Daily Blogs : Bead Crochet, Stringing, Brick Stitch

Happy Anniversary and a Giveaway!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:00 GMT

I can hardly believe it, but yesterday marked one year since I started at Beading Daily! It's been such an amazing year, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all the writing and beading that has gone along with it. Time flies when you're having fun, and I've been having a lot of fun interacting with beaders and artists all over the world.

And because I love my readers, I thought I'd round up the ten most popular blogs I've done on Beading Daily since I started last May. There's some great information here, and great comments from readers, too!

		Use Peyote Stitch and Herringbone to Make a Triangle-Shaped Bezel Once I discovered how much fun it was to stitch bezels around triangle-shaped cabochons, I just had to share! Handmade cabochons are so much fun to use in your beading projects, and being able to make a secure peyote stitch bezel for cabochons with an unusual shape can really let you explore more beaded jewelry design possibilities. These triangle shaped bezels work up fast, so have fun!

		Tips for Traveling with Your Beads Oh, yes, I try to take my beads with me everywhere I go! Whether you're going to your local beading group's get-together or traveling halfway around the world for a beading class with a master bead artist, it takes a little bit of planning to make sure that you bring everything you need. There are some great tips in this post for traveling with your beads because, really, you CAN take them with you.

		How Do You Start Your Bead Crochet Ropes? Bead crochet is one of those things that I really love to do, but just can't seem to find the time to do very often. If you struggle with starting your bead crochet ropes, there are two methods here for you to try. Just like anything else worth learning, there's rarely a one-size-fits-all approach to learning a new beading technique!

		The Peyote Stitch Patterns of Carol Dean Sharpe Carol Dean Sharpe's amazing peyote stitch beading patterns continue to be bestsellers in the beading world. For anyone who knows about her beautiful, graphic peyote stitch beading patterns, this is a wonderful interview where Carol shares how she got started designing beading patterns. If you haven't yet discovered Carol's peyote stitch cuff bracelet patterns, you're in for a wonderful treat!

		The Secret for Perfect Peyote Stitch Bezels? Brick Stitch! Brick stitch gets a bad rap, I think. It was the first beadweaving stitch that I taught myself when I first learned how to bead, and I still use it as a go-to beading stitch when I'm designing my own beaded jewelry. Brick stitch works in perfect harmony with peyote stitch to create secure, perfect-fitting bezels for all your favorite cabochons!

		What Do You Do With Leftover Beads? Huh? What are leftover beads, again? No, really, whenever you finish a project, chances are that you're left with a little pile of beads that aren't really enough to do anything with. Check out my suggestions, and some suggestions from readers, on what to do with your leftover beads so that they don't go to waste. (As if that would ever happen!)

		Four Fun Ideas for Making Beaded Earrings Beaded earrings are a huge favorite with beaders everywhere, for so many reasons. Beaded earrings usually work up pretty fast, they help you master new beading techniques, and beaded earrings make great gifts. Best of all, beaded earrings are perfect for beginners who are just learning how to bead because you can make spectacular looking earrings using very basic beading techniques!

		Wrapped Around Your Wrist: 6 Free Beaded Bracelet Patterns from Beading Daily One of the fun things I get to do here at Beading Daily is to put together collections of patterns into free eBooks for beaders to download, and this beaded bracelet eBook was a lot of fun to edit. Beaded bracelets are another fun beading project for beginners who are just learning how to bead for all the same reasons that we love beaded earrings. But the advantage of making and wearing a beaded bracelet is that you can look down at your beautiful beadwork on your wrist all day long!

		Readers Share: A Bounty of Brick Stitch Projects Well, this was by far the most popular blog post during my first year here at Beading Daily. Apparently, the readers and beaders of Beading Daily really, really love their brick stitch beading projects. Maybe brick stitch doesn't have such a bad rap, after all...

		Start With: A Simple Strip of Peyote Stitch It's amazing how a plain strip of peyote stitch can go from drab to fab with just a few little twists. We all know how versatile peyote stitch is, but even in its simplest form, it can still be a great way to make gorgeous beaded jewelry.

So now that we've had that little walk down memory lane, how about a giveaway? Leave a comment on this blog post telling me which blog you enjoyed the most in the last year on Beading Daily or tell me something you'd like to see me write about in the future. I'll choose two comments at random and the writer of those comments will each win a pack of five (5) assorted back issues of Beadwork magazine and Jewelry Stringing magazine! You have until Monday, May 7, 2012 at midnight EST to leave your comment. Good luck!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Brick Stitch O-Ring Necklace and 12+ Free Projects!

Michelle Mach — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:05:00 GMT

Every Friday I share a free project on Beading Daily. Today, in honor of Beading Daily's one year anniversary, I wanted to introduce you to a bunch of projects--all the projects from the current season of Beads, Baubles, & Jewels which runs on public television. ...(read more)

Attention Seed Beaders!

MichelleM — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:00:00 GMT

Hello seed beaders! I bet you thought I forgot all about you, didn't you?

One of the wonderful things—as well as one of the challenges—about Beading Daily is that every bit of the beading world is being covered. This is a very diverse group—we have almost equal numbers of stringers, wireworkers, and beadweavers—plus a host of other folks who enjoy bead embroidery/embellishment, beadmaking (polymer clay, lampworking, metalwork, etc.), loomwork, bead crochet, bead sculpture, and a whole slew of other beady adventures. If you ever feel that I'm neglecting your part of the beading world, please drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see.

So back to working with seed beads . . .

When I was looking through Mastering Beadwork for a possible Beading Daily project, I felt completely overwhelmed. Which project should I choose? The classic netted pearl collar? The peyote-stitched card case emblazoned with stars? The cabochon securely wrapped with brick stitch? The penta-petal bead created with triangle weave? Every day I had a new favorite. So I finally took the easy way out and asked the author, Carol Huber Cypher, to recommend a project from her book for the intermediate or advanced seed beaders on the Beading Daily list. She selected the Harlequin Bracelet, which uses the African Helix stitch. When I asked her why, she gave this terrific answer:

"Harlequin would be a fine choice. There is the thrill of four differently colored panels separated by checkerboard piping. If the beadweaver hasn't learned African helix already, it is a fun start. It calls on transitioning to peyote AND embellishing the join with fringe! Yippee! Plus a beaded toggle closure."

Doesn't her description just make you want to drop everything and try this project right now?

Fringe! I'll admit that I wasn't familiar with African Helix before this project. It looked a little like bead crochet to me. So what is African Helix anyway?

Here's what Carol said: "African Helix stitch produces a gently swirling rope of three or more panels separated by raised piping. It has more in common with bead crochet and stringing than with bead-weaving, because once the beads are picked up on the thread they are never passed through again. Unlike other off-loom bead-weaving techniques, the beads are incorporated into the beadwork solely by anchoring the thread that carries them to the thread between two previously placed beads."

But what about brick stitch?

"Brick stitch," Carol explained, "does rely on anchoring thread to thread, but it also requires passing back through the new bead."

Beaded toggle! What kinds of projects work well with African Helix?

"This stitch is great for using those cherished beads that have vexing tiny holes such as pearls and gemstones. (Though, gemstones often have ragged holes that break thread.) I love size 12 stripey Czech beads, whose holes can be pesky for peyote and impossible for right-angle weave, but, quite all right for African Helix."

I'll have more from Carol on Friday—she's graciously agreed to answer your questions. So start thinking up what you'd like to know about seed beads or beadweaving or even felted beads. (Carol is also the author of Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads and How We Felt.) You'll be able to post questions right here on Beading Daily.