Spiral Stitch Variation

Hello! Just a quick post today- I wanted to share a little tip I discovered awhile back on how to make your spiral stitched ropes more... spirally :)

A recent post on the OTTBS facebook page asked us members to post pictures of our very first beaded creations. This spiral stitched bracelet here I think was my first (but my memory is faulty), and I remember liking it because I added an extra step to it to make the bracelet more solid and less slinky- I didn't like how the bugles kept moving around, so I added one last stitch to the completed bracelet (look at that awful toggle, lmao!)

Looking at this old photo, it made me want to revisit spiral stitch, which I haven't touched in quite awhile! I decided to go with some delicious faceted cylinder beads (I believe they're Toho's) with a taupe coloring and an iridescent sheen, spiralled around some 8/0's in three metallic shades. I implemented my 'trick' for this one too, and here is the result!



Unfortunately the photo really doesn't do the iridescence justice, but here you can see the tight spiral I was able to achieve with the regular garden variety spiral stitch we all know and love. This rope is rather stiff, but not so stiff that I can't make a bracelet out of it, or a necklace.

If you look close, you can see my trick implemented here in this photo. All I've done is run a thread down the length of the rope through the first bead in every 'set' of small beads. In case that doesn't make sense, here's a photo of what I'm talking about.

Here you can see what I mean- my needle is stitching through the first bead in each set of beads stitched around the core of 8/0's. When you complete your rope (by the way- if you want to do this trick, make your rope longer than you think it should be, because it will shrink when you do this), ensure you have a decent length of thread on your needle, then run your thread through the edge beads of each spiral stitch, as shown. When you get to the end of your rope, pull tight- the rope will curl up and tighten before your eyes! (I find this extremely satisfying for some reason, haha). I like to knot at this point, using the tail thread that is inevitably there from where you started the rope. Then, I go back up the rope using the first seed from each spiral stitch on the other side. I hope this makes some sense.

Regardless of what you decide to do, it will turn out beautifully. Without my 'trick', spiral stitch forms a slinky, supple rope with a straight column of core beads surrounded by spirals of outer beads. My trick forces both the spiral beads AND the core beads to spiral around each other, creating a more sturdy, substantial rope. Either way is great! Just do what seems to be best for the project you're working on :)

For now, I'll leave you with this video of Neo licking the condensation off of some beers, haha. 'Till Next Time!

Fortune Teller Beads

So, recently I discovered a free PDF for Diane Fitzgerald's awesome Fortune Teller Beads. The PDF contains instructions for a 19mm bead, but after some playing around, I was able to modify the design to work with a 14mm bead and two 20-22mm marbles I've had around for awhile. If you're interested, you can download the instructions here, along with instructions for two other projects.

This is my first go, using transparent lavender and coppery-gold seeds for the netting, and a plastic iridescent 14mm bead for the core. The design allows for room to add bits at either end of the bead, so I stitched a purple glass drop to the bottom and a purple glass bead to the top, with a few more coppery seeds that I aim to turn into the bail for a necklace. I think that since the bead is rather ornate, I'll go clean and simple on the necklace part.

I'm in love with this technique- it's easy, it works up quickly, and at the end you get to gather up all the seeds on each end into a tight circle, and it's really really satisfying to watch them tighten up around the bead when you pull it tight, haha.

Here's my two large beaded marbles- I did the blue one first. I had to modify the design a bit by altering the bead counts in each netting stitch and then adding one seed between each seed at the top and bottom where the netting 'gathers'. I thought the blue one looked a little naked, so I added transparent purple and silver beads in between the 'windows' that the netting creates. I'm not thrilled with the look, but it was fun nonetheless.

The red one I really love :D I used coppery size 8/0 seeds at the intersection points in the netting, and i like the look it gives. I'm imagining a tassle of fringe hanging off the bottom- I'm not good at maintaining the right tension on fringe, so that will be good practice :)

That's all for now. Today I'll leave you with Trinity having a conversation with me. 'Til Next Time! :)

Leaf Flower Mini Tutorial

Hello again. Two posts in two days? Holy shit!

Today is a little tutorial using Czech glass leaf beads. I fucking love these things. I haven't figured out what the allure is- but there's just something about them that makes me NEED TO OWN THEM. Needless to say, I have a borderline-embarrassingly huge collection of them- embarrassing because I don't think I've EVER used one in a piece. No shit.

Well, I fixed that with a little flowery centerpiece made entirely from beads from my tube of Miyuki Wheatberry Hearty Bead Soup that my husband bought me awhile back. (I love this mix- there's druks, small flowers, leaves, cubes, fringe beads, bugles, and four or five different types of round seed beads in various colors.)

Again, as always, please forgive the odd blurry photo. I desperately need a tripod. Also, partway through the tutorial I switched from a black background to a white one- messy, I know. Please let me know if you have any questions or if anything's unclear.

Since this is a mini-tutorial, I'm not going to spell out every single step to you. This tutorial assumes you are familiar and comfortable with ladder stitch.

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Note: this tutorial is protected by an International Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence. This means that you are free to post this wherever you like as long as you give proper Attribution (that is, to me, Jet Kosanke, and my website, malfaitluciu.blogspot.com), it may not be used commercially (you're not allowed to make money off it, that is, sell this tutorial to other people for money), and you're free to make changes to it as long as you also share it under these same restrictions (that is, you still give Attribution to me, you don't sell it, and you allow it to be shared freely.) For more information, click the Creative Commons link at the end of the tutorial.

