Tutorial: Golden Tapestry Netted Cuff Bracelet

Netting is one of my favorite beading techniques because it is simple, medidative, and creates such beautiful collars. The method of connecting beads together in nets has been around for thousands of years, and was even used by the Ancient Egyptians - chances are you've seen photographs of the beautiful faience bead 'gown'. Netting in some form can be found in the beadwork of many cultures, sometimes with elaborate patterns and lovely layers. Though it does have some basic structural limitations, the spacing of the beads allows for many variations in netting, including the addition of accents in many sizes.

This super easy 'tapestry' cuff project was inspired by the Geometric bead box from Blueberry Cove Beads. This has been my all time favorite bead collection so far this year. When I pulled out all of the lovely beads in the inspiration box, I was struck by how wonderful each of the individual pieces was. The shapes and colors are each unique and beautiful in their own way, but when combined they create a gorgeous tapestry.

The harmony of combining beads together is one of the things that makes it such a rewarding art form, and this project is a great example of the way that you can easily mix together elements that might not seem matched at first sight.

Blueberry Cove Geometric Bead Box

Some of my favorite pieces from this set include the pretty purple mother of pearl coins, and the orange cat's eye cubes. Individually the beads are wonderul, and though they are different in every way, I knew that I could mix them together to make a gorgeous piece of jewelry. I added tiny gold hexagon beads to the palette from the Geometric box, and some green glass rounds and drops from the Rainforest bead box as well. Transparent topaz seed beads and purple crystals from my stash rounded out the palette perfectly.

If you don't have similar materials in your stash, try combining some of your favorite accents together. The pattern will work with just about anything 6mm and smaller - just be sure to leave room for the size and shape of each bead that you add: the coins in the project are used as a focal since they can overlap each other nicely along a single row, but the other beads sit snugly side by side. Once the netting is complete, the beadwork will have a wonderfully chunky texture. If you like your bracelets extra slinky, use waxed beading thread in place of the Fireline.

Materials:

10 yards 6lb test Fireline (crystal)
5 grams size 11/o seed beads (transparent topaz)
6 x 10mm mother of pearl coins (purple)
6 x 6mm glass drops (green)
18 x 5mm glass cubes (orange)
16 x 6mm glass rounds (green)
16 x 3mm crystal bicones (purple)
24 x 3mm hexagon beads (gold)


1. Attach a stop bead to a comfortable length of Fireline, leaving a 6 inch (15 cm) tail. Pick up 6 seed beads, and slide them down to the end. Pick up 1 seed bead, and begin stitching an even-count peyote panel. Continue working until your panel is 19 beads wide. Weave in and trim both threads. Create a second 6 x 19 peyote stitch panel and weave in the threads.

2. Attach a stop bead to a new length of Fireline, and weave into one of the peyote strips, exiting from a corner up-bead. Pick up 4 seed beads, and 1 hexagon bead. Continue stringing accents with 4 seed beads between each: add 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 cube, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 coin, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 cube, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex. Finish with 4 seed beads.

3. Stitch up into a corner up-bead on the second peyote strip, and weave up through the following bead. Pass back down through the adjacent bead and the following bead to exit the panel. Pull snug.

4. Flip the beadwork. Pick up 4 seed beads, and stitch up through the last hex bead added in the previous row.

5. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 cube, and 4 seed beads. Stitch up through the next hex bead of the previous row.

6. Continue adding accents with 4 seed beads to either side, passing through the hex beads to secure them: add 1 round, 1 cube, 1 coin, 1 cube, 1 round, and 1 cube.

7. To complete the row, pick up 4 seed beads.Stitch into the 3rd bead of the peyote strip, leaving one bead between each of the netting rows. Stitch through the following bead in the strip, and then turn as in step 3 to begin the next row.

8. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 crystal, and 4 seed beads. Stitch through the last cube bead added in the previous row. Continue adding crystals for the entire row, passing through each of the accents beads. Finish by stitching into the 3rd bead of the peyote panel and turning the thread as usual.

9. Add 4 seed beads, passing through the last crystal added. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 round bead, and 4 seed beads. Pass through the next crystal in the previous row.

10. Continue adding accent beads, using the opposite color/shape as the previous row, and a coin in the center. Finish the row and turn. In the following row, add all hexagon beads. Repeat the pattern until you have 5 rows with accents, 3 rows of hexagons, and 2 rows of crystals as shown.

Turn and exit from the last bead of the peyote panel to begin the final row.

