Daily Blogs : peyote stitch

3 Tips for Strong Beadwork

Erin Carey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:52:00 GMT

How to stitch beadwork that lasts

It was a close friend’s birthday recently, so I made a card, printed out some photos, and included a CD. I put the items in a paper envelope, but realized the CD would break. So I added a piece of thick cardboard between the CD and photos and put everything in an even sturdier structure. But hmm . . . that fragile card looked a bit vulnerable, too . . . better cover that with some thin cardboard. . . . Believe me, by the time I got this thing in the mail, the postage must have tripled. The way it was wrapped, banded, taped, and sealed, the gift was prepared for a trip down Niagara Falls.


	The Bikers Bracelet by Kate McKinnon is well reinforced with a whip-stitched edge. This project uses seed beads and pearls in a simple and elegant variation of square stitch.

I easily spent a half-hour preparing that package, and it was just for its two-day trip on the mailman’s truck. But how many of us skimp on putting extra time into securing our beadwork for a lifetime of wear? I don’t mean just reinforcing loops and weak spots, but really strengthening the whole thing. This is especially important for those of us whose work will be handled a lot in addition to being worn. Here’s what I’m talking about:

Double up
If your beads have large enough holes and aren’t too fragile, it’s often best to use doubled thread when stitching your pieces. However, I have a hard time using doubled thread for new designs since I know I’ll be making mistakes and ripping out so often. In those cases, I use single thread and then re-stitch the entire (or most of) the thread path to reinforce the piece.

Whip it good
This whipstitching technique, which Kate McKinnon illustrates so beautifully in her Biker Bracelet in the recent publication Beadwork Presents: 41 Favorite Jewelry Designs, creates a binding along the edge of peyote- or brick-stitched beadwork. Here's how it's done:

1: Start a new thread that exits out through an edge bead of your piece. Pass the needle under the loop of exposed thread between the last bead exited and the adjacent one. (I like to pass from back to front so I can easily see where my needle is positioned.) Pull tight.

2: Repeat down the edge of the piece, stitching in the same direction, to form a tight binding.

3: If you’d like to create a bulky, almost cable-looking binding, repeat the whipstitch in the same spot more than once.

4: If desired, add a beaded embellishment along the binding’s edge.

Skinny dippin’
Not everyone’s a fan of this technique, but I fell in love with it as soon as bead artist extraordinaire Diane Fitzgerald clued me in. It involves dipping (or painting, as I do) a very thin coat of Future-brand clear acrylic floor wax on your finished pieces. I use a little plastic-bristled paintbrush to dab my beadwork after it’s completed, then drain it on paper towels. I check it every once in a while to make sure there’s no pooling. Not only does the acrylic firm up your beadwork, but the liquid gets inside the beads to coat the thread and strengthen it. I haven’t had any problems with yellowing or stickiness, but I highly recommend you test this technique before using it on your most special pieces; you’ll want to see if you like it. And please, please do a test on your beads before you start dipping. I haven’t had too many problems, but once the acrylic reacted to a special coating on a crystal and ruined a high-investment bracelet.

What super-strengthening techniques would you add to this short list? Please share your ideas here so we can all benefit.

New Beading Daily editor!

Leslie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:01:00 GMT

Hi! I'm so happy to be your new Beading Daily editor!

First and foremost I want to thank Michelle Mach, the founding Beading Daily editor, who has moved on. Michelle helped create an astounding online bead and jewelry community for all of us. We’ll miss her easy writing style and creativity from the past two years. Big cheers for Michelle! The good news is that she told me she'd be delighted to contribute from time to time. Share your wishes for Michelle on the forums!

Magazine scene

I’m thrilled to take up where Michelle left off as the new Beading Daily editor, and lots of you already know me. Perhaps you recognize my face from my photo in Step by Step Beads, for whom I’ve been the editor in chief for almost five years.

You may have taken one of my Bead Fest classes. Maybe you've seen my designs published in Beadwork, Step by Step Beads, Creative Jewelry, Easy Wire, or in a few Interweave books. I even did some technical illustrations for Beadwork.

