Beadwork Spring 2021

There’s no denying that we’ve all been through a lot during the pandemic. So, it feels especially good to look at beautiful beaded jewelry and plan new projects. You might choose one opulent design for Zoom meetings and a subtler but elegant piece for everyday wear. Or vice versa! In her article “Style & Innovation in Beading: How Trends Influence Five Designers” (page 11), Melinda Barta asks Beadwork contributors to share how they view jewelry trends, find inspiration for their personal design styles, and foresee future trends. In general, these beaders agree that they prefer to create their own paths rather than follow fashion trends. There’s no doubt that new bead shapes, color trends, Pinterest, and other lifestyle trends inspire innovations in beading. Bead Artist Nicole Vogt (page 16) predicts a back-to-basics…

TECHNIQUES Circular peyote stitch Herringbone stitch Fringe PROJECT LEVEL OOO MATERIALS 1 g Capri blue transparent size 15° seed beads (A) 6 g matte Caribbean teal AB size 11° cylinder beads (B) 6 g salmon opaque size 11° cylinder beads (C) 1 teal 13mm pressed-glass floral shank button Smoke 4 lb FireLine braided beading thread TOOLS Scissors Size 11 beading needle FINISHED SIZE 8" 1) PATTERN 1 SQUARES. Use peyote and herringbone stitches to create the Pattern 1 Squares: Rounds 1 and 2: Use 3' of thread and string 20B, leaving a 5" tail. Pass through the beads again to form a circle; use the tail and working threads to tie a square knot. Pass through the first 2B strung (Fig. 1, blue thread). Round 3: String 2C; pass through the next B of the previous round. String 1C, skip the next B, and pass through the next…

When beaders describe their personal relationship with fashion trends, there doesn’t seem to be much gray area: most either categorize themselves as trendy (where they love to follow fine-jewelry and celebrity styles), or they design to the beat of their own drum (purposefully avoiding outside influences). See how five bead weavers—Carolyn Cave, Diane Fitzgerald, Melissa Grakowsky Shippee, Shaylynn Jameson, and Melissa Mauk Rodarte—view past jewelry trends, find inspiration for their personal design styles, and foresee future trends. Trends That Have Shaped Us Before we see where styles are headed, let’s take a look at where we’ve been. For Diane Fitzgerald, cylinder beads have always been on-trend: “Thank heavens for Miyuki Delicas…the old standby and go-to bead!” Carolyn Cave agrees seed beads are a mainstay. She adds, “Seed beads will always be a…

NICOLE VOGT started beading the same way many of us do—she received a strung necklace as a gift and wondered how to make a similar one. Her two sisters loved the necklace just as much as she did, so they ventured to a local handicraft shop in search of instruction and supplies. At the shop, she saw samples of jewelry made with seed beads. Those magical little bits of glass sparked her interest even further, and her passion for beading began in earnest. VARIETY IS THE SPICE A frequent contributor to Beadwork from her home in Germany, Nicole has tried her hand at most stitches. She favors right-angle weave in all its variations. Nicole explains, “What I like about cubic right-angle weave is how variable and changeable it is and how different…

THIS NECKLACE MADE OF DRAGON Scale beads, rose-petal beads, and seed beads was inspired by the old song by Scott McKenzie that says "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." TECHNIQUES Right-angle weave variation Netting PROJECT LEVEL OOO MATERIALS 0.5 g black AB size 15° Japanese seed beads (A) 6 g black AB size 11° Japanese seed beads (Bl 145 jet full AB 5x5x1 .5mm Dragon Scale beads (Cl 130 jet AB 7x8mm pressed-glass rose-petal beads (DJ 15 jet AB 13x14mm pressed-glass rose-petal beads (El 1 pewter 9X18mm ball-and-socket clasp 2 silver-plated 6mm split rings Smoke 4 lb Fireline braided beading thread TOOLS Scissors Size 10 beading needle FINISHED SIZE 173/4" 1) SMALL FLOWER COMPONENT. Use a variation of right-angle weave to form the small flower components: Petals 1 and 2: Use 4' of thread to string 1 B, 1 D…

THIS DAZZLING NECKLACE, named after flowering tropical plants, features right-angle-weave bezels that encase sparkling Swarovski crystal rivolis. TECHNIQUES Right-angle weave Circular netting PROJECT LEVEL OOO MATERIALS 3 g higher metallic June bug size 15° seed beads (A) 3 g gold galvanized Duracoat size 15° seed beads (B) 15 g higher metallic June bug size 11° seed beads (C) 5 g gold galvanized Duracoat size 11° seed beads (D) 130 jet 2mm pressed-glass rounds (E) 92 jet 4mm pressed-glass rounds (F) 8 foil-back vitrail medium 14mm Swarovski crystal rivolis (small) 3 foil-back vitrail medium 18mm Swarovski crystal rivolis (large) 1 gold 10×17mm ball-and-socket clasp 2 gold 6mm split rings Smoke 4 lb FireLine braided beading thread TOOLS Scissors Size 10 beading needle FINISHED SIZE 18 ½ " 1) LARGE COMPONENT. Use right-angle weave and circular netting to form a large component: Unit 1: Use 4' of thread to string 8C, leaving a 4"…