11. Add 4 seed beads and pass through the last hexagon bead added in the previous row. Add 4 seed beads, 1 cube, and 4 seed beads. In the next stitch, add seeds beads and a glass drop. Continue adding the remaining accent beads, and finish the row with 4 seed beads. Weave in your threads and trim.

12. Weave across the peyote panel and exit from the fouth bead on the outside edge. Pick up 21 seed beads. Pass back through the first 3 beads again and into the 5th bead of the peyote panel. Pull snug.

Check the fit of the loop on one of your remaining glass rounds. It should be just big enough to slip over the bead smoothly. Adjust the number of beads in the loop if necessary, then continue weaving.

13. Weave through the peyote panel and exit from the edge, leaving a 2-bead space from the previous loop. Add a second loop with the same number of beads. Repeat to add two more loops, then weave in and trim the thread.

14. On the opposite edge of the cuff, position a new thread 4 beads from the end as before. Pick up 3 seed beads, 1 round, and 2 seed beads. Skipping the last seed bead added, pass back through all of the beads again, and into the 5th bead of the peyote panel. Pull snug.

Repeat this step to add 3 more toggles, leaving a 2-bead space between each. Weave in any remaining thread and trim.

This pattern will create a bracelet that is 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) long. To increase the length of your design, you can add additional seed beads to the nets - working with 5 seed beads per stitch instead of 4 will add about 1 inch (15 cm).

Mortira

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Bead Color Ideas: Blue Mother of Pearl

With summer just around the corner I’m looking forward to light and airy designs, aquatic themes, and lots of gorgeous color. For this week’s bead colors I started with a strand of aqua blue mother of pearl coins that I’ve just barely tapped into. They’re always sitting in my stash, calling out to be used, but I rarely have any ideas for their shape. The best solution, of course, is to find the perfect color palette and wait for inspiration to strike.

I didn’t have any particular colors or themes in mind when I started looking for seed beads to back up these coins. I just pulled out colors that I thought would look good and then matched them up. My first trio features the always ready-to-work transparent medium topaz for a lovely beachy look. I added a dash of flotsam in the form of metallic olivine. I love the moody earthiness of this particular color, which works really well with the nacre patina on many of the coins. The Baked Boardwalk trio would be great in a design with lots of geometric elements - perhaps a cuff bracelet or some brick-stitched fringe earrings.

I’ve really been in the mood for my precious white-heart seed beads lately, so I was quick to grab what’s left of my cobalt stash. The glow of white hearts plays really nicely with the shimmery shells. To complete this palette I ended up with some buttercream Ceylon with its barely perceptible hints of pale yellow and an equally pretty shimmer. Though Vanilla Milkshake doesn’t pop quite as much as the first palette, it still has plenty of potential. I’d love to use in in an ombré-style design with the shells spanning between the seed bead colors. An asymmetrical mulistrand necklace would be perfect.

Finally, I couldn’t resist some transparent cherry red to get a coral and turquoise effect. This color combination always makes me happy and eager to get creating. It’s equally great for aquatic, Western, and ancient Egyptian themes. I added a backdrop of jet black 8/o's to really make both colors shine. The Fire Urchin palette would be lovely in something fringed, as well as netting. It would be so much fun to make a scarf lariat in this palette.

What colors do you like to use in summer designs?

Mortira

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March Bead Stash Favorites

Scouring my bead stash last week for spring inspired bead colors gave me a chance to really examine the materials that I have on hand right now. I’ve been floundering for new project inspirations quite a bit lately, so it was nice to really view my options and get reacquainted with some of my go-to beads. I’m looking forward to working with this month’s picks – hopefully in the very near future.

First up is one of my all-time favorite bead colors: gold-lined black diamond. There’s something about the earthiness and sparkle of this particular finish that I really love. I haven’t purchased Japanese seed beads in so long, and never anything with a metallic finish, so this color hasn’t made an appearance in my designs for years. Luckily, I’ve still got about 15 grams of black diamond in size 15/o seed beads. Now that I’m finding new ways to use them in bead embroidery, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to play with this color a little bit more.

More bead embroidery projects also means more opportunities to use cabs, and I’m really looking forward to using some of my favorite Egyptian beads and cabochons. I have a tendency to hoard these beads, not least because quite a few of them are vintage or limited edition. But no one will ever get to see them but me if I don’t use them in designs, so I’ll be keeping them in mind for upcoming projects.

Last but not least, I still haven’t had a chance to use the new mother of pearl chips I received from Blueberry Cove Beads. I love the buttery yellow color of these chips, and they have a very chunky, almost square shape that I’ve never really worked with before. I’ve been having a craving for some fringed lariats lately, and I think I’ll have to work a palette around these chips first and foremost.

