Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Playing with my beads...LiriGal's Netted Crystals Bracelet

I don't actually know the name of this pattern and I have no idea where I found it either. I can't find it on LiriGal's site or blog so I must have found it on Pinterest. This is all that I have:
I haven't seen a photo of what it's supposed to look like so yesterday decided to give it a try and see what I'd get. Luckily it does say to use 11/0 seed beads and 4mm fire polished beads.

I love the design. It reminds me of cathedral windows. However, I can't figure out how to keep it from coming out all wonky. I thought that the beads I used might be making a difference so I tried four different types. Here are my four samples:

The silver sample isn't too bad. Those are Miyuki Duracoat Galvanized "Pewter" (D4222) beads which are a little smallish and not very shiny. They're not matte but they have a slightly rough surface.

My second sample (center right sample) has Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461) seed beads, which are pretty much average in size and shiny. It came out a lot more wavy than the silver one.

At that point I was starting to think that smaller beads might work better so I tried the Miyuki "Olivine" (458) beads next (center left sample). They're very small for 11/0's BUT, they're also very shiny and slick. The results were the worst of all. That gave me a clue though so for my last sample I used matte metallic beads. They're Miyuki "Brown Bronze Matte" (457P) and that sample (bottom sample) came out the flattest of all of them. I still don't like how the edges of the bracelet curl up a bit though and I'd rather make the pattern with regular shiny metallic beads.

Here's a side shot so you can see more easily how wavy they are:

This would make such a pretty little cuff bracelet (it's about an inch wide) so I'm going to keep working on it to try and find a combination of beads that will allow it to lay flat but still keep the lovely design. I think I'll probably need to use some 15/0 seed beads in a few places perhaps. I'm open to suggestions if anyone wants to give this a whirl.

The two kinds of 4mm fire polished beads that I used are "Alexandrite Celsian" (in the silver sample) and "Pink Coral Moon Dust" in the other three samples.

Here are links to LiriGal's sites:

Liri's Gallery of Beaded Jewelry

Lirigal on Etsy

LiriGal's Blog


UPDATE:  I found out where the pattern came from. It's by Michelle Skobel and you can buy the pattern HERE. This pattern also goes by the name "Stacked Sparkle Bracelet" and was published in Bead & Button Magazine in April 2010.

I have a pretty good idea why I had so much trouble with my samples. LiriGal used a different number of seed beads in her netting in a couple of places which is why I got those pretty little arches that you don't see in Michelle's version. But, I think it's also why my samples came out wonky. The Bead & Button article does have a tip about using loose tension, which might also make a difference.



Sunday, July 27, 2014

Tutorial for the "Mystery SuperDuo Bracelet"

Pascale G-Mikovic's Original Bracelet

I still don't have the real name for this bracelet, which was designed by Pascale G-Mikovic, but it's become a huge hit on Deborah Roberti's Facebook page. Pascale allowed Deb to post her photo tutorial for the basic stitch but this still left us having to guess how to do quite a few steps. At Deb's suggestion, I'm posting the basic steps that aren't shown in the photo tutorial, in particular how to turn the corners to add each row. You can click the photos to see them full size. I've only added photos to the steps that I thought required a little better explanation.

PASCALE'S "MYSTERY SUPERDUO BRACELET"
Materials:

  • 11/0 seed beads (SB11)
  • 8/0 seed beads (SB8)
  • SuperDuo beads (SD)
  • FireLine or Nymo B
  • Clasp
1. Pick up one SD + one SB11 + one SD. Slide the beads down to the end and leave a tail long enough to add half of the clasp later. Go through the other hole of the SD you just exited.

2. Pick up one SB11 and go through the empty hole of the other SD. Go across and through the other hole of the SD then continue on through the SB11 and the other SD.


3. Pick up one SB11 + one SD. Repeat this for the length of the bracelet, ending with a SD.

4. Go through the other hole of the last SD. Add one SB11 between each SD. Once you reach the end of the bracelet, go through the SD, SB11 and SD on the end. Pull the beads snug.

