For a beader, making beads out of beads is, as Carol Wilcox Wells observes in her book The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving, "a double dose of pleasure, nirvana!" The possibilities for making these little beauties seem truly endless, limited only by the beader's imagination. They allow us to use up odds and ends from the beader's stash and experiment with color, texture and form on a small, manageable scale. I've written a simple "recipe" for a beaded bead I often use in my own designs. The bead is a basic peyote tube worked in the round and embellished with surface netting. Depending on your choice of materials, the beads can be elegant and dressy or casual and playful. Make one to wear singly on a chain or make any number to string together for a unique and personalized look.
Materials:
For the Base: Size 11° seed beads in 2 colors, A & B
Size 8° seed beads, C
For the Embellishments:
Seed beads in sizes from 15° up to 6°
3- or 4-mm round or bicone crystals or fire polished beads
3- or 4-mm glass pearls
Thread: 6# test braided or nylon (such as Nymo D) bead thread in a color to suit your choice of beads. (Note: A bit of thread does show in this bead design. I like to let the thread be a design element and use a pretty color, either contrasting with or complimenting the bead colors. If you use nylon thread, be sure to string any crystals carefully, straight onto the thread and not from an angle, to avoid shredding and possibly cutting the thread.)
Beading needles: Size 12
Microcrystalline or beeswax
Scissors
Mandrel (optional, a good size for these beads is a manicure stick you can buy in the drugstore.)
To Make the Base:
On a wingspan of waxed thread, thread on a beading needle, and string twelve 11° beads, alternating between A and B. Pass through all the beads again and through the first B once more. Pull the threads tight to form a ring.
Working peyote stitch in the round, work as follows:
Work two peyote rounds with B, stepping up after each round through the first bead added in that round.
Work three peyote rounds with C, stepping up after each round.
Work three peyote rounds with B, stepping up after each round.
Work one peyote round with A, but DO NOT STEP UP.
To Embellish:
There are 11 rounds of peyote stitch in the base. You will embellish rounds 2-10.
Rnd 1: Pick up three 15 ° and pass through the next base bead in the round, net added. Repeat around and step up through the first B in the next round.
Rnd 2: Work a 15°, an 11° and a 15° in each bead in this round; step up.
Rnd 3: Work three 11° in each bead in this round; step up.
Rnds 4, 5 and 6: work an 11°, any bead or crystal size 8° (3mm) or larger, and an 11° in each bead in this round; step up.
Rnd 7: Repeat Rnd 3.
Rnd 8: Repeat Rnd 2.
Rnd 9: Repeat Rnd 1.
As you work, allow the embellishments to sit on top of the base round you’re working in. These beads become quite chunky and crowded,particularly as you work the last rows. Sometimes it can be hard to see which round to work into. If you have that problem try alternating colors in the base beads; this may make it easier to see what bead to work into.
After finishing embellishment Rnd 9, work the thread ends through Rnds 1 and 2 of the base beads, taking a few half hitches here and there to secure the thread. Trim the thread ends.
Experiment to your heart’s desire with these beads! I’ve named them Serendipitous Beaded Beads because there are so many unexpected discoveries in the making of these simple elements. Once you understand the basic recipe, experiment by making the base longer (work more base rounds) or wider (use up to size 6° beads in the base). Make a more tubular bead by using the same size base and embellishment beads on every round. In the central section of the bead, vary the net size from three beads up to five or seven. Make a very formal bead by mirror imaging both sides, or make a free-form bead, letting bead choice vary from round to round. These are remarkably versatile beads and a great deal of fun to make!
Happy Beading!
Callie