What beads are inspiring you right now?

Mortira

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Wear it Twice: Mother of Pearl

It’s been far too long since we’ve had a look at ways to style a great statement necklace. There’s something incredibly inspiring about experimenting with fashion looks for great jewelry, especially when working with a beautiful palette. For this collage, I wanted to create a little farewell to summer with pretty aqua and sandy browns.

Last Day at the Beach by mortira featuring sea home decor

A mother of pearl bib turned out to be the perfect necklace for this palette, with its subtle blue and soft shimmer. First I paired it with a great dress in aqua blue, followed by a gorgeous taupe blouse and sea foam jeans. A set of gold and turquoise bangles blends perfectly with both outfits for a breezy day at the beach.

These jewelry tutorials use similar materials and textures as the pieces featured in the collage:

Beachy Keen Bracelets Tutorial - FusionBeads.com





Moroccan Princess Necklace Project - Beadaholique.com





Tubular Square Stitch Bracelet Project - TheHeartBeading.com





Boho Blue Necklace Tutorial - Artbeads.com





Boho Button Necklace Project - DishfunctionalDesigns.blogspot.com

What’s your favorite palette for aqua blue?

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Bead Giveaway: From the Beach

I’m almost finished with this year’s stash clean up. My bead collection is starting to look really polished and much more ‘me’ than ever before. I’ve got quite a few destash beads to giveaway yet, and this month it’s all about the beach (again!). This prize pack includes a big handful of lovely cowry shells that are perfect for hemp jewelry and mixed media projects, plus a dollop of pretty mother of pearl chips. I’ve had some really great times working with these beads, but it’s time for them to find a more worthy home.

How to Enter

For a chance to win all of the beads shown, leave a comment on this post letting us know what your favorite beach-themed bead palette is. One lucky reader will be drawn on Tuesday, July 14th. This giveaway is open to readers in Canada and the US.

Important: Please make sure to leave your comment directly on InspirationalBeading.blogspot.com to enter. No log-in is required, but please make sure to leave an email address or contact link in your comment, so that you can be reached if you win. Incomplete or duplicate entries will not be included in the draw.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Update: This giveaway has closed.

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Operation Inspiration: Phase Four

At last my mission to find new inspirations is complete with the arrival of my first bead order of the year. I didn’t spend a whole lot, and did a bit of stocking up on important elements like jet black 8/o seedbeads and Fireline, but there are some pretty exciting new beads in my stash now as well.

My absolute favorite grab from this haul is a pair of dyed horn rondelles in red and amber. I first tried these natural beads in a round shape last year, and I absolutely fell in love. The natural translucent finish and warm colors are so fantastic, and perfect for the designs I like to make. I can’t wait to start using these!

I also picked up a few things that were on sale and just called to me for the fun of it, including a big bag of carved mother of pearl butterfly pendants. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them, but there were some pretty great colors in the bag, including these turquoise, lime and black pieces.

Now I feel pretty much back on track, and I’m ready to start creating at my normal pace again. Although I’ll be working a lot throughout the summer – not to mention spending time at the beach – I know I’ll be able to make time for beading and sharing ideas, too. It’s good to be back!

Do you like to try out new beads for inspiration? What styles do you tend to go for?

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March Bead Stash Favorites

A week away from my bead space feels like a year, and so this month I’m definitely on the lookout for new inspirations. I have always found that one of the best places to look is right in my own bead stash, where there’s always something waiting to be turned into a rewarding design. Often there are beads that I’ve forgotten all about, and seeing them in a new light can be all it takes to get ideas and motivation rolling.

One of my favorite things in the bead cupboard right now is a strand of faceted Czech glass rondelles in a stunning yellow. I’ve always loved these beads with the Picasso finish, particularly how they look in earring designs. Since I’ve always sort of pictured them that way, I never got around to grabbing any for myself, until just recently. I’m still not sure how I’m going to use them – probably to add some pizazz to a collar or lariat – but just the idea of having them there is enough to get some fledgling ideas sparking.

Also loitering in my stash is a handful of Czech glass spike beads in an awesome shade of orange. I didn’t really have a plan in mind for these when I ordered them – I really just wanted to see them in person. I love the shape and the possibility of them. I’m thinking they might work well with a herringbone concoction, or as collar accents – it all depends on how spiky I want them to be, I suppose.

Last but not least, I treated myself to a very long strand of multicolored mother of pearl chips on a whim. I love the palette – it looks like the world’s most tropical fruit salad – but I probably won’t use all of the colors in a single piece. I think I can get a lot more out of them by separating the colors and creating individual palettes for them. The blue and yellow are my particular favorites.

