Bead Loom Trading Card

A few years ago my sisters and I started up an art trading group that was fun but a bit disorganized. This year we revamped and simplified so it would be easier for anyone to participate whenever they want to or have the time. For the first trade this year I made this bead loomed piece on a fabric background.
I graphed this pattern years ago with the intention of turning it into a loomed necklace and it has been buried in my big binder of patterns since.

 When I came across it searching for ideas for my ATC, it occurred to me that the finished piece would be nearly the exact 2.5" x 3.5" size of a trading card if stitched with Czech seed beads. The challenge for me was that I wanted only to bead the pattern and not the background and I wanted to do it on a loom.

This is simple enough to work on the loom - it is a question of what to do with the warp threads once it is off the loom. That's a lotta thread to deal with. The solution was to use my new favorite material - sticky backed craft foam. It is super simple to cut to the correct size. I cut the fabric slightly larger and carefully (so that one of the diamond shapes in the print would land in the center) stuck it to the sticky side of the foam. Then I cut my work from the loom and pulled the warp threads that were exposed in the center of the design until they were long enough to cut in half and still be able to thread a needle onto. With the beadwork positioned exactly where I wanted it on the fabric covered foam I threaded and stitched each warp thread straight down through the foam (starting with the center to best control positioning) until all of the warp threads were on the back (front?) side of the foam and the beadwork was secure to the fabric side of the card.

I trimmed all of those crazy warp threads so they would be short enough to lay flat on the back. I then cut a piece of matching card stock  to the same size as the foam to create a backing that could further strengthen the card and cover the warp threads.  I spray glued the back of the foam and the card stock, pressed down the warp threads, folded the fabric edges over the back and covered it all with the card stock.

So now the pattern is yours to do with what you like and you can try your hand at stitching your loom work to fabric or foam or whatever makes you happy. We also invite you to participate in our Art Card Trades that welcome all mediums and skill levels. Enjoy!

Mr Meeseeks Graphed Pattern

Did you see the Rick and Morty couch gag on the last Simpsons intro? We did and we are so excited for season two to start! We have already watched through the first season twice and, like many, often wish for our own Mr. Meeseeks box. So in celebration of the awesomeness of the first season and the anticipation of the second, I have graphed a bead loom/ square stitch version for you to stitch your very own Mr. Meeseeks.


Keep in mind that this is graphed for elongated seed beads such as Toho or Czech seed beads so you may have to adjust the length if you want to use this for cross stitch or Delicas.

I square stitched this onto fabric using Toho seed beads and the finished piece measures 3"x7".


I used clear beads for the background so the cool fabric pattern would show through.

Brave Beaded Embellishments for Merida

In my last post of 2014 I gave a sneak peak of a gift I was working on for my niece and promised photos and a pattern, so here they are.

My niece collects and plays with dolls. I found this new condition Merida doll at a thrift shop one day and I could just see the beadwork on the dress.

I actually beaded the family crest first thinking that I would sew it onto the dress but there was no placement that looked right so I thought a sling bag for bow and arrows would be the perfect accessory.

I watched this video to get the idea for creating the bow and arrow accessories. I did not have floral tape on hand so I dipped the arrows in brown paint and my daughter had the brilliant idea to make the bow out of a paper clip that we uncurled, cut, and shaped then wrapped with mod podge soaked embroidery floss which gave it a nice woody feel. The bow string is dental floss.

I stitched the sling bag together using an embossed felt to give it a leathery feel after sewing on the crest.

I graphed the peyote pattern of the family crest.

I stitched the belt on a bead loom using embroidery floss as the outside warp threads that could be knotted and braided to secure it around her waist.

The beadwork on the skirt was square stitched on using the same method I use for canvas being careful to stretch the bead spacing a little on the bottom and crowd it a little on the top because of the flare of the skirt. The knot pattern is from a Celtic cross stitch book.

I used a simple picot stitch to embellish the sleeve cuffs.

I had a lot of fun designing and beading this doll. I hope my niece enjoys her as much as I did and that this post inspires your own doll embellishment adventure.

What I Have Been Up To

Inspiration was fleeting at best for a while. I was productive at times but not always happy  with what I was producing. I was creating to sell and it felt restricting. I already have another full time job for restraints like that so I closed my finished jewelry Etsy shop to give myself permission to play and I am enjoying my play time. The glue and crayons have admittedly been out and so have the paint and beads.

