I was thinking of the different types of seed bead chains you can make and which ones were really easy so naturally I thought of the spiral rope chain!

There are only three steps and you can make a really striking piece with it. It can be used for loads of different jewellery such as bracelets, necklaces, chokers - in fact, if you need any eye-catching strappy sort of thing then the spiral rope chain is probably a good way to go. Once you’ve got the hang of the basics then you can start to experiment with different coloured and sized beads or perhaps put a focal point in the centre of two chains to make a necklace etc. The effects can be as wild as you want them to be…

All you need is:

11/0 seed beads in two colours (A + B)

Colour co-ordinated thread    (I like using Nymo thread - doubled if the chain is to have a lot of wear and tear!)

1. Double a strand of thread and pick up 4 beads of one colour (A) and then four beads of the other colour (B) - leave a long tail on the end so you can attach it to a clasp or whatever you are using the rope for.

   2.   Go through the A beads again in the same direction.

3. Pick up another A bead and 4 more B beads. Go through the second A bead you originally threaded and continue through the next 3 A beads.

Just keep repeating this pattern until you reach the length you want.

It’s unbelievably simple - just remember to keep your tension firm.

The credit crunch is hitting all of us but that doesn’t mean we have to go short on wearing beautiful jewellery! Not if you can make it for a fraction of the cost it would be in the shops!

The Nefertiti Bracelet is eye catching, beautiful and, most important of all, easy to make with no prior beading knowledge necessary as all the instructions are set out below. (O.K. it might help if you’ve picked up a needle and a few beads before…)

This bracelet is an extension of a basic ladder pattern and, of course, can be done in any colour you prefer but I thought by using gold, royal blue and a light sky blue, it gave it a sort of ancient Egyptian twist- hence the name. Although it looks delicate, it is deceptively strong especially when you use a nylon mono filament thread such as Firewire.

Materials needed for a bracelet measuring 19.5cms (including clasp):

Size 11/0 seed beads - gold, approx. 2 grams (264 beads)

                                     Royal blue, approx. 2 grams (221 beads)

                                     Sky blue, approx. 1 gram (68 beads)

2 x small gold plated jump rings

1 gold plated toggle clasp

Nylon mono-filament thread

Tools needed:

Beading needles

Scissors

Round nose pliers (for opening jump rings)

1. Take about 1.5m of thread and thread each end with a beading needle.

2. Pick up 1 sky blue bead and push it to the middle of the thread.

3. Now with each needle pick up 1 gold, 1 royal blue and 1 gold bead.

4. Thread 1 sky blue bead onto the left hand needle and then take the other needle through the same bead so the thread crosses over.

4. Continue using the colours in this way and repeat steps 2-4 until you reach the desired length of your bracelet (I repeated mine 32 more times).

6. Finish of the thread by weaving the ends back into your work and securing with half hitch knots.

7. Now take another length of line and again thread needles onto each end.

8. Repeat steps 1-5 again only this time incorporate the royal blue beads down one side of your ladder into your new work. -

Thread on 1 sky blue bead and then add on 1 gold, 1 royal blue and 1 gold on one side and on the other pick up 1 gold and then take the needle through the first royal blue bead in your existing ladder. Add another gold bead and then add a sky blue bead and cross over the threads.

(I’ve made the royal blue beads bigger in the picture so it’s easier to see which beads I’m actually talking about!)

9. Continue down the ladder, each time adding 3 beads on the outside edge and picking up 1 gold, taking the needle through the royal blue and adding another gold on the inside edge.

10. Now complete the border with royal blue beads on the outside edge of the whole bracelet by adding 2 beads between each existing royal blue beads all the way round.

11. Add 8 royal blue beads on each short end and weave the ends of thread back into work.

Remember!  Tie this thread extra securely as this is where you’ll be attaching the clasp and this part will get the most wear and tear when you take the bracelet on and off.

12. Attach a jump ring between the fourth and fifth bead on each short end and add one half of the clasp to the ring before you close it again.

And that is basically it! One designer bracelet without the designer pricetag!                                                           

The sizing of seed beads has always intrigued me. When I first started beading, I found the sizing notation quite confusing - why on earth did they always have a ‘0′ after the number? As I carried on beading, I sort of got used to it and just took it for granted that it was a small quirk of the beading world. However, I now realise there’s actually a method to this supposed madness!

Apparently, when mass production of beads was just starting, manufacturers decided that the most common size bead they made would be called the ‘null’ bead and therefore they labelled it size ‘0′. Beads that were bigger than this had increasing numbers going from ‘1′ upwards.

They came to a problem, however, when they started making seed beads. These beads were smaller than the null bead and correspondingly, they labelled the next size down ‘00′ and the next size after that: ‘000′.

You can probably see where I’m going with this - things were fine until the beads were of such a small size that it became pretty difficult to count the number of ‘0’s. Imagine 11, 12 or 15 ‘0’s in a row… it’s not hard to see that more often than not orders came back in the wrong size. That’s when a shorthand method was devised to specify the number of ‘0’s: 6/0, 11/0, 15/0.

