My friend Darlene was given this cute silver necklace, but it was too short to wear comfortably. I think you can see in the picture that the “clasp” is a simple hook and eye. She asked me what I could do with it to lengthen it for her, and the simplest solution seemed to be to add a chain with a dangle at the end. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best!
I found this wonderful vintage rolled-brim felt hat with a built-in scarf in an old musty antique shop. I loved the style and the color, and knew immediately that the structure of the hat would stand up to a lot of altering! Sifting through my collection of vintage buttons and jewelry showed me just what direction to go with this hat. The name, “Dreaming of Spring” came to me before the hat was completed. I filled the brim, but still something was missing. The final piece was still sitting on my work table: a small vintage bee pin. Obviously, the bee was to be the focal point, the one who was “Dreaming of Spring”!
Now as cold weather approaches, I can wear this hat with the promise that spring will one day return to New England.
Materials and tools:
Vintage hat
Buttons, beads, seed beads, and vintage jewelry
Black nymo thread, size O
Beading needles
Fabric glue
1 Consider carefully the structure of the hat you choose. I was attracted to this rolled-brim style because there would be no need to line the inside after finishing the sewing: the style itself hides all the loose ends. I also looked for a hat with the structural integrity that could stand up to the weight of the embellishments I wanted to add.
2 Gather together all of the embellishments from your stash of button, beads, and jewelry (broken or whole) that you think you might want to use. Choose a theme or a color palette to unify your choices. Although I chose a solid colored hat, multi-colored would be a lot of fun to work with too. The color of my hat led me to develop a springtime theme in a monochromatic palette, with gold-toned accents.
3 Stitch shank-style buttons around the top of the brim, using nymo beading thread.
4 Stitch or pin your major focal pieces into place around the face of the brim. I used some larger vintage pins to divide up the surface.
5 Stitch buttons and beads in a pleasing pattern between the larger focal pieces. Use size 8 or 11 seed beads to decorate the threads holding the buttons. Take an extra anchoring stitch or two before and after stitching on each new piece.
6 After all your buttons and larger beads are attached, go back and “fill in” each large gap with a size 8 seed bead. I used bronze iris beads to add just a hint of extra color.
7 Use a small dab of fabric glue on each knot on the inside of the hat. If you’ve used a roll-brim hat like mine, there will be no need to line it, but if you’ve chosen a different style, consider adding a line lining fabric to protect your hair from getting tangled in the underside of the stitches.
Copyright 2007 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
For more inspiration, check these posts:
The Best of the Basics Online
Bead Embroidery Techniques
Technique Tuesday!
The pendant necklace I showed you yesterday is very similar in construction to one I made back in April. The tutorial link is included.
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, tutorial
Technique Tuesday!
If you simply can’t wait until the new Lark book, The Art of Jewelry: Wood, comes out, check out DIY network’s tutorials in the meantime!
handmade-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
Technique Tuesday!
After showing you how simple the beaded beads were last week, I received questions about the bezel and bail. Well, yeah…it’s pretty easy too! I’ll be glad to share how to make it.
I used single-needle RAW (right angle weave) for the base rows, and then eased my way into peyote stitch to cinch the bezel around the stone. Here’s how:
Copyright 2007 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, tutorials
Make Art Monday!
I made this bracelet for a challenge over at the Wearable Arts forum on WetCanvas a couple of weeks ago. It was actually inspired by a photograph of a fruit and vegetable market in Seattle. The beads running down the center of the bracelet are the same color as Rainier cherries, and the ribbon yarn colors reminded me of all the other summer fruit bounty in the photo.
I wrote up some tips on making these finger-woven pieces awhile back. The process was quite similar, except that I used short lengths of ribbon yarn to tie the square knots in between each bead instead of using one continuous length of cord.
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
Technique Tuesday!
These beads are extremely simple to make, so they’re a great place to start in learning to weave beaded beads. Start with a 24 inch single strand of Nymo 0 on your needle, and two different colors of seed beads, preferably Delicas or some other cylinder-style of seed beads. I used a dark galvanized amethyst and bright gold to match the Tigerskin (or Wood!) Jasper necklace that I showed you yesterday.
In 2-drop peyote, you stitch the same as in regular peyote, except that you pass your thread through 2 beads each time. Check my post on seed bead basics for instructions if you need to. Here’s the pattern for these little beads:
Copyright 2007 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
Technique Tuesday!
