Flowers

Simple strands of seed beads

combined with frothy WireLace
create an ultrafeminine display for
the 2008 Bead&Button Show bead
by Lesley Weiss
stepbystep
Cones
[1] On 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread,
pick up four color A 110 seed
beads, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm)
tail. Tie the working thread
and tail together with a
square knot (Online Basics),
and sew through the first
three A 110s again (figure,
ab).
[2] Work in tubular herring-
bone stitch (Online Basics) as
follows:
Round 2: Pick up two A 110s,
and sew through the next A
110. Repeat three times, and
step up through the first A
110 picked up in this round
(bc).
Round 3: Work four stitches,
picking up two A 110s per
stitch, and step up (cd).
Round 4: To begin increasing,
pick up two A 110s, and
sew down through the next
A 110. Pick up an A 110,
and sew up through the
next A 110. Pick up two
A 110s, and sew down
through the next A 110
and up through the follow-
ing A 110. Repeat, and step
up (de).
Round 5: Repeat round 4,
but pick up two A 110s
instead of the single A 110
between stitches (ef).
Round 6: Work six stitches,
sewing through the increase
beads in round 5 as shown
(fg).
Round 7: Work three stitches
of tubular herringbone, then
pick up an A 110 between
stitches, as in step 4. Repeat,
and step up (gh).
1 Bead&Button Online Project
TUBULAR NDEBELE HERRINGBONE
STITCH / STRINGING
Kim Fields lampworked bead displays a fine web of vines and
small pink flowers over a matte black background. I wanted to
create a necklace that balanced the colors and textures of Kims
bead, and which wouldnt be too heavy to wear comfortably.
Strands of raspberry and black seed beads add some substance
to the lightweight WireLace, while 4 mm fire-polished beads add
sparkle. To focus attention on the colors in the bead, I made my
own cones using increasing tubular herringbone.
lace
and
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
Round 8: Repeat round 7,
but pick up two A 110s
instead of a single A 110
between stitches (hi).
Round 912: Work four
rounds of tubular herring-
bone (ij).
Round 13: Work a round
of tubular herringbone,
but pick up a single color
B 110 seed bead instead of
two A 110s (jk). Secure the
working thread and tail in
the beadwork with a few
half-hitch knots (Online
Basics), and trim.
[3] Make a second cone.
Assembly
[1] On 26 in. (66 cm) of
beading wire, string approxi-
mately 1 in. (3.8 cm) of A
110s, a B 110, a color B 4 mm
fire-polished bead, and a B
110. Repeat the pattern nine
times, and end with approxi-
mately 1 in. (3.8 cm) of
A 110s. Snug up the beads,
secure each end with a Bead
Stopper, and set aside.
[2] On 26 in. (66 cm) of
flexible beading wire, string
a crimp bead, approximately
2 in. (6.4 cm) of A 110s, a
color A 4 mm fire-polished
bead, and an A 110. Skip the
last A 110, and sew back
through the rest of the beads.
Snug up the beads, and crimp
the crimp bead (Online Basics
and photo a).
[3] Repeat step 2 to make a
second black fringe, picking
Bead&Button Online Project 2
a b
up a few more A 110s to
stagger the lengths.
[4] Repeat steps 2 and 3 with
B 110s, but instead of a single
A 4 mm, pick up a B 4 mm,
three B 110s, a B 4 mm, three
B 110s, and a B 4 mm.
[5] String the show bead
over all four wires, position-
ing it above the four fringed
strands.
[6] Cut two 18-in. (46 cm)
pieces of 6 mm pink Wire-
Lace, and two 18-in. (46 cm)
pieces of 6 mm black Wire-
Lace. Carefully feed one end
of each strand through the
show bead so you have about
3 in. (7.6 cm) of each strand
below the bead.
[7] Cut a 12-in. (30 cm)
piece of 6 mm merlot Wire-
Lace. Feed both ends through
the show bead from top to
bottom, leaving a large loop
above the bead. Cut a 24-in.
(61 cm) piece of merlot Wire-
Lace, and center this strand
and the beaded strand from
step 1 in the WireLace loop
(photo b).
[8] Pull on the two merlot
WireLace ends below the
show bead to tighten the
FIGURE
Handmade cones, connected with a
simple yet sturdy clasp, bring the
strands to a polished close.
loop. It will almost disappear
into the show bead. Wrap the
two pink strands below the
bead around the fringes, cov-
ering the crimp beads, and tie
them together with a square
knot (Online Basics). Use the
two black strands below the
bead to cover any remaining
crimp beads, and tie them
together with a square knot
(photo c).
[9] Divide the strands above
the show bead so that each
side has one strand of each
color WireLace, one side of
the beaded strand, and two
strands of beading wire.
[10] Working one side of
the necklace at a time, string
approximately 9 in. (23 cm)
of A 110s on one strand of
beading wire and B 110s on
the other strand. Secure the
ends of the strands with Bead
Stoppers.
[11] String six A 4 mms on
the pink WireLace strand and
five B 4 mms on the black
and merlot WireLace strands.
Space the 4 mms as desired,
leaving at least 3 in. (7.6 cm)
on the end of each strand.
Pull on the sides of the Wire-
Lace to expand it.
[12] Pair one beaded strand
with each WireLace strand,
and loosely braid the six
strands together (photo d).
[13] Cut a 2-in. (5 cm) piece
of 22-gauge wire, and make a
wrapped loop (Online Basics)
at one end.
[14] Remove the Bead Stop-
pers from the ends of the
beaded strands, string a
crimp bead on the end of
each strand, and go through
the wrapped loop and back
through the crimp bead.
Repeat with the remaining
beaded strands. Check the
DESIGNERS TIP:
If you are having
trouble fitting the
WireLace through
the beads, try condi-
tioning the last inch
(2.5 cm) of the strand
with beeswax. Roll
the end between your
fingers to make it as
narrow as possible,
then trim the end at a
sharp angle.
Lesley Weiss is an
assistant editor at
Bead&Button. Contact
her via e-mail at lweiss@
beadandbutton.com.
MATERIALS
necklace 21 in. (53 cm)
2008 Bead&Button
Show bead (Kim Fields,
BeadAndButtonShow
.com)
4 mm fire-polished
beads
14 jet black, color A
30 fuchsia half-coated
metallic or dark pink,
color B
110 Czech seed beads
8 g black, color A
5 g raspberry luster,
color B
clasp
4 in. (10 cm) 22-gauge
wire, half-hard
10 crimp beads
nylon beading thread,
size D
beeswax (optional)
flexible beading wire,
.010
1 yd. (.9 m) 6 mm
WireLace (wirelace.com)
in each of 3 colors:
black, pink, and merlot
beading needles, #12
Bead Stoppers
chainnose pliers
crimping pliers
roundnose pliers
wire cutters
f e
d
length of the strands, adding
and removing 110s as neces-
sary. Crimp the crimp beads,
and trim the excess wire.
[15] Tie the ends of each
WireLace strand to the loop
with a surgeons knot (Online
Basics), pulling the knots
tight. Trim, leaving an
1
8-in.
(3 mm) tail (photo e).
[16] String a cone and a B
4 mm on the wire. Make the
first half of a wrapped loop
above the bead, attach half of
the clasp to the loop, and
complete the wraps (photo f).
[17] Repeat steps 1016 on
the other side of the necklace.
[18] To finish the WireLace
fringe, tie an overhand knot
at the end of each strand,
pulling the knot tight, and
trim the excess WireLace.
Pull on the sides of the Wire-
Lace to expand it. w
3 Bead&Button Online Project
c
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