Beaded Flowers - Day Two

I think the most exciting flowers that I make with this loopy technique are ones that start with six beads, three in each ring. It was a great day when I tried this variation, and it just keeps getting better. Begin with six beads, go through every other bead and pull the beads into this interlocking triangle arrangement. Actually, it will happen automatically when you snug up the thread. (I used 8/0 seeds for the center and 11/0 seeds for the loops on this flower.)

Begin the loops on one of the triangles as shown in the diagram. If you want more than one loop in each of these beads, add them now before moving to the next bead in this inner triangle, remembering that you are working on the back of the flower. This means that you will add more beads to the second and/or third loop before taking the needle to the next bead of this triangle.

Once you have the loops on the inner triangle, then move to the beads on the outer triangle and add the loops. It's strictly up to you as the designer of one of these flowers to decide how many and the length of each of these loops. This flower has three matching loops on two of the beads in the outer triangle: 10, 15, and 18 beads in the three loops on each side. Ah, but then came the fun. I made the loops larger on the other triangle as follows: 20, 25, and 30.

I finished this flower with a 6mm top-drilled crystal in the center. Then I took a good look at it. Is this a flower or a fairy? or maybe an angel? And could I make it into a dragonfly or some other kind of bug? This is going to be fun. I also think this technique could easily yield a beaded flower that resembled a pansy.




This photo below shows some other possibilities. The little flowers are made with 11/0 seed bead centers and 15/0 bead loops. The spiky one is a teaser for tomorrow's blog where I'm going to show you different kinds of loops.






Scarlett Lanson, The Beader's Muse, and a new regular columnist in Beadwork Magazine hosted a wonderful contest called "Use the Muse" over February and March. The "Big Reveal" was today. My bracelet is near the bottom in the gallery section. She's planning another contest very soon, and I know I'm going to enter. I hope each of you will also. This was the fastest turn-around on any contest I've ever entered, and since it was judged from photos, I didn't have to trust my piece to shippers and then wait for a long time for it to return home. It was a great experience!

Beaded Flowers - Day One

If you saw my Keishi Pearl bracelet in the February/March 2004 issue of Beadwork Magazine, you saw large loopy flowers created on a single circle, not a two-bead peyote start. That was then, this is now. Today I'm going to do a simple "loopy" flower with 11/0 seed beads and the two-row peyote start as explained "In The Beginning."



Here's the starting circle with two rows of peyote and 5 beads in the round. I've used two different metallic beads for the rows. I start adding loops on the inner or first row of the circle as shown in the diagram.


String on 5 beads and take the needle back through the same bead and then through the next bead in the inner row as shown by the arrow. In other words, skip the bead in the outer row and go through the next one on the inner row. This snugs up the inner row as you proceed around adding the loops.

Start adding the loops to the outer row of beads. I always work from the back, adding the next size loop all the way around. It's a lot easier for me to get to this bead than to work from the front and try and get to the next bead that needs a loop. The diagram shows a 9-bead loop, the photo shows an 11-bead loop. It can be any size you want.

Skip the bead from the inner circle and take the needle through the next bead in the outer row as shown at the arrow. Complete adding the loops all the way around.



You can stop here if you want or you can continue adding loops until the flower is as full as you want. I usually make each succeeding loop larger by four to six beads; I like an odd count for these loops.


If you want a lot of loops, use a #10 Delica or an 8/0 on the outer inital ring and use a lighter weight thread. I used moss Wildfire on the yellow/peach flower, and I had some trouble getting the needle through for the second loop. I used 4-lb crystal Fireline on the yellow flower--a better choice.





Fusion Beads posted a new tutorial for a right-angle-weave beaded bead today. It looks great made with crystals.