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, tutorials
I recently went to see what all was on Tammy’s updated list of e-courses, and I was amazed by the number of offerings she has! She has divided them into “crash courses” and “slow-and-easy” formats, so you can pick what fits your needs. Do you want to learn more about knotting, metal clay, or business tips? How about macrame, basic stringing, or metal fabrication? It’s all available at Tammy’s About.com jewelry making site!
[tags]tutorials,beading,jewelry-making,beads,wearable-art[/tags}]
Make Art Monday!
Ready, set, go make something!
Here is a list of all the articles in this series:
Introduction
Focal Point
Theme
Color Scheme
Materials
Structure
Conclusion
Technique Tuesday!
Here are the items I used to make Breezy. You can vary the ingredients to your heart’s content!
Materials:
3 pieces of teal green cord, 60″ each
3 pieces of teal green cord, 12″ each
6 turquoise ovals, 12×18mm
9 turquoise rondelles, 13mm
12 turquoise rondelles, 7mm
9 turquoise rounds, 4mm
Bronze 8/0 seed beads
Antiqued copper bail tube with loop
Antiqued copper 3-holed end bar and clasp set with chainTools:
Scissors
Tweezers
Tape measure
Fray check
GS Hypo-tube cement
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
Structure: Patterns and techniques
No matter how intuitively you work, at some point you will need to make some decisions about the structure and pattern you’re going to use in order to avoid having to go bead buying right in the middle of a project. That is usually not the best time to be making clear-headed decisions!
You might be the type of person who decides what project to do based upon what type of stitch you feel like doing, and you make most of your structural choices at the very beginning of your design process. For me, the technical details are often one of the last things I consider, but like all of the other pathways into designing, structural questions can easily pop up at any time along the way.
In design terminology, pattern generally refers to repetition or lack of it in stringing or weaving a piece. (It can also refer to the plan for the exact placement of beads in something like a flat peyote weaving, but that’s not what I’m referring to here.) The pattern can be repeating, symmetrical, asymmetrical, or random. No matter how complex your piece is, from a single strand to the most intricate multi-strand weaving, these underlying patterns can be detected.
Other structural considerations in designing include length, complexity, and contruction methods/techniques. Will your necklace be a standard length or adjustable? How many strands will it contain? Will it be needle-woven, strung, loomed, or a combination? Will your design necessitate large-holed beads that can accommodate many thread passages? Will it require special findings that you must buy or make? Will you use thread, wire, or some combination? Do you have enough materials and all the tools you will need?
This is also a good time to fill in all the gaps, before you start constructing. You may need to head back to the torch or go on a (perfectly justifiable) shopping trip. Make sure you’ve got enough of everything, including all the mundane items like thread, wire, crimps, jump rings, and spacer beads, to complete your design.
Materials: Building a palette
I usually like to build my working palette and choose my materials after I’ve decided upon focal point, theme, and color, but it can be fun to try it the other way around. Some designers like to use this method most of the time, sorting through their beads and treasures, and letting the raw materials “tell” them what to choose. I’ve personally never had the stones speak to me. My more practical method to building a palette works well for me, whether it is my first step or somewhere further down the designing road. I’ll share it with you in case you want to give it a try.
I usually take my focal piece (or the first item to catch my fancy if I haven’t chosen a focal piece yet) and place it on a white towel. After gathering up all the possible beads, stones, buttons, and other treasures that might look good, I “audition” them by laying out small piles of each candidate near the focal pieces. Keeping my theme in mind as well - if I’ve already picked one - I look at how the colors, sizes, shapes, and textures interact. There is no right or wrong answer to this part of the process, but it often takes a lot of time. Do not let yourself be rushed! If any beads seem too prominent, you may want to remove them, or at least place them judiciously in the mix. keep in mind also whether your idea calls for a variety of shapes and textures or for a more uniform selection. Each choice you make will narrow down future choices, so sometimes you might have to start all over again if it isn’t going the way you want.
Sometimes you will find that you just don’t have everything you need to proceed with beading. Don’t look at this as a problem! Instead, this is the perfect justification for buying more beads!
Come on a journey through a bead and jewelry wonderland, where no item is considered too strange to use in making something...especially if that item has a hole in it! All types of beads are welcomed and cherished here, and no techniques are off-limits. You'll be amazed and inspired by the beadwork that is being done today!
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