Why Not Make a Beaded Button?

We all know about beaded beads, ideally a self-supporting, rigid, regular structure made up only of smaller beads. Well how about beaded buttons? A quick trawl of the net turns up mostly buttons made up from a covered button base, with seed beads over the top. I think that it is time to make more self-supporting, rigid, regular and robust beaded buttons!

When I make a piece of jewellery, it is an essential design element to finish it off with a clasp that is in keeping with the actual work. I quite often make a button and loop. Though I could use a toggle and loop, it's just personal taste. Of course a loop and button of the same beads as the work is best.

A button shape is preferable to a round shape because a loop needs a really close fit to keep from slipping off a round bead, but it will catch easily behind a flat button shape.

Pellet beads + Chaton, Tila Beads, and Seed beads + Chaton, beaded buttons

These beaded buttons could also be used on actual clothes, for example a skating dress that already had lots of gems and embroidery, (that was destined only for the dry cleaners).

Another beaded button that I have made is on the Buttercup Bracelet. Each buttercup is effectively a button, so the bracelet can be fastened to any length, by choosing which button to put the loop over.

Buttercup Bracelet

And finally a four-square beaded bead on my Rainbow Helix Bracelet

Rainbow Helix Bracelet

So there's definitely plenty of scope for making beaded buttons. It helps to start with a flat shape of bead, such as a tila bead. Keep it simple, the finished bead must be robust enough to stand some manipulation when pushed through a loop, and that loop does not need to be too tight.

Right, I'm off to make some pyramid beaded buttons! 

Keep a look out for other beaded buttons that might be out there, I would love to know where they are?

This blog has now moved to :TooTallToBead.co.uk

Herringbone Weave with Superduo Beads

Pattern now available on my etsy store! Here

Ever since I first came across superduo beads, I felt sure that they could be woven such that they made a herringbone pattern, just like brick pavements.
Looking on the net the closest that I could find was this, by the Potomac Bead Co (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzkgPVH5cyo) but this also incorporated seed beads, so it was not what I was looking for, though it is a lovely design.

I found a gold bracelet that was exactly what I was looking for, but made of actual gold!

So with this inspiration in mind, I set about many failed attempts, and lots of wasted thread, before I cracked it.

First Successful Herringbone Weave.

It comes out a bit like knitting, in that you do a cast on row, several "knit" rows, and then a cast off row.

The next thing was to make it more interesting, by making it stripy and tying a knot in it...

...or by adding a picot edge. (Also covers the side threads)

..or by capturing a rivoli

So lots of variations then, though the rivoli capture is a bit fiddly, and reminds me of a shortbread biscuit!

What I need to know is if anyone else has come up with the same thing? It seems an obvious thing to do with a superduo bead to me, so I'm sure that someone else would have found this too.

So, if you have found this elsewhere please let me know! I would love know if it was unique!!

Bonne Perler

Please note this blog has now moved to my website: TooTallToBead.co.uk

The Lost Stitch? Square Stitch!

I have just completed my latest project currently called, for want of a better name The Wiggly Bracelet. I came to make it because I needed a break from duo beads, I've been playing with them too much!
Thinking about ways of using czech, two holed, tile beads, I decided to make a ric-rac inspired bracelet, with what I thought might be called a variation on herringbone weave, but with uneven bead counts, originally with four strands, but it turned out that three strands worked best. 
Any way I made this:-

Wiggly Bracelet with beaded bead clasp.

However, its been bugging me all week what this herringbone-like stitch might be called?

Well, the penny dropped yesterday, and I remembered that it is called square stitch. 

Now, I'm not sure that I have seed anything made in this stitch for a really long time, it is really useful for surrounding focal beads, and it goes around corners!

So lets all have a go designing something in square stitch, bring it back!!!

What followed is a Double Wiggly Bracelet, also with beaded bead. 

Here' s a close up of my beaded bead. I'm calling it the Impossible To Teach beaded bead. It's really pretty, and tactile, but you have to do so many thread passes to make it stable, that I'm sure nobody but me could be bothered!

Let me know what you think about square stitch!

Bonne Perler!

Using Paper Patterns in Beadwork Design

I'm sure that everyone has been doing this since forever, but I only just thought of it, so I will share!
When I am designing a necklace, I previously had trouble making it into a shape that will lie flat on the neck when it is being worn. This of course does not apply to strung pieces, as they will naturally fall into the most natural shape.
If the shape that you are trying to achieve is two, or even three dimensional there is little or no flexibility within the shape, so the piece has to be the correct shape or else it will twist or flip over as it goes around the curve of the neck, for example a triangular shaped necklace like my 'Windows ans Arches' necklace.