This in turn evolved even further into a sign that you would be forgiven in mistaking for a degree symbol such as 6º, 11º and 15º

Anyway, that only tells us about why they labelled beads like this - it still doesn’t explain much about the actual size (unless, of course, you already know the original sizing of the null bead in the first place!) From what I can tell, most beads have a uniformity of size and the following chart should provide some answers:

The most important thing to remember, however, is that when you’re talking about seed beads, the higher the number, the smaller the bead will be.

Chevron chain stitch is a really great stitch to come to grips with. I have seen it called zig-zag stitch in other places which I suppose does fit when you think of how the beads are strung together but quite honestly, its not the name that counts but what the stitch actually looks like that matters!

The basics are quite simple and you can continue in rows and thereby cover quite a lot of space more quickly than you would with say, a loom woven piece or a one done in peyote stitch (you also use fewer beads…always a good thing if you think the colours you’ve got aren’t going to last the distance!)

I recently wanted to cover the outside of a miniature set of wooden drawers I had made because you could see loads of imperfections in the wood but I knew the amount of beads I had just wouldn’t be enough if I used brick, peyote or a loom stitch - hence the chevron chain stitch came to the rescue! You can see a section of it here. It also makes really pretty pieces of jewellery that have a lovely delicate look to them - imagine putting a clasp onto this piece and immediately you’ve got a stunning cuff bracelet.

Anyway - I’m going off the point - here are the basics:

(N.B. The beads in the drawings below are pulled apart so the direction of the thread can be more easily seen between them.)

1.Thread a stop bead onto your thread and leave about a 12- 15cm tail (around six to eight inches) Now thread on ten beads and take the needle back up through the first of the ten beads and pull tight so a loop of beads is made.

2.Now string on six more beads and take your needle through the fourth bead from the starting bead on your loop. Again take up any slack on the thread.

3. The rest of the row is basically repeating this last step remembering to take the thread back through the fourth bead of the last six beads you added until you have the desired length of stitching.

4. When you have the length you want, take the needle back through last beads so the thread exits at the bottom bead (the one high lighted in pink)

Add ten more beads. Take your needle back through the first bead and pull the thread through in order to make a loop. Now take the needle back through the same three beads of the last row (again highlighted in pink).

Continue to stitch the row as before but use the previous row of beads as the top line in the next row.

When you reach the end, weave the thread through the beads as you did at the last turn and stitch row 3.

Continue in this way until you reach your project’s length.

  As I said at the beginning, these instructions are only the basics -there are lots of variations to be made just by putting different numbers (and sizes)of beads on the outside edges. 

Chevron chain can be made 3-D as well so you can start to build 3 dimensional figures - just remember to use the right sort of thread and keep the tension suitably tight!

This stitch comes from a book called “Indian Beadweaving Patterns” by Horace Goodhue which was actually one of the first bead books available when it was published in 1971. It still holds its own today, however, as it provides a wealth of ideas for really beautiful designs for chain stitching and loom weaving - it’s been so popular that it’s been reprinted and you can now get it again on Amazon.

Anyway, I’m digressing again… back to this stitch. The Potawatomi weave is quick, simple and very addictive (!) it looks especially pretty as a choker when you add accent beads as dangles along its length.

I thought I’d add a picture of how the stitch actually looks so you can see what the choker will be like. I only used three colours but as you can see from the pattern - the colour arrangement is totally up to you.

For this choker, you will need:

• Seed beads size 11/0 in five colours (about 3g of each colour)
• 4-6mm accent beads x 20-30
• Nymo or Silamide beading thread (it doesn’t matter what you use so long as it’s strong enough to hold together in a necklace)

• A S-hook clasp
• A size 12 beading needle

Arrange the five seed bead colours in the order you want to string them and label them A-E.

1. Thread the needle with 1.8m (2 yards) of Nymo and string 5 colour ‘A’ beads onto the thread leaving a 20cm (8-in) tail. Make a loop by passing the needle back through the first two beads.

    2.  String 5 colour ‘B’ beads and then take the needle through the fourth colour ‘A’ bead and the second colour ‘B’bead. Notice the thread path in the picture and try to copy it. Remember to keep to a sort of looping motion so the needle always enters the bead from the bottom hole.

3. Now string 5 colour ‘C’ beads and once again take the needle through the fourth colour ‘B’ bead and the second colour ‘C’ bead. (You can probably see where I’m going with this now…) Continue in this way with all the five colours in order until you reach the length you want the choker.

4. It’s best to add a few loops now so the choker will be adjustable. Add 9 beads of the next colour in your pattern and make a loop by passing back through the middle 3 beads of the previous stitch.

      Retrace the thread path from beads 1 - 6 and add nine more beads in the next colour.  Again pass through the middle 3 beads of the previous loop and retrace the thread path from beads 1-6 again. Do this about five times so you can adjust the necklace to various sizes. Tie off the tail by going back through the loops with a few half-hitch knots. To make sure your knot doesn’t unravel, you could put a spot of nail varnish on the knot, which will secure it.