5. Go through the other hole of the last SD, then go through the SB11.


6. Pick up one SB8 + SB11 + SB8. Go back around through the SB11 you just exited.



7. Continue on through the next SD and SB11.



8. Pick up one SB8 + SB11. Go through the previous SB8, going toward the SD but don't go through the SD. Then go back around and through the SB11 you just exited, then continue on through the next SD and SB11. Repeat this for the length of the bracelet. At the end of the row, exit through the last SD.



9. Flip the work around and go through the last SB8
10. Pick up a SD and go through the next SB11.
Repeat adding SD's in this manner for the length of the bracelet. Add a SD on the very end after the last SB11. Go up through the SB8 on the end.
 
11. Circle around through the next SB11, SB8 and SB11 of the little "cross" of beads near the end of the bracelet. Exit through the inside hole of the SD on the end.

"Cross" of beads highlighted in red:
"CROSS" OF BEADS

1
2

3


4

12. Go through the other hole of the SD. Add one SB11 between each SD for the length of the bracelet. Exit through the last SD.

13. Go through the other hole of the SD then circle around through the "cross" of seed beads starting with the SB11 from the previous row.
1
2


3

4

After going through the SB8 on the end of the bracelet, go through the inside hole of the last SD going from the inside to the outside. Make sure that you're working on the row that you just added and not the row with the tail thread.
Flip the work around then go across and in through the other hole of the SD and continue on through the next SB11.
14. Pick up one SB8 + SB11 + SB8. Go back around through the SB11 you just exited.

15. Continue on through the next SD and SB11.

16. Pick up one SB8 + SB11. Go up through the previous SB8, going toward the SD but don't go through it. Then go back around through the SB11 you just exited, then continue on through the next SD and SB11. Repeat this for the length of the bracelet.  Exit through the SD on the end.

17. Repeat steps 9-16, adding as many rows as you'd like for your bracelet. Finish off the ends of the bracelet and add a clasp as desired.

Inspired by Deb's comment about using 3mm beads in place of the 8/0 seed beads, I made this little sample using a variety of 3mm beads. As you can see, the pattern works quite well with druks, fire polished beads and also with bicones.





UPDATE 3/24/15: I edited the tutorial slightly and added a few more photos to steps 6-8. 

UPDATE 6/30/20: Bronzepony has a YouTube video for making a bracelet that looks pretty much the same as Pascale's but she uses a different method to make hers. Click HERE to watch her video. 

UPDATE 9/7/20: JP from JRPDesigns just posted a video tutorial for a bracelet that looks similar this but with all 11/0 seed beads. Her method is different than Bronze Pony's and the original from Pascale. Watch her video HERE. By the way, Bronze Pony's version also uses all 11/0 seed beads.

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Easy Earrings - Crimson


NUNZIA'S EASY EARRINGS
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 6mm rondelles "Crimson AB" (Chinese)

I've made the single and double versions this pattern quite a few times but always with either 3mm or 4mm rondelles and 15/0 seed beads. I have some beautiful glittery red 6mm rondelles that Teejay sent me for Christmas and I wanted to see how the earrings would look in a larger scale so I gave it a try. Obviously, the earrings came out quite large but I love them. I especially love the "AB" sparkle. I did have to adjust the number of seed beads that go around the rondelles but I've already tweaked the pattern so many times that I don't even remember how many beads are in the original version anymore.

The pattern I used is from Nunzia Scalpore's free YouTube tutorial, which you can watch HERE. The video shows how to make the double version, which is very pretty too. Most of the time I make the single version, which is the top section of Nunzia's pattern. I usually add a drop bead when I make the single version but I didn't do that with these larger red ones because I didn't think it would look right and I didn't have a suitable drop bead for them anyway.