This week I have been making a version of my 'Princess's Daisies' design, in a different colour, and shape, so that it can be worn with a scoop necked top.

I made a simple paper pattern, and then placed the component parts on it. These daisies can either be joined with two petals or one, this is dependant on whether they have an even or odd number of petals. (I have made lots of different sizes.)
Where they join with two petals, the shape is set, where they join with one petal the shape is flexible. So there is still some flexibility in this particular design from the single petal joins.

I made the alternating larger daisies first. Then, starting at the front I made the smaller daisies, which I placed on the pattern so that I could see which petals to join to create the correct curve. I worked my way from the front to the back placing a small daisy in each gap.

I will definitely be using this approach in future when I make less flexible designs. 
I should have thought of this last week when I was making my Large Celtic Triangle necklace, but I can still use it for the re-design.

Finished necklace

Midnight Daisies Necklace

Designed for my favourite scoop necked top.

Playing With Paisley

I currently have two patterns, Windows and Arches, and The Princess's Daisies that I have been exploring to find what other shapes and designs I can bend them into. 

I really like paisley shapes, they are naturalistic, and not symmetrical. Here are my first two paisleys, one in each pattern:

Paisleys made with my two patterns, windows and arches above, princess's daisies below.

To go with the top paisley I have made lots of different shapes that I am going to join together to make a lacy cuff, maybe it will come out a bit like irish crochet

To go with the bottom paisley I have brought a large swarovski triangle to be the centrepiece of a very glitzy necklace, and I would love to surround it with more paisleys, and riviol  bezels. 
It was pretty tricky to capture the triangle, I needed about three extra fingers to hold it in place! 

Centre piece, and beginning paisley for a glitzy necklace

Here's my sketch.

Huge Triangle necklace, initial sketches. 

I'll keep you posted with the latest developments!

Bonne Perler!

This blog has now moved to: TooTallToBead.co.uk

Windows and Arches, The Next Step?

Windows and Arches, The Next Step?

I have spent a couple of weeks teaching 'Windows and Arches' to my class. But I have been thinking about where to go with it next. I made a statement necklace that just uses the bracelet pattern up either side, then has a corner centre front and a dangle. The dangle gave me the opportunity to put a rivoli bezel inside a loop. 

Windows and Arches Necklace

Having added the bezel, I designed a bracelet with Arches and Bezels called 'I've Got My Eyes On You". I like the way that using dark purple beads on the bezels enhance the rich colours of the chatons. In fact I lost the first version of this, so I had to make a replica immediately as I was so pleased with the result. Someone out shopping had a lucky find!

I've Got My Eyes On You! Bracelet

The next step seems to be to explore celtic knot variations. 
Using a simple triangle knot (thanks Gerri for the idea), I made some variations, but I'm not sure that I am happy with any of them!
The question is whether to allow the strands to physically cross each other, which adds a dimensional element to the design, or to use a single window (little square filled with four bicones or 11/0 seed beads), to create a junction. Here are my variations:

           Little Fat Triangles        - Long Slim Triangles            - Over and Under Triangle

The little fat triangles are definitely no good because they don't lie flat. I quite like the Long slim triangles, but they would make a very wide bracelet, so maybe for a necklace. 
My current favourite is the over and under triangle. The problem with this one is that you need to use a stiff tension, and secretly join the overlaps to prevent it from being too unstable. (Instability is the curse of beadweavers!!!). All of the abovehave lost the lovely flow that the original design has. 
I also made a huge triangle knot necklace, using the four pane windows, and weaving the strands. With this I'm not yet happy with the way the strands wiggle as they cross over and under each other.  I will wear it to get some reactions, then maybe change the way that the strands weave.

Large Celtic Triangle Necklace

Maybe I'm just being fussy?

Or is it the scissors for this one?

Too Tall for Clothes, Alterations #1 and #2

Too Tall Alteration #1. Add Something Around the Bottom (of a Skirt or Dress!)

I recently purchased a black jersey dress in the sales. It is flattering and comfortable, and very cheap, but unfortunately made for someone much shorter than me! Though in my younger days I used to be able to get away with micro-mini skirts, I think I had better leave that to my teenage daughters these days!
For Christmas I received a knitting book called 'Knitting Over The Edge' by Nicky Epstein. This covers the many possibilities for cuffs, collars, button bands and edgings, but it does expect you to knit the rest of the jumper as well!
Not wanting to do that much knitting, my cunning plan was to lengthen the dress by knitting my own lace edging.
Obviously there are many ways of adding something to the bottom of skirts and dresses, but it needs to look like it was intended, rather than added after. Being black it was easy to match the colour. I chose merino four ply from Debbie Bliss. Using the pattern for "Angel Lace" from page 90, I knitted two shore pieces for the sleeves, and one long one for the hem.

