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

Evolution of a Design

Today I just wanted to tell you how a design evolves, one thing leads to another, and that leads to a whole new design!

In my last blog I spoke about the rivoli pendant captured with pellet beads (No 1.). I also found that peanut beads share a property with pellet beads, that of having a 'groove' that will hold onto the edge of a rivoli when joined correctly, and they come in two sizes.

The next thing that I made was a rivoli surrounded by large peanut beads (No 2.). The round ends of the peanut beads reflect the light in a very satisfactory way when placed in this orientation, with the round end up.

My third effort was to use pellet beads, but to add extra rounds of peanut beads, large, then smaller ones. This design, though pretty is a little unstable at the edges, so I'm not completely happy with it. This is probably because there are too many beads for the space, on the outer round.

My next two are the ones on the Nottingham bead show entry. One being a pellet bead rivoli, and the other being the 'splash' which is two rows of the smallest peanut beads.

I had a eureka moment when I realized that because the concentric circles get bigger moving out from the centre, it would make sense to use the smallest beads in the middle, and the largest beads on the outside. And so the 'Waterlily' pendant was created (No 4.). This is my new favourite!

A few weeks ago I had been looking at possibilities for 'Rulla' beads. I wanted to make some small elements for modular beadwork (i.e. where lots of elements are made, then joined into a final design later).

I came across these again, and realized that the design is much better suited to peanut beads, as this design makes no use of the second hole in the rulla bead. Also that these flowers can be made with various numbers of petals. Then if I make a seven petalled flower, will a 8mm rivoli fit in the middle?

Well there was some experimentation, and I could not make the rivoli stay, but when I used the previous method of securing the rivoli, and then built up the petals afterwards, I had a nice little shiny flower.

Lots of little flowers later, with two, three, four five and six petals,  and a couple of rivoli centred flowers, and there's a new design, 'Lacy Flowers'

A pair of lacy flowers will also make a lovely pair of earrings, and I hope to make a necklace with a network of flowers all joined into a big triangle.

Its nice when one thing leads to another, and the result is so pretty!