A short history of an editor

Since getting my BFA in illustration from UArts in Philly, I’ve done a lot of things, and Interweave allows me to finally bring everything together! I was a copywriter and product designer for The Franklin Mint, wrote script cards for QVC, had art features published in Niche, American Style and The Surface Design Journal. I had my own business making wearable art, fabric sculptures and jewelry, selling at the American Craft Council shows and the Buyers Markets of American Crafts. I made my own blog web site and also sell on Etsy. I’ve even been a movie and TV extra. But mostly I love to bead!

Leslie's bead health tip for today:
Wear lots of jewelry as weight-bearing exercise!

Doodlebeads

Maybe because my dad was in the computer biz since they filled rooms, I’ve always loved the tech world. I was on the internet the second it was invented! I started making videos for my daughter’s school assemblies, then my personal blog, then as an Interweave editor. Next came video tutorials for Beading Daily. Called Doodlebeads because I draw out the thread paths as a teaching aid, these tutorials for beginner bead stitchers are already on Beading Daily in the How To section.

Beads, Baubles & Jewels

I love making jewelry, but mostly I love inspiring other people to make jewelry. I have experience in almost every medium and technique but my passion is seed beads. I was asked to teach Doodlebeads on Beads, Baubles & Jewels, the PBS TV show which Interweave sponsors. I just completed taping 12 episodes for the TV show, but a new Doodlebeads DVD with all 12 basic stitches will be in the Interweave store by the end of October of this year!

Beading Daily is yours, mine and ours!

Old friends or new, share what inspires you, what you want to learn, and what your most (or least) favorite posts are. One of the best things about beadingdaily.com is that we are so connected, you with me, me to you, you with each other. We have post comments to share, lively forums, galleries, contests, lessons, videos, Bead Fest bead show events-- so many ways to have a bead-in going all the time. So it’s your turn to tell me about yourselves. Beading Daily is ours! There is an amazing wealth of experience and humor being shared on Beading Daily, being tweeted and blogged and facebooked. So find a forum and let everyone know your wish list for Beading Daily. Who are you and what do you want? More videos? More projects? Which medium? Fewer, bigger, easier, more challenging? Bring it on! Please share your comments. It takes a village, right? Together, we’re making Beading Daily the best jewelry-making neighborhood around!

Happy beading!

Experiment with Caddis Weave: Free Bracelet Project

Michelle M. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:34:00 GMT

5 Unusual Stitches Every once in awhile, I come across a new beading stitch. Some of these are actually very old stitches (the "it's new to me" category), while others are variations of familiar stitches like herringbone or peyote. A few may be completely...(read more)

Which Stitch Are You?

Michelle M. — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:33:00 GMT

Beading Daily is a social network, so, like many other online communities, I’ve determined we need to have a ridiculous quiz. Normally this might require all kinds of in-depth questions in order to come to its conclusion, but why not just jump ahead to the answers, so you can pick for yourself? Then you can make the accompanying seed bead projects from the store to show off your inner stitch! ...(read more)

3 Ideas for Jewelry Bails, Plus Free Project

Michelle M. — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:39:00 GMT

Take a look at one of my recent bead purchases--tagua nut circles. Do you see the problem? No? Neither did I, until I started trying to design with them last weekend. ...(read more)

Learn Odd-Count Peyote: Free Video and Tips

Michelle M. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:03:00 GMT

Do you think odd-count peyote is a wicked ol’ stitch? Does the extra time and tangle to make that quirky figure-8 twist at the end of every row just burn you up? ...(read more)

Free Video: Learn Peyote Stitch Today

Michelle M. — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:50:00 GMT

In my beginner tap class we practice the basic steps over and over. Single taps, single flaps. The fun part is adding sounds to the basic taps, taking a shuffle and making it double shuffle, then combining basics into a time step, a double time step, a triple buck time step! The more sounds we make, the better it sounds! Plus, we put attitude into our arms, shoulders and hands to further embellish the basics. Though we are mostly beginners, we have advanced dancers taking our class to keep their basic skills sharp. ...(read more)