 Finished Dress

Detail of lace around the hem

Lacy pieces, being blocked.

A pleasing result, though it required quite a lot of skill to get the lace sewn on without 'growing' the jersey of the dress too much. (large  zig-zags required!)
This is definitely a technique that I will return to in the future. I can't wait to knit some lace in an outrageous colour to compliment some future summery outfit.

Too Tall Alteration #2

You know when you buy some tights, but despite being the biggest size, they still do not reach all of the way up your legs? (or if you shrink your favourite pair?)
My best tip for this situation: Cut the toes off!
I have done this many times. The first time I zig-zagged the raw edge of the tights, but I soon realized that this is not necessary because the knit is too fine to ladder. on thick tights, I have not tried fine ones, as I don't tend to wear them.
I was even brave enough to snip off the toes of my favourite Falke tights,. They are fine, much more comfortable, and they have not laddered. Hooray!

Be brave, give them the chop!

Too Tall Alteration #2a The Big Chop! 

Another misguided sales acquisition of mine was a jersey velvet dress. In this case I just chopped below the bra-line, to make a skirt. I made a small casing around the top for elastic, all done! Though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the remaining top part?
The middle section between the bra line and the waistline added extra much needed length to the skirt. Its great for skating!

Nice Skirt, Shame About the Top!

Happy chopping, and please send me any tall alterations queries if you have them!
I'm sure I would have encountered nearly all variations of these problems!

Meshing Duo Beads Together

I have recently seen some examples of super-duo beads meshed together in a herringbone pattern, which forms a wide strip e.g. for a bracelet. (What a mathematician might call tiling a plane). This set me thinking that there may be other ways to 'tile' with duo beads, so that they form a flat surface, maybe with an occasional seed bead to fill a hole.
I also have some large spherical haematite beads in need of a project. These spherical beads are 10 mm diameter and coloured gold. They looked like they needed radiating beads to make them into little sunbursts, or maybe sunflowers, but how to mesh them together?
This leads to all sorts of odd numbers problems, for example, if you have to mesh 2 beads, they will need 3 beads to mesh into.
The solution was to use 9 beads onto each round bead, and to work down one side, and then up the other, linking into the first row as you go. Just a couple of seed beads were needed to fill the holes, and even out the pattern. The finished result is very pleasing, especially because there are a correct number of pattern repeats to fit my wrist!

Spot the join! 

I love it when I am able to design a clasp that exactly matches the design of the piece. In this case there are two of the round beads to fit into the two holes. I used two, to make it safer, as spherical buttons are not very secure!

This is a very chunky, dramatic bracelet, which is not for everyone, I know, so I'm going to make a variation that uses smaller rounds, or possibly crystals. Also I really want to see if I can expand the pattern to have three rows of round beads.

Meanwhile in the same vein I designed a very simple  bracelet, with some of the same ideas. 

Called "Little 'O's Bracelet", it is a chain of meshed circles. You can find the tutorial here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/177433249/tutorial-for-little-o-bracelet?

Stop press! I just realized that it would be much better with "crystalettes"  in a few of the 'O's.

Little 'O's bracelet, with Crystalettes.

Fun, fun, fun, there's so much you can do with super-duo beads!

And don't forget to follow me if you like my blog...please!!

Windows and Arches goes Three Dimentional

If you have been following me on Facebook, then you will know about my design 'Windows and Arches' which is a modular design where you first make the windows, then join them with the arches. This allows for many design variations.

The Original Bracelet

The Necklace Variation with added Rivoli Bezel

Last weekend it struck me that this can, of course, be applied to beaded beads. The main adaptation is that now the windows are triangular and pentagonal, as well as square. I substituted seed beads for the bicones that were in the original windows, and here is the result:

Left to Right: Tetrahedron, Octahedron, Cube, Dodecahedron and Icosahedron.

I couldn't help making each one slightly different. The cube has 4mm bicones in each corner, the Dodecahedron has a 12mm round rock crystal inside it, and the Octahedron has 8mm chatons framed inside four of the faces. This was by far the most difficult bit!

Placing an 8mm chaton inside the octahedron faces, very fiddly to do the last one!

