Friday, May 1, 2009

Right Angle Freedom

Lately I have been working a lot with right angle weave, so I decided it was time to have a go at a little free form RAW. My previous attempts at free form stitching were not what I would call successful. With peyote and brick stitch, the bead weaving can get away from you, and the results aren’t always pretty.

With RAW, there seems to be a lot more freedom. The wide spaces in the beadwork allow for quick stitching and easy embellishments. I followed the advice of NanC Meinhardt in the February-March issue of Beadwork magazine.

The Inspiration:

Using the Izzy and Lucy Bracelet project as a guide, I set out to create an organic-looking necklace with a woodsy feel. I pictured something that a dryad would make while sitting beneath her tree on a warm spring afternoon.

Pixie Dust

"Pixie Dust" by Howard David Johnson

The Beads:

In keeping with the freeform idea, I threw together a mixture of bead leftovers and matched them with a few items from my stash. I selected some foil lined forest green and topaz, matte brown, and frosted green seed beads. I also added some crystal copper-lined seeds that I had culled from another bead mixture. For texture I included some brown foil-lined 6o’s and speckled 4o’s.

Woodsy Bead Mixture


The Beadwork:

Freeform Dryad NecklaceAfter a rough start, I managed to find my groove and the necklace eventually took the shape I had envisioned. After adding many loops of randomly chosen seed beads, I added leaf fringe and peyote stitch here and there for texture.

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever made. But, for a first attempt, with a motley crew of beads, it turned out to be a great experiment.


1 comment:

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com