...

Do you like crystals?  Do you like shaped beads?  Do you like stitching components that you can use to make matching earrings or bracelets?  Isabella Lam's latest book, Beadwoven Glamour , may be just what you're looking for!  You may remember Isabella's work from a few years ago when Kalmbach published Beautiful Beadweaving .  Everyone was talking about it.  Everyone wanted a copy.  And it was soooo worthwhile! The instructions and illustrations make it a snap to follow along with the projects, and there is a complete and specific materials list for those who want it.  The Empera Necklace , shown above on the cover, is one of the more complicated pieces.  There are also several that are much simpler to stitch, although even those look luxe and expensive.  There are some simple pendants that are similar to the ones shown below.  They might be a great way to get your feet wet!  The projects are challenging, but beca...

Embellished right angle weave rope necklace I made a list a little while ago of the rope-style beaded necklaces that I stitched over the summer and early fall.  Looking at my archives, I realized that I had forgotten about two previously stitched styles: the right angle weave necklace shown above, and the Viking's double shown below.  I am adding them to the master list for the future! Viking's Double rope necklace Copyright 2010, 2018 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.

Here's a little peek at a piece of beadweaving that I just finished.  You can probably tell that it's right angle weave beadwork (RAW) and that it's a necklace.  It's not my design, and there's a reason that I'm not showing you the whole thing...you might want to make one yourself! I told you all about Facet Jewelry Box earlier this year.  It's a great subscription to have if you don't have a local bead shop, or if you just want additional projects to do each month.  The nicest part is that everything you need, with the exception of the tools, is included.  No more buying an entire hank of beads just so you can use a couple of them in a project!  The tools needed are all basic, so if you've been making jewelry for any length of time, you'll have all you need. This box came with a necklace and earrings set.  So far, I have finished the necklace...the earrings I've set aside for later this week when I'm in between other projects.  I...

Are you familiar with Rita Sova's wonderful bead patterns ?  I've come across Rita's designs many times before, but this time I fell hook, line, and sinker!  Since my recent foray into stitching Russian leaves in all kinds of patterns and colors, my eye has just naturally homed in on any new ones that I see as I'm scrolling through Pinterest.  Well...there was this wonderful piano keys pattern, but without any credits or a link!!!!  Thanks to the magic of google and the Lightshot app, I was finally able to track it down to Rita.  So, here is my rendition of piano keys earrings .  You can get the tutorial at the link above for just a few dollars.  Enjoy! My previous post on bead weaving Russian leaves

Because my summer was busy beyond belief, I decided to make rope necklaces.  Pick 'em up and work for a few minutes, put 'em back down and walk away.  As long as you have the current pattern firmly in mind, and a way to keep yourself and your beads organized, it's a wonderful way to be able to feel productive.  And as you can see, I actually was productive!! I'm working on another rope right now, but it's a repeat, so it doesn't really count.  There are several more rope stitches that I want to explore before this is over, so as I tackle them, I'll post about them and also add them here.  This page will be linked in the Tutorials bar up above so that you can always easily find it without having to bookmark it.  Russian spiral rope Embellished peyote rope Twisted herringbone rope Chenille stitch rope Pearl spiral rope Indespiral rope Ruffled peyote rope Embellished right angle weave rope Viking's double rope Cop...

For quite awhile now, Russian leaves have been all over Pinterest.  I fell in love with them, but it took several months before I had the time to devote to them.  I want to give a special shout out to Linda of Linda's Crafty Inspirations blog.  She has posted oodles of examples and freely shares her color charts, which is a great way to get started!  In the examples that I'm showing you, I plan to use the ones above as pendants, and the ones shown below as earrings.  I have looked at a lot of different instructions for how to make these, and it comes down to just picking one that makes the most sense to you.  It is a bit hard to follow a chart unless you are already familiar with diagonal peyote stitch, but I followed Linda's advice and turned to Jill Wiseman .  You can download Jill's tutorial here, but before you tackle it, watch her instructional video .  If you follow along, you will pick this up in no time. Diagonal peyote is r...

More spirals, more beadweaving, more ropes!  Summer is almost over, and I am trying to fit in as many more ropes as possible.  I've been super-busy with other projects, so this one was probably the wrong one to choose, because it takes longer than some to achieve the length, and it also takes more time than some to get to the point where the alternating rows of stitching become automatic.  But I love it so very much that I couldn't resist :-) Aleta Ford Baker came up with the Indespiral and wrote about it in Bead&Button magazine back in October 2005.  "Inde" stands for increase-decrease, which is what allows the peyote stitching to end up with this awesome spiral.  It is also extremely stiff and can be used to form free-standing pieces, which is what inspired Aleta in the first place.  You can find her tutorial in her Etsy shop, Aleta Ford Baker Design ! Anyway, I stitched a long tube using two colors of size 11/0 round Czech seed bea...

It seems like each week that goes by, I end up liking the rope I finished more than the week before!  This time I'd have to say I like them about the same amount.  The chenille stitch necklace is still way up there for me, but it has a more casual vibe, whereas the one I made this week is all set for glamour.  Not over-the-top white tails glamour, but still... You could easily change this one up to be more casual by subbing other beads for the pearls.  Feel free to change up the color too.  Here's the simple instructions: 1. Follow the instructions for the simple spiral stitch found at the link on my blog.  I used red size 6/0 seed beads for the core beads.  2. The first few inches were stitched as follows: pick up 2 size 11/0 seed beads , 1 4mm pearl , and 2 more size 11/0 seed beads.  Work each loop over 4 core beads.  For the thicker middle section, simply substitute a 6mm pearl and work the rest the same.  3. On...

For my next beadwoven rope project, I chose to use chenille stitch .  I haven't really used it a lot, but I knew that it worked up fairly quickly into a rope that held its shape with no need of a core, and yet was soft enough to curve nicely. It turns out that it's just about the perfect stitch for a pretty rope!  I'll be doing this again for sure. There are several places you can get instructions for chenille stitch if you are not already familiar with it.  The way you'll use your needle is similar to peyote stitch, but there are two different rows that will alternate with slightly different thread paths. I made a rope slightly larger than the one in the sample at the link above.  Here's how I did it: 1. I start with a core of 8 size 11/0 seed beads (color A - shiny black) and make a loop.  Tie it, leaving a tail of at least 8 inches. 2. Add 4 size 11/0 seed beads (color B - matte teal), one between each pair of As.  Step up through first ...

I decided my next rope necklace would use herringbone stitch and a smaller size of seed beads .  Size 15/0s were a bit too small, though, so I settled for size 11/0s.  Next, I needed to decide how much of a twist!  The "secret" to creating a twist in herringbone is to stitch back up through more beads than you stitch down each time you take a stitch.  For example: you are adding two beads with each stitch.  You stitch down through one bead in that column, and back up three beads in the next column to begin your next stitch.  After a few rounds, you'll see the twist begin. I found a lovely pattern, very simple to do, in the book The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving by Carol Wilcox Wells.  She suggests alternating round seed beads with cylindrical ones.  You can see what happens!  Isn't that pretty how the cylinders recede?  I used round Czech size 11/0 seed beads and size 11/0 Delicas . Start with a ladder stitch and put toget...