What beads are you excited about right now?


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Crocodile Tail Pendant

Following your creative instincts and creating new designs on the fly is a great way to stay productive and surprise yourself with new ideas. But planning out new projects in advance can pay off, too. I recently made a list of stitches that I had yet to share in the tutorials segment on Inspirational Beading, and as soon as I added Dutch spiral to the list, an idea started to form.

The combination of three bead types, and plenty of room for accents, seemed like the perfect place to start design inspired by the Egyptian crocodile god, Sobek. Although I’ve been sticking pretty close the the alphabet for the Egypt challenge so far, I couldn’t resist skipping ahead to get started on this necklace.

I decided to use some of my mother of pearl chips to represent crocodile teeth, with greens and some black lined topaz for a background. After a few inches of spiral, I decided I didn’t like the green iris and topaz together, so I switched out the brown for a soft cream instead. As I worked with the new palette, I also realized that it wasn’t going to be enough. A few sharp and curved shells would have the fearsome look I wanted, but it needed something more.

I took a look through some photos of real crocodiles, and a picture started to form - shells as scales. I got to work right away on a triangle pendant with embroidered shell chips, and everything fell into place. Sobek’s necklace turned out exactly as I had hoped. The shell fringe in the Dutch spiral has the toothy look that I wanted, the mix of greens and fish-belly white looks reptilian and scaly, and the pendant provides an anchor that helps it all to stand out.

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Cute Cluster Rings

I’ve been learning new things and gaining plenty of insight throughout this year’s destash beading challenge. This month, I gained the knowledge that ending a challenge in the busiest two months of the year is probably not a great plan. I should have figured this out sooner, since I’ve had multiple challenges end around the month of November, but this year it really hit home. Luckily, it looks like the destash challenge is going to wrap up nicely, and the no-deadline approach to individual projects has been a big help.

For the most recent destash project, I took a little detour. Rather than try to completely use up some beads, I started a project that would make a tiny dent in several items from my stash. I wanted to return to the fun cluster ring design from March 2011, this time using some leftover beads.

I started with the remaining magenta E beads, and of course some mother of pearl chips. Even if I made dozens of rings, I’d still have plenty of these left, but they are perfect for chunky embellishments. I also grabbed some 3 mm Swarovski crystal rounds that have had no home to go to during the challenge, and the remains of some rootbeer lined topaz 6/o’s that are too few for anything else.

I had planned to make 5 rings in all, and use up all of the crystals, but I discovered half way through ring 3 that this set just didn’t have the same appeal as the originals, which included African Christmas beads. I can’t say for sure what went wrong, but I decided to call things off and move on to a more rewarding project. I’ll be keeping these rings for myself – they’ll be fun to wear for the holidays!

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Wear It Twice: Sand and Shell

With summer heat in full swing, all I can think about is ocean breezes, ice cream, and cool clothing. 'Cool' here meaning garments that help to beat the heat, like lightweight fabrics and pale neutrals. So I went on the hunt for some summery outfits that would go perfectly with a beachy necklace.

I started with a great statement necklace in white mother of pearl, with chunky cabochons that are perfect for a day at the beach. Hints of sandy taupe and tropical turquoise make for a refreshing palette, without out-shining the paleness of the shell.

White Sand Splash by mortira featuring tote handbags

I chose garments in linen and chiffon - perfect for catching a wisp of breeze. Strappy sandals and simple accessories keep with the theme of light and breezy. All that’s left to add is an icy pina colada!

It was a little tougher than usual to find handmade and vintage pieces to match this month’s collage, so I also sprinkled in a few beach inspired art prints.

If you like these looks, here are few beach inspired jewelry tutorials to try!

Tidal Treasures Necklace
Don’t Mesh with Me Necklace

Fill Me In Earrings
Fairy Wings Earrings

America Sparkles Mutlistrand Bracelet
Beachy Keen Bracelet
Growing Tall Multistrand Bracelet
Strands of Sparkle Bracelet

And here are my favorite Polyvore sets featuring this month’s picks.

A day at sea.. by mariapia65 featuring current elliott boyfriend jeans

Summer Fun by roseyrose27 featuring a raffia handbag

Untitled #97 by anne-symanski-goranson featuring shell jewelry

The Avatar State by sunshineowlnew featuring roman gladiator sandals

Seaside Romance by hatsgaloore featuring a metallic dress

What are your favorite colors to wear in summer? Do they carry over to your summer jewelry designs as well?

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