                      Sometimes when I am not beading I draw pictures about beading.

In case you were wondering - that is beaded directly onto a page from my sketchbook that I have painted and decoupaged. The label is from my favorite New Glarus beer. Bead everything.

Now I am working on a special gift for my niece that is a surprise, and while I am not terribly concerned that she will ever read this post, I am only going to give you a sneak peek for now with a promise for full photos and a pattern in the new year.

So there you have my update. I hope you are also enjoying the freedom to bead happy.

color and texture

Here's a close up view of this beads  interesting hue.

The Heroes Have Moved

If you have come here looking to find this week's bead hero then click here. We have moved to our new location and are celebrating the seed bead throughout the month of May. See you at unstrungheroesbeads.com going forward!

Vintage Inspired Three Petal Flower Bead Necklace

Inspiration for a creating a bright flowery necklace was plentiful yesterday as I sat next to my sunny open window enjoying the fresh spring air, testing out a few design configurations I had imagined. In my Wednesday post I mentioned the lack of jewelry that uses the three petal glass flower beads and as I played around with bunching them in threes I  began to recall images of vintage jewelry I have seen on our antiquing trips.  This is the result of that inspiration.

This is a wonderful necklace that is deceivingly simple to make.

Begin by cutting a length of antique brass chain to your desired necklace length. Then a 2-3 yard length of c-lon beading thread. Start the beadweaving on the toggle end by stitching a 12 bead wide by 4 bead tall peyote rectangle with the following pattern.

If you are unfamiliar with how to create a peyote toggle then please join us next week on our new blog site where we will kick off our month long celebration of the seed bead with instructions on creating a peyote toggle.
Weave in the tail thread (but do no cut it off) and stitch up the toggle. Then weave in six beads toward the  center and pick up six green seed beads and pass through the first link in the chain. At this point the trick is to insure that the chain stays facing the same way as you weave in and out of it. Here I started with a couple of loops that are 11 beads long and spaced 8 chain links apart.

The next step is adding the daisies. Pick up 5 green and 6 orange beads then pass through the orange beads in the direction they were strung being very careful to pull everything up to the chain as you do this step. Pass through the first 2 orange beads once more. 

Then you can pick up a yellow bead for the center and pass through the two beads opposite the two you are exiting in the same direction.

   Pick up five more beads and pass through the ninth chain link down from the link where this length of beads exits.

Repeat this step about half way down the chain until you get to the point where you will want to add your first 3 flower dangle. For you first dangle you will pick up 7 green beads, 1 leaf bead, 4 orange beads. Again, tension is important as you pass through the 4 orange beads in the direction they were strung plus one.

Now you can add the three petal flower beads by picking up 1 bead cap, 1 flower bead, and 1 yellow bead. Then pass back up through the flower and bead cap and the next orange seed bead, skipping the yellow bead.

Add the next two flowers in the same way before passing back up through the leaf and one green seed bead. pick up 3 green beads and pass through the fifth chain link from the last link you exited. You want all three dangles to fall on the same side of the chain so you will add a daisy chain length between each dangle to return to the same side. On the center dangle only pick up three green beads on each side and only skip one chain link and on the third dangle pick up the three and six green beads in the opposite order from the first so that the necklace drapes correctly.

Weave up the second half of the chain the same way you did the first omitting the daisies on the last two loops. It is okay if you have to fudge the number of chain links between these last two loops. No one is counting. Once you have passed through the last link in the chain pick up 16 green beads and pass through the last green bead from the last loop and that last link of chain to form the lasso for the toggle. Pass through the lasso 2-3 times to secure it before weaving back down through those last two loops to tie off your thread.
Now, remember the tail thread you left on the toggle at the beginning?  This was left so that you could go back and pass through where the toggle and the stringing meet a couple of times to secure this connection before tying off this thread.

Fin

These are quick instructions intended for beaders who know peyote and daisy chain stitch. If you are still new to beading and would like to create this necklace, please ask any questions below and continue to follow us next month as we celebrated seed beads at our new blog home with new component tutorials each week.

Thanks for reading!