Here is a pair of double earrings that I made for myself and they're some of my favorite earrings:



  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Brown Iris" (458)
  • 3mm rondelles "Khaki AB" (Beads One)

Here is another favorite pair in the single version:




  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 4mm rondelles "Black - #C04" (Beads One)
  • 4mm bicones "Jet - #C04" (Beads One - no longer available)

Because the rondelles I usually use to make these earrings are transparent, it's very difficult to get photos of these earrings that really show how beautiful they are. Bear that in mind when you look at these other examples:



  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 4mm rondelles "Silk AB - #C25 AB" (Beads One)
  • 4mm bicones "Golden Shadow AB - #C25 AB" (Beads One)



  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 3mm rondelles "Vintage Rose AB" (Beads One) *
* "Vintage Rose AB" is not available online but "Silk AB" looks very similar when it's used in the earrings. They do have a "Pink AB" online but the "Vintage Rose AB" rondelles are more of a peachy pink rather than baby pink.

This is a sample earring that I made recently:




  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
  • 4mm rondelles "Brown/Topaz - C29 AB" (Beads One)
  • 4mm bicones "Smoked Topaz - C29 AB" (Beads One)

The rondelles in the very light colored earrings seem to disappear in the photos but in reality, the crystals show up quite well when I wear them because of the sparkle from the AB finish on the beads.

 

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Earrings to go with the "Mystery SuperDuo Bracelet"

SUPERDUO FLOWER CHAIN EARRINGS
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (8-457D)
  • SuperDuo beads "Blue Luster"

Last night I made myself a cute little pair of earrings to go with my new, blue "Mystery SuperDuo Bracelet". I love the color and now I have a bracelet and a pair of earrings to go with the blouse that I'm wearing today. In fact, I decided to take a photo of them next to the fabric so you can see how well they go together. I'm also considering doing this kind of thing more often so that you can see which beadwork pieces I often wear with different outfits. I don't usually try to make a bracelet specifically to go with an outfit but I do have certain favorite combinations that I like to wear.
The earrings are my free "SuperDuo Flower Chain" pattern, which you can read about and download HERE. They're so quick and simple to make and they're great for using up the odds and ends of SuperDuo colors that you don't have enough of for a larger project. You'll need ten SuperDuo beads if you make this version or twelve if you make the ones with the little chain link at the top. On May 30th, I blogged about how to tweak the pattern to make the earrings without the link at the top. Click HERE to read that post.



Friday, July 25, 2014

Bracelet of the Day: Mystery SuperDuo Bracelet Updated

 MYSTERY SUPERDUO BRACELET - UPDATED
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (8-457D)
  • SuperDuo beads "Blue Luster"

While writing down the instructions for making this pattern, I realized that at some point I'd made an error which is why the edges of my original sample aren't aligned properly. It also explains why some of the 8/0 beads aren't positioned correctly above and below the SuperDuos. That's when I also realized that I'd made my blue bracelet incorrectly too so last night I took it apart and remade it the right way. Below is the first "wrong" bracelet and the corrected one is below it:

BEFORE
AFTER
Since I was making the bracelet over again anyway, I also improved the clasp loops. Below is a photo of the loop on my original bracelet and the new version is below that:


BEFORE
AFTER
I needed to make some more samples to test my instructions so I made these two:



  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (11-457D)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (8-457D)
  • SuperDuo beads "Pastel Bordeaux"
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Brown Bronze Matte" (11-457P)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Brown Bronze Matte" (8-457P)
  • SuperDuo beads "Aquamarine Dark Travertine"
  • SuperDuo beads "Crystal Dark Travertine"

They're not easy to see but, to break up the monotony of all those Aquamarine SuperDuos, I randomly inserted some "Crystal Dark Travertine" beads in each row.

It does seem to make a difference which SuperDuo beads you use for this bracelet. Some will make a softer, more flexible bracelet and others come out a bit more stiff like my blue one. However, my second blue bracelet is a lot more flexible than the first one that I made incorrectly.

It looks like the mystery has been solved. Deb Roberti heard back from the creator of the bracelet and she said that she has a free tutorial for it. However, the link that she sent to Deb isn't currently working. I'll post an update if it becomes available. The designer of this bracelet is Pascale G-Mikovic and you can visit her Facebook page HERE. She has lots of other pretty beadwork there.


UPDATE: I posted the tutorial for this bracelet HERE.