5. To add the dangles, you need to thread the needle again (with about 1.5m or 1½ yards). Now work from the end of the loops towards the beginning of the necklace. Choose which colour you would like the dangles to hang from and bring the needle up through the fourth bead of the row to the right of your chosen colour. (Leave a long enough tail so it can be tied off and neatened later) Follow the thread path and bring the needle out at the bottom of the fourth bead of the row for the dangle.
6. String two seed beads, one accent bead and another seed bead then go back through the accent bead and 2 seed beads.

7. Carry on retracing the thread path for that row and the following five rows until you come to the same colour again, where you want the next dangle.

8. Repeat steps 6-7 until you reach the end of the necklace.

After the last dangle, retrace the thread until you reach the first row you beaded. String 9 beads and the S-hook and make a loop as before. Secure the thread by taking the needle back through some beads and tie off with half hitch knots.

 I thought I’d put up the basic instructions for a seed bead daisy chain necklace or bracelet as I’m always being asked how it’s done and if it’s easy or not… well, here’s the good news:

 It’s REALLY simple!

Once you get the basics then you can make up several variations by working with different size beads and, of course, colours.

The actual daisy chain stitch can be done in 5 steps:

1. Put a stop bead on your thread and leave about a 12-15cm tail- so you can remove it at the end and add a clasp. Then pick up four beads of your main colour (MC) and one accent colour (AC) bead for the centre of each daisy. Go back through the first MC bead but go through it in the opposite direction. This makes the bottom half of your daisy.

2. Pick up another 4 MC beads and go through the fourth MC bead strung in the            previous step. Pull the thread tight so the beads come together to form the flower.

3. String 2 more MC beads and go throughthe 2 MC beads preceding them and continue through the first of the 2 new beads.  

4.    String an AC bead for the centre of the next daisy and 3 MC beads. Go up through the 2 beads added in the last step.

5.Thread on 3 more MC beads and complete the next daisy by going through the first MC bead you added in the last step. Pull the thread tight to form the two daisy heads.

Repeat steps 3-5 until you have the length of daisy chain you want.

Now just attach a clasp of your choice at each end and, voilà, you have a daisy chain bracelet/necklace!

I found this video and just had to share it with everyone. So take a few minutes out of beading and have a laugh… This baby is cool!

This is going to be short but sweet…

I said a couple of posts ago that I had got some real Miyuki Delica beads size 11/0 in about 20 colours and was going to sell them in the shop area of this blog at a cheaper rate than was more widely available in the U.K.. Obviously, I can’t guarantee that they’re the absolute cheapest but (as a well known lager company says) they PROBABLY are!!! 

Anyway, I had a few problems actually setting the shop pages up but they are now (hopefully) all sorted out and the shop is actually running. So if you want to grab some excellent Miyukis at a bargain price then head over now before they’re all gone.

As time goes by, the shop will expand and you’ll be able to get more beads, patterns and full kits for the most exquisite beading projects and jewellery - all for really good prices but right now the store is concentrating on supplying Miyuki Delicas at an absurdly low cost …so buy some while they’re still available.

First of all thread a bead onto your thread and leave about a 3-6 inch (about 7cm-12cm) tail then pass the needle through this bead again in order to create an anchor bead.

Now thread a number of beads on to the thread – it doesn’t matter how many so long as you end up with an even number (including your anchor bead). I’m going to use 6 but you may want to thread 8, 10, 12, 14 etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The drawing shows gaps between the beads just so you can see where the thread goes – in reality the beads will come together ready for the next row. The next step is to add row 2.Thread another bead (I’m using blue beads to show where row 2 starts and a green colour for the thread so its path can be seen more easily) then take the needle back through the second to last bead on the first row so the bead you have just strung fits snugly between the last 2 beads.Continue back along the first row adding beads between the ones of the previous row.

You’ll be able to start to see the structure of the stitch once you’ve completed row 2. Now start the next row.Thread another bead (this time we’ll make them pink) and take the needle back through bead 11. String the next bead and go back through bead 10. Continue adding beads and sewing through the previous row until you complete the line.   

Continue adding rows until you have your desired length. Keep the tension tight but not so tight as to make it inflexible. Mind you it all depends on what you are making – a bracelet needs to be beautifully flexible while a box needs to be sturdy and tough. It’s up to you – however, a good tip if you want to make a really solid piece is to use a very thin fishing wire like Firewire, if you keep the tension tight this will do the trick nicely.
And that, in a nutshell, is the basic even count flat peyote stitch!

As I was writing about bead boxes in my last post I started to think about the type of stitches you need to know in order to actually make them which in turn led me onto all the different types of basic bead stitching that there are – well the ones I’m familiar with anyway! Therefore I thought I’d write down some of the more well known ones so anyone new to beadwork will have a fighting chance when a pattern suddenly tells them that ‘this project uses tubular peyote stitch and square stitch’ or some other equally bewildering instruction which they’ve never heard of before!

To start off with I’m going to deal with the basics of peyote stitch (incidently, this is what you need for the miniature boxes…)

This is an ancient stitch which, to be quite honest is my favourite because the more you get used to it the more versatile it becomes. There are quite a few variations but it’s best to learn the even count flat peyote stitch first then you’ll see that all the other peyote stitches basically stem from this one.

I think it’s easiest if you start with size 11 seed beads.