Having done this exercise I found that for a square or triangle window, 11/0 seed beads are the best size, but for the pentagonal window 8/0 seed beads are best and very satisfactory!
Inspired be this I made another icosahedron, with four colours of window. To make sure that no two adjacent windows are the same colour, I had to print off an icosahedral net, and then colour in the points until I had solved this puzzle.

Finished Four Colour Icosahedron

And finally, when I had completed this one, I fancied doing a more lacy version, so I added a hexagon of 6 seed beads in each corner. This gives the effect of separating the faces more clearly, and making the hollow centre more obvious. Very pleasing :-)

Completed Lacy Icosahedron

Beaded beads necklace

The beaded beads make a lovely necklace, I squished the tetrahedron inside of the cube. Nice.

Knitting Break: What to do With that Yarn you Brought in the Sale!

Knitting Break: What to do With that Yarn you Brought in the Sale!

Version 1 with a Top Notch Fringe!

It is at this time of year that you just need to settle down in front of a log fire, and an old movie, and knit something. Handily the local knitting shop is full up with wooly bargains. I couldn't help but buy two 100g hanks of Noro 'Kogarashi' the beautiful japanese yarn that is half silk, half wool (and a little bit of straw!). I bought this yarn because the colour varies throughout the hank in shades of pink green and white. 

The idea was to knit a scarf where the rows are slanted, this effect being exaggerated by the colour variation. Then to use my new  fringe twister, to make a top notch fringe !

Version 1. 

(Please buy your own yarn in the sales, and vary the number of stitches to produce a 12-13 cm wide scarf to your own liking!)

Note: I almost always use a shortish circular needle, the lack of long needle ends makes the frequent turns much quicker.

For Noro 'Kogarashi' Yarn Using a 6.5 mm circular needle

First wind off enough yarn to make the fringes, and keep safe.

Increase section

Make a slip stitch, knit into it, Turn

(RS) Knit into front, back, front, of the stitch. (3 from 1),Turn, 

(WS) Knit to end, turn (3 stitches).  

(RS) M1 (by knitting into the front and back of the stitch) K1, M1, turn  (5 stitches)

(WS) Knit to end, turn

(RS) M1, K3, M1 (7 stitches)

(WS) Knit to end, turn

Continue increasing it this way until you have 27 stitches, ending in a WS row. Note the 27 stitches are across the diagonal, the scarf finished width can be measured along the straight edge.

Main section

Next row:

(RS)Slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over, (we will call this D1), Knit to last stitch, M1, turn

(WS) Knit to end, turn

Repeat these two rows until you have nearly finished the hank of yarn, or the scarf is the desired length.

Decrease section

Next row:

(RS) D1 knit to last two stitches K2tog, turn (25 stitches)

(WS) Knit to end, turn

Repeat these two rows until 3 stitches remain, ending with a WS row.

(RS) Slip 2, K1, Pass slipped stitches over. (1 stitch)

Cut yarn, and pass through the loop. Pull tight.

Weave in the ends, and add fringes!

This of course was not enough, as I then thought: What if I made sections of alternating slant directions?

Version 2

Save some yarn for the fringe.

Work the increase section as before, ending with a (WS) row. (27 stitches)

Diagonal Decrease Section

(RS) D1,  K24, turn.     Leave 1 stitch on the LH needle.(26 stitches)

(WS) K25, turn.

(RS) D1, K22, turn.     Leave 2 stitches on the LH needle. (25 stitches)

(WS) K23, turn.

Continue in this way until there are 14 stitches remaining.

(If you have a different number of stitches to start with, the number remaining at this stage will be (TOTAL-1)/2+1  )

Diagonal Increase Section

(RS) M1, K1 turn, (12 stitches left on the LH needle)

(WS) K3, turn.

(RS) M1, K3, turn, (11 stitches left on the LH needle)

(WS) K5, turn.

Continue in this way until you have incorporated all of the stitches on the LH needle and you have 27 stitches again.

Do not do a WS row.

Turn. This is now the RS.

Now work the Diagonal decrease section.

Version 2

Repeat these two sections until the scarf is of the desired length, or you are nearly out of yarn.

Work the decrease section.

Work in the ends, and add the fringes.

Fringe Twister in Action!

The finished scarf is soft, but thick, with a lovely texture, and feels quite japanese with this simple geometric design.

Happy Knitting!

(If you spot a mistake in the pattern, or cannot understand what I mean, please drop me a line and I will elaborate!)

Here's the finished versions side by side. I love the way that the colours softly fade into each other.