4 Ways to Finish Flat Peyote Stitch

Michelle M. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:45:00 GMT

One of the most common questions I receive (other than “What’s for dinner?”) is “How do I finish a flat peyote-stitched bracelet so I can wear it?”...(read more)

How to Bezel Cabochons and Answers to Other Reader Questions

Michelle M. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:11:00 GMT

Beading Daily readers are full of questions! I was reminded of this when editor Michelle Mach sent me dozens of your questions this month, ranging anywhere from “How do I hang an 18mm heart pendant? Jump rings don’t seem to work.” (use a pinch or prong bail instead) to “How do I remove a crimp cover without ruining the crimp?” (very carefully, with sharp, pointed wire cutters . . . and yes, you will ruin the cover). There were also comments, including one cajoling me into training for an Iron Man after all!...(read more)

Free Seed Bead and Crystal Peyote Bracelet Project

Michelle M. — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:52:00 GMT

If it's been your dream to see your project published, but have felt nervous about the submission process, you'll find inspiration in Lynn Davy's story. One of her first submissions was to the "Bead Boy" reader challenge in Beadwork magazine two years ago. She might never have worked up the courage to submit, except her 8-year-old son created and submitted his own project to the magazine first! ...(read more)

Odd-Count vs Even-Count Peyote: What's the Difference?

Michelle M. — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:38:00 GMT

What’s the big deal about flat odd-count vs flat even-count peyote stitch? As I see it, the hubbub pretty much boils down to this: even-count is simple; odd-count is complicated. How can one thing be so diametrically opposed to itself? Easy/hard; clear/confusing; straightforward/perplexing? After just returning from a week’s road trip through South Dakota with a couple of hormone-demented teenagers, I know such things are possible. ...(read more)

Free Colorful Peyote Bracelet Pattern, Plus Designer Interview

Michelle M. — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:24:00 GMT

I met beader/knitter/cartoonist/all-around-creative-person Julie Ann Smith when she emailed me in response to one of the Beading Daily newsletters and asked me to take a look at some of her work. I was blown away by her bright, cheery designs! (Be sure to check out one of her peyote bracelets, The Illusion, at the bottom of this newsletter.) Julie Ann has a tremendous amount of energy and has a good sense of priorities (beading tops laundry every time!)....(read more)

Teresa Sullivan's Freeform Peyote Figures

Michelle M. — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:35:00 GMT

An Interview with Teresa Sullivan

I met Teresa Sullivan at Bead Expo Portland where she was teaching two classes, including one titled "Monster Mash" which promised to "unleash the secrets of sculptural peyote stitch" by creating fun faces with seed beads. At the show, I was not only impressed by the finished piece Teresa wore, but the way she used her beadwork to tell a specific story. Teresa's work has been exhibitied internationally (most recently in Japan), published in 500 Beaded Objects, and has been seen on the Portland, Oregon television program AM Northwest. Terersa has generously offered to answer your questions about her work and help you make that leap into the world of freestanding beaded figures. Please post your questions and comments for her on the website.

Michelle: On your website, you describe yourself as storyteller. What made you decide to tell stories using beads rather than another medium? How did you begin?

Teresa: When I was a kid, I drew pictures almost constantly. I created cartoons and graphic novels before I knew what a graphic novel was. As a bass player in my 20s, I made posters for my band, using collage and experimenting with lettering styles.

I later began making ceramic beads and stringing jewelry.  I also developed a fascination with trade beads, which I still love. Then when a friend loaned me a pair of earrings by Joyce Scott, I flipped. I felt as if I was wearing the coolest cartoons on my ears! Something clicked into place; the use of beads as a graphic medium really grabbed me.

The structural challenges presented by using beads rather than pencil or paint are intriguing to me. I'm a methodical artist anyway, so the slow pace of the work gives me time to think and, I admit, to obsess.

Michelle: What are the special challenges of working with a 3D piece? Any tips or general rules about doing freeform work? What advice would you give the intermediate or advanced beader who wants to try this, but isn't sure how to start?

