Table of contents for August 2016 in Bead&Button

Earlier this summer, we hosted the 16th annual Bead&Button Show, and thousands of beaders from around the world came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for 10 fabulous days of classes, shopping, events, and all things bead-related. Students, teachers, and vendors bonded over all the minutiae that we beaders and jewelry-makers love. Of course, not everyone can make the trek to Milwaukee for the Show. But that doesn’t mean you’re on your own! Great beading teachers are everywhere and many travel the world to share their designs. Not to mention the many talented designers who create detailed kits so that no beader need be left without expert guidance. Check out the “Classes and Kits” ad section on p. 48–49 of this issue to find designers who can assist you in your lifelong quest…

Midnight in the Garden necklace As an artist who paints a story or memory with beads, I often find inspiration in nature. “Midnight in the Garden” represents a flower who stands alone admiring the midnight sky and stars above. The copper flower is a Patricia Healy pendant. I used abalone shells, crystals, gemstones, O-beads, and three sizes of seed beads, working in peyote stitch, backstitch, brick stitch, and stringing. Pamela Garbig Hernando, Florida www.thebeadedgarden2.com Nature’s treasures I made this necklace just for fun during a Facebook group challenge. I wanted the piece to have a really organic feel, and to look as if it had just been lifted out of the ocean near a sandy beach. So I made a loose, random net, and embellished it with pearls, apatite, seed…

Component 1 On 4 ft. (1.2 m) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of four SuperDuos, an O-bead, a 4 mm pearl, and an O-bead four times, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail (figure 1, a–b). Sew through all the beads again using a slightly loose tension, and continue through the first four SuperDuos and the open hole of the SuperDuo you exit last (b–c). Your beads should lay flat and form a square, with the open holes of the SuperDuos positioned to the outside (photo). Loosen the tension of the square if needed. 2 Pick up a SuperDuo, and sew through the open hole of the next SuperDuo (c–d). Repeat this stitch twice more (d–e). Pick up an O-bead, a 6 mm firepolished bead, and an O-bead, and…

Express yourself with beads! Subscribers, download your August B&B Extra starting on August 1 at www.facetjewelry.com/extra. New website Discover our new website, www.facetjewelry.com, where beading and jewelry-making projects, videos, inspiration, and more are just a click away, 24/7. FREE PROJECTS FREE VIDEOS INFO, INSPIRATION & MORE!…

Frames 1 Flush cut 6 in. (15 cm) of 18-gauge wire. With a marker, make marks ¾ in. (1.9 cm), 2¾ in. (7 cm), 3¼ in (8.3 cm), and 5¼ in. (13.3 cm) from one end (photo a). 2 Using roundnose pliers, make a loop on each end, making sure they face the same way (photo b). 3 Using chainnose or flatnose pliers, make a right-angle bend at each mark to form a rectangular shape, making sure the loops are on the outside. If the loops don’t overlap, trim and re-shape them as needed (photo c). 4 Place the frame on the bench block, and hammer it to slightly flatten and texture the wire (photo d). Don’t hammer the loops when they are overlapped. Instead, separate them, hammer them individually,…

Elemental effects Pure beryl (beryllium aluminum silicate) is colorless but takes on various hues from the elements it combines with. There are six stunning gems in the beryl family, but most people are only familiar with two of them. How many can you name? None? Don’t feel bad — all will be revealed. If you know three or more, congratulations. All six? You have gemstone savvy! Beryl beads aren’t found at bargain bin prices, but they’re perfect for a special piece or higher-end jewelry line. The most valuable member of the beryl family is emerald. One of the costliest of all colored stones, this rare, richly green gem has fascinated people for thousands of years. Many cultures attributed mystical properties to the stone. Cleopatra wore emeralds, and the Aztec emperor…

Pendant Bezel 1 On a comfortable length of thread, pick up 90 size 11ºcylinder beads, and sew through the first three beads again to form a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. These beads will shift to form rounds 1 and 2 as the next round is added. 2 Work rounds of tubular peyote stitch as follows (45 stitches per round), stepping up at the end of each round and ending and adding thread as needed. Rounds 3–6: Work four rounds using 11ºcylinder beads. Rounds 7–8: Work two rounds using color A 15ºseed or cylinder beads (if desired, you can substitute one of the other 15ºcolors in the materials list). Sew through the beadwork to exit an 11ºcylinder in round 1 (photo a). 3 Place the button into the…

simple swap Use 3 mm pearls instead of 3 mm fire-polished beads, as in the tourquoise/cream and copper/gold bracelets on p. 52. Picking up the Silky beads The front of the Silky bead is the side with the bump, which should be facing up. With the holes running vertically, we will refer to the right hole (RH) or the left hole (LH). Bracelet Band 1 On a comfortable length of thread, attach a stop bead, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Pick up a Silky bead (RH), two 11ºseed beads, a 3 mm bead, and two 11ºs, and sew through the open hole of the Silky (LH) (figure 1, a–b). 2 Pick up two 11ºs, a 3 mm, and two 11ºs, and sew through the Silky (RH) (b–c). Continue through…