By the way- NonCommercial doesn't mean you can't sell works you make using this tutorial. If you make a necklace, bracelet, or whatever using this tutorial, feel free to sell it- however, you may not mass-produce it, and the Attribution part still applies, that is, you still have to attribute the design to me.

If you're unsure if what you want to do is allowed, just ask me! I'm really pretty laid back about things like this :) I'd rather share my knowledge and discoveries for free so others can learn than charge money for my tutorials. With all that said, on to the good stuff! :)

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Click on any image to view a larger version. On with the show!



Materials

• Your favorite needle
• Your favorite thread
• Six 12mm x 7mm Czech pressed glass leaf beads
• One 6mm Czech druk or other round bead (7mm would work fine too, in fact, probably better)
• 36 11/0 round seed beads (cylinders work too but I don't think they look as good as round ones)
• Your favorite music
• A nice cold pomegranate martini (optional)

Step One

String one leaf bead, three seeds, one leaf, three seeds, one leaf, three seeds on a comfortable length of thread. Stitch through all the beads again  and then knot to form a nice tight little circle, as shown.

Work your thread through the beads so it is exiting a leaf bead.

Step Two

String three seeds, then go through the same leaf your thread is exiting, as shown.

Step Three

Pull your thread through, making sure the three seeds snug up against the top surface of the leaf, as shown. (This is ladder stitch)

Stitch through the three seeds next to the leaf your thread is exiting, then through the next leaf. Repeat the above step, stringing three beads and ladder stitching to the top of that leaf.

Repeat for the third leaf.

Step Four

Position your thread so that it's exiting a set of three seeds on top of one of the leaves, as shown.

Step Five

String one leaf bead, then stitch through the three seeds on top of the next leaf, as shown.

Step Six

Repeat this step twice more, adding two more leaf beads. 

Position your thread so it is exiting one of the top-level leaf beads (which I mistakenly didn't show in the photo)

Step Seven

Flip the beadwork over.

Stitch through the three seeds beneath the leaf bead your thread is exiting.

Step Eight

Flip the beadwork over again. Stitch through the leaf bead above the three seeds your thread is exiting.

Repeat steps seven and eight twice, ladder stitching each top level leaf bead with the three seeds directly below.

Position your thread so it is coming out of one of the top level leaf beads.

Step Nine

String three seeds, then go back through the leaf bead your thread is exiting, as shown.

(In the photo, the thread on the left is the working thread, and the thread on the right is the tail thread)

Step Ten

Stitch through the three existing seed beads on top of the leaf bead next to the one your thread is exiting.

Step Eleven

String three seeds, then stitch back through the three seeds your thread is exiting.

Step Twelve

Repeat step eleven twice more, by working your thread through the next leaf and three seeds, adding three seeds, and ladder stitching them to the seeds your thread is exiting.

Position your thread so it is exiting a set of three seeds ON TOP of one of the upper layer leaf beads.

Step Thirteen

Stitch through the set of three seeds that is stitched to the seeds on top of the next lower level leaf bead.

Then, stitch through the three seeds on top of the leaf bead after that.

Repeat around the flower until you have created a circle of eighteen seed beads on top of the leaf beads. God I hope that made sense.

Step Fourteen

Position your thread so it is exiting the middle seed of the set of three seeds on top of the next leaf bead.

Step Fifteen

String your druk or round bead, skip eight beads, and stitch through the ninth bead, so your thread is exiting the seed bead directly across the one your thread is exiting.

Step Sixteen

Stitch back down through the druk or round.

Step Seventeen

Stitch back through the seed bead your thread was exiting in step fourteen.

That's it! Knot, work your thread ends in, and trim.

At this point, you can leave it like this, or you can do what I plan on doing, which is stitching a square stitched ring band two seeds wide to turn this into a cute little ring. :)

If you create something using this tutorial, I'd love to see it! Email me photos of your work (with a link to your blog if you have one) to malfaitluciu@gmail.com - I'd like to create a gallery page on my blog featuring your creations made using this tutorial (or any of my tutorials) with a link back to your blog, too :) Don't be shy, let me show off your work! :)

Leaf Flower Mini Tutorial by Jet Kosanke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

I'll leave you today with Neo and Trinity losing their minds over a handful of clovers (we call it 'kitty salad') (*UPDATE* I have since learned that clovers are not a good treat for kitties- there is a substance in them that can make them sick. So, Neo and Trinity don't get clover treats anymore; just plain old perfectly safe cat-grass. So just for your info - don't feed your kitties clovers like I did! Thankfully Neo and Trinity seemed to have escaped any ill-effects. No more clovers for them!)

'Til Next Time~!

January Moodboard Piece (and a bitch session)

Well, here it is- my piece for the January Moodboard at OTTBS.

LET ME TELL YOU- this thing frustrated me at every turn! Argh!

The strap is made with Gwen Fisher's Super RAW in Miyuki cubes and Czech 11/0s in white, embellished with silver Tohos in 8/0. The focal and the open half of the toggle are both the same, with a black glass pillow bead in the middle of the focal.

My first complaint- the cubes are a little irregular- enough to make this piece look wonky and wobbly. Second complaint- you can still see the threads holding the open square beads in place DESPITE me taking a Sharpie to them multiple times. Third complaint- the silver 8/0s aren't enough to fill the holes between the cubes, but four 11/0s were too much! So there's thread showing there, and augh I hate thread showing. HATE IT.

I guess the one good thing about this is that, despite all the frustrations, I plugged away and finished it. I really try to come up with something for every Moodboard, and although I'm not entirely pleased with this piece (understatement), at least I stuck with it and finished it. I suppose that counts for something!

I'll leave you today with Trinity and her pretty green eyes.

'Til Next Time!