Teresa: Anyone who has ever made a hollow tube, in any stitch such as peyote, ndbele/herringbone, or even netting, has done 3D work. If you begin with that and introduce techniques like increasing and decreasing, you can direct the work to express specific forms. Increasing means stringing more beads in a spot than you normally would, and decreasing is stringing less (or no) beads in a spot than you normally would.

Figural work involves combining a bowl shape (a belly) with a tube (a leg or torso), and making a tube turn a corner (elbow or knee). Some of the things you have to do are intuitive. I make lots of micro-decisions as I work, evaluating the amount of space I'm about to fill with beads, according to the need to widen or narrow the space or keep it the same.

Figures, of course, can mean animals, aliens, and imaginary creatures. I encourage you to use the "whim of iron", as Garth Johnson puts it, and celebrate your passion, no matter how personal, trivial, or out of step it may seem.

With freeform work, the slow pace of the work is an asset. Start with a plain strip of peyote stitch not more than an inch wide, and let restlessness motivate you to mess with it. Put beads where they "don't belong". Try things even if they look terrible at first---it may start to make visual sense if you keep at it. If you like it, it's a go. If not, try something else. It's a gamble to spend time on something that may not work, but it's essential to developing your own voice as an artist.

The use of color has a big effect on freeform work. If you have a lot of texture in a piece (a repeating motif, using lots of different stitches, or several sizes of beads, for example), watch the use of color carefully. Compare a richly textured piece made with tons of colors (even ones that look great together) with a piece made with one or a few similar colors. There's a seesaw principle at work; experiment with color and texture and decide where they balance out.

Michelle: Do you have favorite stitches or a favorite combination of stitches that you often use in your work? What makes these your favorites?

Teresa: I love peyote stitch best. It has the most versatility in the type of sculptural work I do. Netting, which I think of as a cousin to peyote stitch, is a close second. I use netting as a platform for further beadwork, and it makes great flames because it conveys movement. Ndbele/herringbone and right-angle weave are great too. Ndbele has such a great pattern and it's easy to increase; decreasing with it produces a great nipple-like texture. Right-angle weave is as equally suited to freeform work as to solid structures. It can be as sinuous as fabric or as rigid as wood, depending on how you use it.

Michelle: What are you currently working on?

Teresa: I'm making rings with a back-and-forth curly weave, collaborating with a student of mine who also does great metal work. I've started a big necklace having to do with hunger and food distribution, and I'm about to start working on a commissioned piece, a brooch commemorating a wedding anniversary.

Thanks, Teresa! Be sure to check out more of Teresa's work and her upcoming schedule at www.teresasullivanstudio.com.

Teresa has offered to answer any questions you may have about her work or sculptural beadwork in general. Please post any questions for her on the website. Thanks!

NEW Free Peyote Stitch Pattern eBook: Our first free beadweaving pattern e-booklet features 5 peyote stitch projects, plus two full pages of step-by-step illustrated instructions on even- and odd-count peyote, and a sheet of peyote stitch graph paper for creating original jewelry designs. Download Peyote Stitch Projects with BeadingDaily: 5 Free Peyote Stitch Patterns

Bead Star Voting: Have you voted yet? Help select the winners of the Bead Star competition by June 18th. I did a quick look and some entries are tied for first place in their category. Your vote could be the deciding one! Vote Now.

Choose the Bead Star Winners: Vote Now!

Michelle M. — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:18:00 GMT

I got the inside scoop on the contest from Danielle Fox, editor of Bead Star. "We were blown away by the number of entries into our contest—we received over 1,500 eligible submissions! You can imagine, then, how hard it was for me and the other editors to select only 180 of them (twenty in each of the nine categories). It was so much fun to look through all the entries, and what we’ve come up with, I believe, is the best of the best, the crème de la crème. Now it’s time to pass the fun—and the responsibility—on to you, our Beading Daily family! YOU will pick the next bead stars!" ...(read more)

Tips for New Beadweavers

Michelle M. — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:09:00 GMT

Beading Daily reader Christine K. wrote, "I am a brand-new beginner now attempting to learn the off-loom stitches. Although I am generally skilled with crafts that use one's hands (e.g., I can both crochet and knit), my learning of beading stitches is SLOW. My major question now is: what is the main difference between right-angle weave stitch and peyote stitch? Also, when I try to work in peyote stitch, I find it difficult to make the beads lay correctly. After figuring out the main difference between peyote stitch and right-angle stitch, is the "trick" to making the beads lay correctly to just relax and continue to thread the beads as required by peyote/right-angle stitch?"