Components 1 On 11⁄2 yd. (1.4 m) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of a color A 15ºseed bead and a color B 15ºseed bead six times. Sew through the beads again to form a ring, leaving a 12-in. (30 cm) tail, and exiting the first A (figure 1). 2 Pick up an A, a 6 mm bicone crystal, an 11ºseed bead, a 6 mm pearl, an 11º, a 6 mm crystal, and an A. Skip the next B in the ring, sew through the following A to form a loop (figure 2, a–b), and continue back through the last A and 6 mm crystal added (b–c). 3 Pick up an 11º, a pearl, an 11º, a 6 mm crystal, and an A, skip the next B in the…

Bead stitching doesn’t have to be super time-consuming! Learn to make 50 projects (including design options) that you can stitch in as little as an hour. Author Cathy Jakicic offers a wide range of bitesized delights in all your favorite techniques. Available at www.JewelryandBeadingStore.com. Beaded bead 1. Condition a 24-in. (61cm) piece of beading thread (Basics) and thread a needle on one end. Pick up three pinch beads (1, 2, and 3), and tie an overhand knot (Basics), leaving a 2-in. (5cm) tail. Sew back through beads 1, 2, 3, and 1. Pull the thread tight after every step (fig. 1). 2. Pick up beads 4 and 5. Sew through 1, 4, 5, 1, and 4 (fig. 2). 3. Pick up beads 6 and 7. Sew through beads 4, 6,…

Acutely aware of the challenges of entrepreneurship, most small business owners are involved in philanthropy of one sort or another. But Nina Cooper of Nina Designs, wholesaler of jewelry charms and findings, goes beyond making charitable donations, orienting her entire business model to bettering the world around her. Setting up shop Nina started her business almost 30 years ago as an undergrad in Berkeley, California. At the time, her passion was dance, and she sold her beaded jewelry to pay for classes. When she traveled to Bali to study, she learned to make silver beads and findings for her beadwork, and brought them back to the U.S. to sell, along with textiles, wood carvings, jewelry, and clothing. After a devastating fire in 1991, Nina had to narrow the focus of…

Bead Happenings BRAIDS 2016 Braiding and kumihimo enthusiasts — the Braid Society’s Third Annual International Conference will be held in Tacoma, Washington, this year from July 24–30. Featuring talks, outings, a marketplace, and classes (like this hira kara bracelet by Adrienne Gaskell), this is a great opportunity to learn from braiding experts from around the world. Visit www.braidsociety.com for more. Rubber earnuts to the rescue tip A friend asked me to convert a treasured brooch into a pendant for her, but my first few attempts didn’t work. The pin didn’t have a bail or a flat back that I could attach a bail to. The pin back was off-center so the brooch converter I tried caused the pin to tilt. Furthermore, I don’t have good wireworking skills. So I improvised…

3 SECRETS OF THE PERFECT MULTISTRAND 1. Vary the length of your strands by 1⁄8–1⁄4 in. (3–6 mm). 2. Use a wire guard at the end of each strand for strength and a professional touch. 3. String the strands in the order you want them to fall when the necklace is untwisted. 1 On a spool of beading wire, string 13. in. (33.7 cm) of color A 8 mm pearls. Trim from the spool, leaving about 2 in. (5 cm) of bare wire on each end, and secure them temporarily with a Bead Stopper or a piece of tape. String five more strands, making each about 1⁄8–. in. (3–6 mm) shorter than the last strand you strung (make them all different lengths): • One strand of color B 8 mm…

Base 1 On a comfortable length of thread, pick up four 4 mm fire-polished beads. Sew through the beads again to form them into a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Continue through the first three 4 mms so your working thread is exiting opposite the tail, and snug up the beads (figure 1, a–b). 2 Working in right-angle weave (RAW), pick up three 4 mms, and sew through the 4 mm your thread exited at the start of this step. Continue through the first two 4 mms just added (b–c), and tighten. Continue working in RAW using a tight tension for the desired length of bracelet, less 11⁄8 in. (2.9 cm) for the clasp, and ending with an odd number of stitches (c–d). End and add thread as…

Pendant 1 On a comfortable length of thread, attach a stop bead, leaving an 8-in. (20 cm) tail. 2 Pick up two color A 11ºcylinder beads, two color B 11ºcylinder beads, two color C 11ºcylinder beads, two color D 11ºseed beads, two color E 11ºseed beads, two color F 11ºhex-cut seed beads, two color G 8ºseed beads, and two color H 8ºhex-cut seed beads (figure 1, a–b). These beads will form the first two rows as the third row is added. Do not tie any knots in these rows because you will be removing them when you join the ends together. 3 Work in flat even-count peyote stitch as follows, picking up one bead per stitch and referring to figure 1: Row 3: H, G, F, E, D, C, B,…

THREAD AND KNOTS Conditioning thread Use wax (beeswax or microcrystalline wax) or a thread conditioner (like Thread Heaven or Thread Magic), to condition nylon beading thread and Fireline. Wax smooths nylon fibers and adds tackiness that will stiffen your beadwork slightly. Conditioners add a static charge that causes the thread to repel itself, so don’t use it with doubled thread. All conditioners help thread resist wear. To condition, stretch nylon thread to remove the curl (you don’t need to stretch Fireline). Place the thread or Fireline on top of the conditioner, hold it in place with your thumb or finger, and pull the thread through the conditioner. Ending and adding thread To end a thread, sew back through the last few rows or rounds of beadwork, following the thread path…