When I read this one I had to smile. I pictured my first run-in with peyote stitch: The first few rows looked like a tangled fisherman's net. And doing right-angle weave felt like driving down the wrong side of the road. It's amazing any of us beaders get past those first brushes with needle and thread!

How to "See" Beadwork

First off, I'll make a suggestion about how to "see" beadwork. This one's kind of subtle, but was helpful for me. Keep in mind that in beadweaving the focus is on the bead placement, not the thread path. The thread path is key, of course, but it's invisible and should stay that way. While knitting and crochet are all about the fuzz, beading is about the firmness of the glass. It's a more planar technique. So when you're beading, if you can imagine your job is to build the beads into a certain formation--your thread acting as the magical cement--then you might more easily imagine locking the beads into place. Seeing the beadwork as a sort of Lego exercise will help you understand where your need to put up the next wall or window. That may sound a little David Carradine, Grasshopper, but there it is.


Peyote Stitch	Right-Angle Weave

Photos from The Beader's Companion by Judith Durant and Jean Campbell

Peyote Stitch vs Right-Angle Weave

In regard to peyote stitch vs right-angle weave, keep in mind that the shapes of these two stitches are very different. Peyote stitch produces a beaded fabric that looks like a brick wall; the beads sit side-by-side. Right-angle weave makes a fabric that looks like a series of little crosses; the beads sit at right angles to one another. The thread paths of these stitches are very different, too--in peyote stitch the path moves straight back and forth across the work; in right-angle weave the path moves back and forth, but by one little circle at a time.

Some basic stitch tips:

Counting Rows. When you string the first strand of beads for an even-count flat peyote-stitched project, keep in mind that these beads will make up your first two rows. Peyote stitch rows are counted on the diagonal, not along the side of the work. For right-angle weave, you can count the rows by counting the outside edge beads. Note that each little circle of beads that makes up the row is called a "unit" in most printed instructions.

Subsequent Rows. The third row in peyote stitch is a bear. If you can get past the third row, you're sailing. I've seen lots of clever techniques to make that third row, including passing another needle through the odd-numbered beads to separate them from the second-row ones. This will automatically reveal which are the "up beads" to work the third row. I've also seen someone put a little dab of Wite-Out on every-other bead to distinguish the rows and then scrape the stuff off after the work is established. You could also start the work by creating several false rows in alternating bead colors to differentiate them. Then, once you're rolling on the proper beads, remove those first couple false rows by sliding them off the tail thread.

For the second right-angle weave row, I think it helps to take a T pin or toothpick and poke it through the center of each first-row unit. This makes the work fall into formation, revealing the up beads very clearly.

Tension. Thread tension is really important for all the off-loom stitches. It's best to keep it tight as possible from the get-go, again making your job of forcing those little glass lovelies into formation. It may help to use a tension bead to start off (just remember to remove it!). I don't like extra steps, so I just use my fingers to keep the thread tight on those first few rows. If I keep the beads of the first several rows pinched tightly between my thumb and forefinger, it usually does the trick to keep the beads in place until I'm able to yank hard on the thread to tighten the beads into position.

NEW Free Peyote Stitch Pattern eBook: Our first free beadweaving pattern e-book features 5 peyote stitch projects, plus two full pages of step-by-step illustrated instructions on even- and odd-count peyote, and a sheet of peyote stitch graph paper for creating original jewelry designs. Download Peyote Stitch Projects with BeadingDaily: 5 Free Peyote Stitch Patterns

Jean Campbell writes about beading and life every Wednesday on Beading Daily. If you have comments or questions for Jean, please post them on the website. Thanks!